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Trailer hitch on a healey?

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I actually built a receiver hitch so I am good. I bought a receiver hitch for a early model VW Passat and then slightly modified it to bolt to the ends of the rear crossmember. It is VERY strong and sucked up very tight to the boot floor. I am guessing that it will occasionally drag on pavement but that's better than ripping off a muffler so I consider that a plus. Once things are painted up I will post some pictures. It turned out to be a very elegant solution and I am pleased.
 
Csarneson said:
I posted a YouTube video on how I did it. Hope this helps someone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHldK-mgr3E

Chris
Click to expand...
Hey, I heard my name; sure hope the idea(s) work...!!

Looks well thought out, and not unlike something I would do myself. If there was one (1) thing I'd recommend that you consider, it would be to extend the bolts through the trunk floor where your receiver is notched and bolted on.

The four (4) bolts** through the hitch and into the ends of the crossmember are in shear, and the cantilevered load from the receiver will exacerbate this. You could get by with a plate on the inside of the trunk as thin as 1/8" and DO make sure to generously radius the four (4) corners, so as not to pierce the trunk's floor like an old style can opener! Look for some strong, high tensile strength bolts with shallow heads and put a circle of foam around them so they can't abrade the bottom of the fuel tank. After that (and the note below) I'd call it done, and done well.


** for the bolts into the xmbr ends, you should find some "grip length" bolts that have a solid shank the thickness of the 1-1/2" x 1/4" plates + the thickness of the plate with the captive nuts. You don't want a fully threaded bolt, as the threads will act as a milling cutter against the plates.
https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productselection.asp?Product=AN7

Additionally, giving it more thought; running the bolts through small tubes in the square tube filler pieces will prevent those bolts from loosening in use. As long as there's an air-gap through the tube, it can compress and loosen the bolt's grip. If short sections of 1/2" inside diameter black iron (gas) pipe were cut precise enough to fit tightly, they wouldn't even require being welded in.
 
Oooooh I like the idea of going through the trunk floor. Hadn't thought of that. I will give it some thought and see if I can avoid the tank. In spite of the shear forces it is incredibly strong. I won't know for sure till the car is back on wheels and I can stand on it.
 
"In spite of the shear forces it is incredibly strong."

Well The potential problem here is:

The length of your receiver when loaded emulates a lever which can put considerable shear load on the two inner end bolts.

Failure will be gradual and possibly undetectable prior to the fault.??
 
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