New bumper for Ron!

[GLet71]

Well, I don't weld, but I found a guy who does. Lo and behold $250 later, I've opened up horizons I've only dreamed of before! The photo of the trailer was my first test run, I've put a 4" drop that works much better. I also needed to shorten up the bike rack so it didn't stick out as much.

[Ridlbox]

Nice

[teranfirbt]

Nice, tube bumper with a hitch is on my list of projects, soon as I get the AC reinstalled.

[ARCHINSTL]

What is the brand of your hitch rack?
Granted that I closed my bike store 14 years ago, but I do not recognize it. I sold Hollywood and Saris hitch racks (I preferred Hollywood).
Yakima wanted too much of a commitment, or else I would have sold its products.
Kuat came along after I closed, but I've heard good things about its racks.
Tom M.

[GLet71]

It's a Curt, same guys that do the hidden hitch assemblies, etc. Barely used, holds four bikes, and I got it for $75 on Kijiji. It folds out and away from the car so you can easily access the hatch.

[Tercel__jon]

That looks a lot like the one I built. https://youtu.be/0-_LbHwmmZg?t=2m23s

Now we can tow things without worrying about the stock one falling off. haha

[Jonymoto]

Glet, you've done a good job, but I was wondering why you removed the rear bumper? Could you not have mounted the tow bar from underneath the car? I also use my tow bar for carrying bikes. My rack fits directly on the tow ball.

[ARCHINSTL]

Hijacking the thread...
@ Jonymoto -
Geez, but that car is beautiful! Love the way the window frames are body color! They totally transform the side view.
The dip in the side stripe strip is clever, too.
Another interesting note: Unlike so many of our cars here, you have no permanent staining under the fuel filler door!
Tom M.

[Jonymoto]

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack the thread, I just wanted to show how my tow bar was mounted. I will be happy to post photos on how it's mounted underneath for those interested in duplicating it.

[4wdEconoBox]

That really is a beautiful car Jonymoto, quick question, whats up with the tag not being in the usual tag spot and the red plate with tercel on it in the usual tag mounting spot? I like that a lot for some reason!!!

[Mattel]

That really is a beautiful car Jonymoto, quick question, whats up with the tag not being in the usual tag spot and the red plate with tercel on it in the usual tag mounting spot? I like that a lot for some reason!!!

In some states of Australia (NSW and Victoria) the government decided that the plate was too far away from the center of the car and needed to be closer to the driver so they put a 'disco reflector' in the ATM and a separate plate holder closer to the drivers side of the car. looks really ugly imho. I took mine off and put it back in the ATM but for a while I put the lights on in both the extra plate holder and the ATM as they left the bulbs in the sockets which looked cool i thought. Was thinking of making it into a giant brake light!

[4wdEconoBox]

I guess I think it looks cool because its different. I would to have something like that over in the U.S. I might have to try and make something like that out of some plexiglass or something like that.

[Jonymoto]

Mattel is right. But the law has changed now. My wife's RAV4 has the licence plate even further left of centre same as the US.

I should be able to move the plate back into the ATM. The wiring and light for the licence plate is there already. But if I move the plate and its holder, that will leave 3 holes in the tailgate, 2 for the screws and one where the electrical cable goes through. So I haven't bothered.

[ARCHINSTL]

Maybe use something like this (with appropriate RTV under it): http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-5-1 ... /202209532
Or these -which being black, would prob look better: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/dorm ... l+retainer They are available in various sizes; some look like this, some are flat, and some are slightly convex.
Tom M.

[Mattel]

Mattel is right. But the law has changed now. My wife's RAV4 has the licence plate even further left of centre same as the US.

I should be able to move the plate back into the ATM. The wiring and light for the licence plate is there already. But if I move the plate and its holder, that will leave 3 holes in the tailgate, 2 for the screws and one where the electrical cable goes through. So I haven't bothered.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4089&p=29939&hilit=tasmania#p29939

Hi Jony if you look at the link here of my old Tercel (I miss it - well the non noisey and slow parts a lot) from a trip I dd through Tasmania in 2008 you'll see that I used the same small plugs that I think Tom is talking about - it looks ok I think. The only part I have of that car now is the reflector panel.