THE INTERNATIONAL JAGUAR 'S'-TYPE REGISTER FORUM

Different continent, different terminology for the term tow bar. In the USA what connects these two cars is a tow bar

In the UK we would call that a towing "Dolly" or "A" frame which attaches to the tow bar on the back of the car and to the wishbone arms on the car you are towing. A lot of people in the UK use them for towing a small car around behind an RV or camper van as we call them in the UK.
In the UK we also have a thing called a "towing bar" which is basically a straight metal tube which attaches to the rear tow bar on the car and to a towing eye on the car being towed and is a lot safer than a length of tow rope as we call it in the UK or as you know it a "Lasso".
So many changes made to our English language made by foreigners. LOL.

I wish I had one of those "A" frames when I towed the S Type home from my friends workshop in Shoreditch central London back in 1986 a distance of thirty miles. Had to use a tie-down strap that I used for that I used for strapping down loads on the HGV I drove. The worst towing of the S Type was being pulled on a twenty mile drag from my old garage in North London to Hertfordshire behind my friends Morris Minor van in the pouring rain and no servo brakes. This was no ordinary van though, it had a radical roof chop and a Ford V8. When he accelerated the whole van would distort, not sure it was the best construction job in the world!

cass3958 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 25, 2022 9:31 pm In the UK we would call that a towing "Dolly" or "A" frame which attaches to the tow bar on the back of the car and to the wishbone arms on the car you are towing. A lot of people in the UK use them for towing a small car around behind an RV or camper van as we call them in the UK.
In the UK we also have a thing called a "towing bar" which is basically a straight metal tube which attaches to the rear tow bar on the car and to a towing eye on the car being towed and is a lot safer than a length of tow rope as we call it in the UK or as you know it a "Lasso".
So many changes made to our English language made by foreigners. LOL.

Still more terminology differences. Here in the USA a towing dolly is this two wheeled device use to tow a car. Often used with front wheel drive cars to keep the drive axles from turning. Here is how I moved my MGTD 540 miles from California to Oregon some 12 years ago. The Morris tow bar was not compatible with the MG.

NigelW wrote: ↑Mon Dec 26, 2022 9:00 am I wish I had one of those "A" frames when I towed the S Type home from my friends workshop in Shoreditch central London back in 1986 a distance of thirty miles. Had to use a tie-down strap that I used for that I used for strapping down loads on the HGV I drove. The worst towing of the S Type was being pulled on a twenty mile drag from my old garage in North London to Hertfordshire behind my friends Morris Minor van in the pouring rain and no servo brakes. This was no ordinary van though, it had a radical roof chop and a Ford V8. When he accelerated the whole van would distort, not sure it was the best construction job in the world!

A lot of changes to your S type since then Nigel. I see round wheel arches and the red paint. The front is riding very high as well. Is that the tyres or did you not have the engine in?

Yes a lot of changes, the original springs were badly sagging and I replaced them with a set that were too high but that was all that was available back then. Getting parts for Mk2's and S Types was not the easiest thing, the Jaguar main dealers had nothing for them so the only outlets beside breakers were the independents, the two in London being Normans in West Hampstead and the other Nolans in South London, I had to wangle jobs in the truck to get to visit them. The rear springs I found in a local hot rod shop that were on display as an advert for a local chroming company, they told me they were for a 420G and sold them to me for next to nothing. They remained on the car for the next thirty years, thanks to Watjag they have all been replaced. In 1986 after the new sills and floor pans were fitted at the Shoreditch workshop I resprayed it BRG and swapped out the auto box for the manual OD box in a rented workshop at the local marina. The round wheel arches were made in 1977 as the wings had rotted out and repair panels weren't available and new wings if you find them would have cost far more than the car was worth so it was better than nothing, don't forget these cars were old bangers and practically worthless back then, I had scrapped a couple of Mk2's I bought for £20 each and one other S Type that cost £100. Fortunately door's were readily available from breakers yards for about £8 each. Ten years later in 1986 I bought the S1 XJ6 for £650 that I've just sold this month and that was expensive for the time.