Spare for FiberFab (under hood, that is)

[HappyJack]

I was talking with Vincenc while we were at Va Beach and mentioned finding a tire and rim sized to fit under the hood of a Fiber Fab kit — for those who do not have the optional engine cover mount for their spare.  

I got a tire from ONLINE TIRES — 

176K5AFE FORMOZA FD1 – 165/45-15 FEDERAL FORMOZA FD1 68V – FEDERAL FORMOZA FD1 1 $50.53 

 along with a new wheel  VWC-135-601-025-P – STOCK STEEL WHEEL 15 X 5-1/2 4-BOLT (4-5/16 INCH BACK SPACING / +25 ET) – BEETLE 68-79 – GHIA 67-74   –needed the wider wheel to go with this tire — 

This combo just fits nicely up front under the hood on my former FF Tdr Abby (sold it this past spring but kept Emma, the big-butt BCW — which has a real spare hanging off of the rear of the car)

So anyone wanting something besides a can of instant tire in the trunk may want to try one of these small tire and bigger rim setups —  bigger than a doughnut and a lot smaller than a stock tire

….worked for me and got rid of that little bit of worry about driving without a spare — and it fit under the hood!!

BTW — the tire cover is from a Miata spare but the fit is REALLY tight — you don’t really need a cover — I tend to be a bit er, anal, I guess……

[Vicenç Feliú]

Thanks for posting these pics Jack.  I think this is the route I’m going.

Sabreur762015-10-24 02:33:58

Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"

(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")

[John Simion]

Wouldn’t it be a lot better and save your trunk space just to convert to a real rear spare like a real TD? My car is also FiberFab and somebody fixed it with a rear spare that folds back with the engine cover. The Weber Progressive breathes through the spare. It’s obviously possible and it doesn’t look that complicated. But then, I didn’t have to do the work, LOL.johnsimion2015-10-24 12:33:37

[HappyJack]

Yes there are many ways??????MG Magic offers a bracket to replace the “fake” spare tire fiberglass insert on the engine cover of a FiberFab kit if you want to mount the spare on the rear of the car.  I opted to go the “under the hood” route so that I would not have to lift the weight of the spare along with the engine cover when working on the engine.  I didn’t think I would miss the space under the hood — I could still fit a jack and a tool bag under there along with the spare and the side curtains and tonneau cover???

Here’s what the bracket looks like:

By the way, I was having problems with sideways and upside down pictures being posted to the web — I was uploading pictures taken with an iPhone and saved to my MacBook Pro.  I found that if (on the Mac) I first opened the picture that was saved to my desktop in Preview, and then saved it back to the desktop, it showed up right side up when posted to the Tdr web site.  Go Figure!!

–Jack–

[John Simion]

It must depend a lot on the builder. My FF has a different spare mount than your picture, and the hood/trunk is hinged at the bottom, with latches at the top. There is a cable that limits how far back it tilts. This setup means you are not lifting a heavy load, but the drawback is that the engine is not quite as accessible because you are kind of reaching over the hood/trunk. The guy who built my car also crafted a clever tray that fits in the “trunk” up front that makes it useful to some degree. I am reusing it but I have yet to figure out how to secure the front of the tray to the sides of the “hood” so that it won’t rattle.

[Anonymous]

John : You might try a piece of industrial Velcro. Grainger’s carries it. I have a roll of it. It is about one inch wide. When the two  are pressed together they really hold tight. Useful for parts of upholstery also.

[HappyJack]

I forgot how many ways there really are to mount a spare — as well as the engine cover…

My FiberFab assembly manual showed the style of bottom-hinge engine cover and hinged spare as “optional  — extra cost item” 

I guess my car’s builder did not take the “optional” route and went for the Fix-A-Flat instead…..

I wonder how many of our VW-based cars have the spare arrangement you have and how many have that bracket I found on MG Magic? — and how many have that can of tire fix under their front seat instead?

Still Happy Jack

[newkitman]

My Fiberfab/CMC tdr has the engine cover hinged at the top and the spare bracket is the two stud type drilled through the spare tire mount on the engine cover. I like the idea of a full spare. Plus having the spare on the engine cover is the way the MGTD was designed to be.newkitman2015-10-26 07:02:48

Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

[Paul Mossberg]

All Classic Roadsters Ltd. TDr’s have a rear mounted spare.
PMOSSBERG2015-10-26 09:28:23

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[Author]

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