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MG MGA - Spare wheel on boot (trunk) lid.

Could I stick the spare wheel on the luggage rack to get more space? have seen a Belgian car with the lid recessed to take the wheel but he must know a superb craftsman and must have cost a lot.
H L Davy

HL

I cannot answer your idea about modifying the boot lid, however I have often strapped my wheel on the boot rack to create more space. Works ok, not had any damage to the lid so far. The minus side of this arrangement is that the scuttle mirror is rendered useless so you may need a stick-on mirror in the top corner of the screen. Also the boot is very heavy to open! I have seen a boot rack with a wheel shaped retaining rail at the back. This helps lower the wheel sitting height and improves rear vision. This type of rack has been available commercially, but not sure if they are still sold. I did enquire of Metal Mickey at www.sportscarmetalworks.com/ and he said he could make/adapt one.

I have also seen MGA hubs bolted to the rack. This obviates the need for retaining straps.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Im not sure but I think that I read somewhere that mounting the spare on the boot produces a lot of drag so has a big efect on fuel econamy on long runs, or is it just me being cheap, Vin
Vin Rafter

Here is mine

Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Here is the rack without the wheel

I made the rack myself although it is the same style as those made by Sportscar metalworks for the likes of Moss etc. There is a fixing braized on the middle of the rack that allows a fixing to hold the wheel onto the rack centrally.

My interrior mirror is not on the scuttle because it used to blind my vision of the nearside front wing so it is remounted on the windscreen top rail with the hood central overcentre clip.

Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Here is the centre fixing

Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Love your car Bob, its beautifully put together with superb panel fit, even the hood looks to fit absolutely perfectly.
Got to admire your welding and fabrication skills too, the boot rack looks terrific.

With reversing lights like those I bet you can break the speed limit in reverse!
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Bob

Glad to see I was not talking total crap. I am minded to put the hacksaw to mine and have a go. How do you get the correct bend in the tube?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Thanks Colyn wish the car was as good as the photo but cars always look better on images. :)

However it is not bad considering it was in thousands of boxws and the body was in several pieces when i got it. Also I spent very little on doing the car so I am very happy with it. Got one or two little bits on it now after 8 years of touring Europe and midnight regularity rallies. So I am happy.

Steve I wish I could say that I worked it out mathematically but sadly I did not.

Originally I had made the rack with a straight bottom rail, then I cut it in the middle and bent each side down and popped the wheel in. Then I could see where the new bottom piece needed to be and imply silver soldered it in.

The boot lid is very heavy when the wheel is in situ and I used to lift it up wih the wheel on to get our stuff out at overnight stops. However the hings started to suffer and now I remove the wheel before entering the boot.
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

I have placed my spare tire on the boot rack for road trips. I have the factory style rack that spreads the load which I think would be better than the Amco type which puts all the stress on four points. My wife made a cover for the tire with an elastic draw string which helps with the drag factor. You just have to be careful to not get lazy and take the tire off when opening the boot so that you don't stress the hinges.
Keith Lowman

The works twin cam coupe had one fitted(RMO101).
There is a picture of that type of rack here- http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/accessories/at102b.htm
P BURCOMBE

Thanks guys for absolutely superb replies. Bob -one question. Would it not be possible to fix the extra tubes lower down on the rack?
H L Davy

I saw this one in Florida last year. It required a periscope to see over the luggage. It took up a lot of boot space.

Jim Ferguson

This thread was discussed between 26/03/2010 and 27/03/2010

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