Spare Wheel Clamp
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2025 3:48 pm
Reading Steve Atkinson's newsletter in February's Safety Fast re creating more boot space prompted me to address the same issue that i have been intending to do for a long time as i have stored various items below the spare wheel in the boot , but then was frustrated by the effort to retrieve anything which necessitated getting most things out of the boot , before being able to lift the wheel out,never mind putting everything back & also
ensuring that the items under the wheel didn't get in the way of the clamp bolt / fixing hole in the boot floor. The O.E. supplied clamp
is too long with the wheel reversed.
Steve suggested using the clamp ref BHH1111 as supplied for the V8s , but due to cost of some £32 came up with cheap alternative of a 3/8 UNF bolt , a 65mm dia neophrene washer , backed by a steel penny/mudguard washer.
Before following his solution i found a BH1111 clamp on ebay , albeit at about the figure he indicated , (but including postage)! I liked the idea of having the "T" & saucer at the top.
It duly arrived - I happen to have Minator 14J alloys with 185 / 70 tyres including the spare (These are usually sold in fours ,as I had bought them some 20 years ago , but some 5 years ago picked up an additional one in good condition from one of the well known "MG breakers").
Unfortunately the BH1111 clamp is too short for the profile of these alloys (& perhaps others). (It might fit a rostyle wheel , but i haven't tried that with my old ones as they are hung up on my garage walls).
I came up with the solution of using the O.E. clamp , cutting some additional thread , then reducing the length by 2" & then using that in conjunction with 2 universal car jack stand pads that i drilled centre holes through. The pads are 6.5cm in diameter which conveniently sit just in the centre of the wheel. ( I have had the pads sometime, unused because they don't fit any of my axle stands!
I thought about using the O.E. clamp & using an additional wing nut on the extended thread of the bolt, with a washer arrangement like Steve Atkinson, that would enable me to make a support for a round ply floor filling the upturned wheel, but as my wheel is full of useful items & covered by a wheel carpet cover , didn't think it was worth the effort in creating a round piece of ply!
I have attached photos which show how i did it. The length of the clamp bolt / use of axle stand pads could be modified to suit variations in wheels & tyre sizes. Cheers, Charles
ensuring that the items under the wheel didn't get in the way of the clamp bolt / fixing hole in the boot floor. The O.E. supplied clamp
Steve suggested using the clamp ref BHH1111 as supplied for the V8s , but due to cost of some £32 came up with cheap alternative of a 3/8 UNF bolt , a 65mm dia neophrene washer , backed by a steel penny/mudguard washer.
Before following his solution i found a BH1111 clamp on ebay , albeit at about the figure he indicated , (but including postage)! I liked the idea of having the "T" & saucer at the top.
It duly arrived - I happen to have Minator 14J alloys with 185 / 70 tyres including the spare (These are usually sold in fours ,as I had bought them some 20 years ago , but some 5 years ago picked up an additional one in good condition from one of the well known "MG breakers").
Unfortunately the BH1111 clamp is too short for the profile of these alloys (& perhaps others). (It might fit a rostyle wheel , but i haven't tried that with my old ones as they are hung up on my garage walls).
I came up with the solution of using the O.E. clamp , cutting some additional thread , then reducing the length by 2" & then using that in conjunction with 2 universal car jack stand pads that i drilled centre holes through. The pads are 6.5cm in diameter which conveniently sit just in the centre of the wheel. ( I have had the pads sometime, unused because they don't fit any of my axle stands!
I thought about using the O.E. clamp & using an additional wing nut on the extended thread of the bolt, with a washer arrangement like Steve Atkinson, that would enable me to make a support for a round ply floor filling the upturned wheel, but as my wheel is full of useful items & covered by a wheel carpet cover , didn't think it was worth the effort in creating a round piece of ply!
I have attached photos which show how i did it. The length of the clamp bolt / use of axle stand pads could be modified to suit variations in wheels & tyre sizes. Cheers, Charles