Spare wheel position

[AlRaven]

I’ve been advised that the spare is better located centred behind the fuel tank. Obviously this would need some secure strapping, is there a kit for this or is it purely a home made solution and if so, any recommendations?

[steviegtr]

Hi Yes that is where mine is located , see pics. The top holders are attached to the 2 fixings that hold the rear firewall in position. Not sure about the bottom 2. The roof still fits in perfectly as well.
Steve.

[sixor8]

I've had ones with the fixings against the fuel tank and also over to the right. The only advantage I experienced was that you could put the roof in the boot without having to take the spare out first.

My 'newest' Chimaera was a W reg (2000) one and both that and my current Griff don't even have a spare. I think they weren't supplied after about 1999.

[BritishTvr450]

Correct. They supplied you with a can of tyre weld.
Given the original spec hard tyres last forever it’s no surprise they went for the tyre weld
There are two steel band type straps that hold the fuel tank in place.
The lugs for wheel straps look like they are being held by the bolts for the tank straps.

[PabloGee]

@Al - do you have a spare in there already?

I ask because mine is located in the back corner, and I find it perfectly easy to get the roof in.
It's held in by one strap and nothing around the fuel tank, though to be fair it's easy enough to loosen the tank straps and pull the tank forwards to get to the chassis bolts (although sometimes used as an earth, especially for boot-mounted batteries).

I haven't tried putting a roof into one with the spare in the middle though, so I have no comparison.

Just thought I'd mention it...

[steviegtr]

Not sure about the bottom fixings . But the top ones are for holding the rear firewall in position. Not the Fuel tank. When I had mine out it's just those 2 top bolts & the firewall comes out exposing the rear bulkhead where the speakers are. The cavity between firewall & bulkhead is about 4 ". Which can be seen on my youtube video's. That one is about fixing a faulty fuel guage sender.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxEUtyoHqn...
Steve.

[BritishTvr450]

You might find the bolt fixing points for your rear bulkhead or firewall are the top fixing points for the Petrol tank straps me old mate.
Have you actually checked what’s holding your tank in place at the top?
I might be wrong as Tvr are often built differently from one and other but they look suspiciously inline with the tank strap fixings.
It’s quite easy to assertain where the straps are by looking below the car roughly inline with your bulkhead top bolt positions and you should find two bolts with nuts on the end poking through the boot floor, they hold the tank straps at the bottom!

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Not much help..
...but when I changed my Chimaera for one without a spare wheel I just chucked the wheel & jack from the old car in the boot of the next car. This I did for successive Chimaera with no fittings & no harm done.

[BritishTvr450]

steviegtr said:

Not sure about the bottom fixings . But the top ones are for holding the rear firewall in position. Not the Fuel tank. When I had mine out it's just those 2 top bolts & the firewall comes out exposing the rear bulkhead where the speakers are. The cavity between firewall & bulkhead is about 4 ". Which can be seen on my youtube video's. That one is about fixing a faulty fuel guage sender.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqxEUtyoHqn...
Steve.

Have you worked out what holds the spare wheel mounts at the top. It would be good to know so we can all understand how to mount the wheel more centrally as that’s surely a better balanced position.
I think the reason why Tvr did away with the spare wheel ( unless specifically asked for from the customer) was because the cars are so light on the tyres as to make it rather dangerous to run it on the spare wheel other than to get the car to a safe place to then replace the punctured tyre.
My car never came with a spare wheel and has no strap connecting lugs fitted either in the corner or centrally but did have a bottle of 10 year old tyre weld.
The car was 10 years old when I bought it.
I then bought another bottle which is now 15 years old

[AlRaven]

Apologies for delay and thanks for all the guidance - seems like quite a few variations (typical TVR). My spare is currently tucked into the right hand side, where there are two small D rings to retain it with a strap/bungee cord. I was just interested as getting the roof in/out has become more difficult with a bad back. I'll investigate the fixings further.......

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

AlRaven said:

Apologies for delay and thanks for all the guidance - seems like quite a few variations (typical TVR). My spare is currently tucked into the right hand side, where there are two small D rings to retain it with a strap/bungee cord. I was just interested as getting the roof in/out has become more difficult with a bad back. I'll investigate the fixings further.......

My loose spare wheel was rested upright in the middle parallel to the back of the boot (horizontal as you look at it from the rear of the car. When the roof was stowed (which was mostly ) the roof held the spare in place.

[PabloGee]

You must be the smoothest driver

I'd have that crashing around in the boot on the roundabouts!

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

PabloGee said:

You must be the smoothest driver

I'd have that crashing around in the boot on the roundabouts!

I am! Or, the g forces pinned it.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

PabloGee said:

I'd have that crashing around in the boot on the roundabouts!

On one famous occasion (when I was very young & very stupid) I went round a big roundabout in Nottingham seeing how much noise & smoke I could make. I had just exited when a police car with blues & twos stopped me. Officer: "I didn't see you, but I heard you...don't be a tt".

Don't try this at home kids.

Edited by 2 sMoKiN bArReLs on Thursday 26th September 19:42

[PabloGee]