Spaced out

So it turned out the spare wheel didn’t fit on the rear door with the new 285/75/R16 Cooper, so I need to make up a spacer for the tyre carrier.

Marine ply seemed like a good solution, its easy to shape, pretty durable and it was the right thickness.

First job, cut it to size.

Then add a cutout for the supporting bracket on the carrier, and drill holes for the three wheel studs, and locating nubbin.

Couple of coats of black Hammerite, should be pretty resistant to water ingress and prevent de-lamination.

The carrier had some thin felt on top of the supporting bracket to help stop scratching the rim when lifting the wheel on and off. I’d pulled the felt off because it had gone manky, and I wanted to repaint a few rusty bits on the carrier. I cut up some old radiator hose and used that in place of the felt.