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MG MG Y Type spare wheel cover restraining chains BBS discussion at MG-Cars.info
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MG MG Y Type - spare wheel cover restraining chains
| Hi All
When i bought my Y type the spare wheel cover was restrained by two pieces of ex army webbing material, and it has to be said it worked very well and was very gentle on the back bumper , however not very original. So I thought I would replace them with some chains as per original. Would someone be kind enough to give me the dimensions please, length and diameter would be great , a photo of the type of chain even better. In fact while you are at it a photo of each side of the cover would be excellent . Sorry folks that was a simple request that expanded as I went along ! Many thanks as always John B |
| J K Bowman |
| John I can go one better than supplying you with dimensions, for the cost of postage (and an optional donation to the IMGYTR) I will mail you a pair of original ones. Paul |
| Paul Barrow |
| Paul You are a scholar and a gentleman sir, thank you. How much is the postage any idea ? John |
| J K Bowman |
| Hi Paul and John, This is on my list too. While I do have a pair of chains, I have no idea if these are original or near so, or of an appropriate length. Paul , could you post a pic please with length? regards Kevin M. |
| K G Mills |
| 22 inches Kevin. John - I have not yet sent your pair. Do you have the mounting plate on the boot lid and the anchor point at the boot lip? Paul 
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| Paul Barrow |
| Paul I think we have got our wires crossed here . I was talking about the spare wheel cover chains not the boot or trunk lid . The chains are held by some little hooks into drilled holes in the surround and into the back of the cover itself. Are these the chains you thought you had or not ? John |
| J K Bowman |
| Got you - yes the chains are lighter weight but I do not have a spare pair. They are secured in place by a smaller version of these kind of clips - do not know what they are called though - https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/page/A384DA02-5F49-4C0A-8E4A-A1199360FE41?store_ref=SB_A03913703A6A85GFLVZL7&pf_rd_p=ebcffcde-990d-4797-a844-d69962f5c0c3&aaxitk=Gnec0GszqusFVy9RW9.aoQ&hsa_cr_id=9196317020202&lp_asins=B01FZ9OHU4&lp_mat_key=id%20badge%20clip&lp_query=conference%20id%20badge%20clips&lp_slot=auto-sparkle-hsa-tetris&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_td_bkgd&productGridPageIndex=1
Any one know the official name of these clips? The car end is secured through a small hole drilled in the return lip (not the trough of the lip) on the top 3/4 of the SWC opening. The other end of the chain is also similarly secured through a small hole in the SWC lid. Paul |
| Paul Barrow |
| Hi John, here is a picture of mine which I'm sure is an original. The over all length is exactly 12 inches which includes the clips on both ends. The chain is covered in what appears to be rexine type material. Unfortunately I cannot expose the chain without destroying the cover, due to it's age it is very brittle. I trust this will be of some help for you to create something very similar. Terry Y 2866 
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| T J Ciantar |
| Paul, thanks for the offer anyway. I've actually bought some clips, got them off ebay and they are called :- Snap Hooks -Spring clips for lanyard key rings. They are available in various sizes I guessed at 23mms when I ordered mine. Terry , thank you also for the info and photograph am guessing its a flat chain about 3/8 ins across? Seems as if someone in the household who can sew is also needed!!! Ive got some leather cloth handy. Cheers for now John |
| J K Bowman |
| Yes John you are correct, it is a flat type chain and would be very close to 3/8" wide. All the best and stay safe. |
| T J Ciantar |
| John or Kevin: if you want any genuine rexine for an “original” look, I kept plenty when I replaced my entire interior trim. Happy to send you a piece, foc of course. It’s the reddish-brown colour. Yours, John. |
| J P Hall |
| Hi all,
pics of some more chains. Please excuse the photography. seems my chains here could be original. L is compatible with 12 inches since mine have no clips. Link size (width) is 7/16 inches. Yes J P. I will be looking for a suitable piece of rexine, but I do have quite a lot of vinyl, as the guy doing my body work bought a roll to make the wing piping.(colour is red and woukd be similar to body, not black as LTBY's reports.) Is vinyl ~ rexine anyway? Re the stitching, it seems the fabric was simply lapped , being too stiff to turn out after stitching. Is that correct? 
 |
| K G Mills |
| I did find an original pair of SWC lid chains in my pile of junk last night. It even has some of the original cover on it but it is not Rexine. It is leather and tightly sewn to the chain. The 23mm snap hooks are ideal- I found these on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23mm-Snap-Hooks-Spring-Clips-for-Lanyard-Keyrings-Caribiner-Buckle-Keychain/152527235357? - as the originals were 1 inch long. Paul |
| Paul Barrow |
| I will probably buy these (sadly smallest qty I found so far is 80 and I need 4!!) https://www.amazon.com/Lanyard-Spring-Jewelry-Basics-Zipper/dp/B08G4XHD65/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=23mm%2Bsnap%2Bhook%2Bid%2Bbadge%2Blanyard&qid=1601400346 ... so if 19 other people need some ... Paul |
| Paul Barrow |
| Paul I managed to buy 5 ,will check on the supplier for you. Are your spare wheel cover spare chains on offer as we discussed earlier in the thread ? Because I still need them John |
| J K Bowman |
| Paul The ebay no. for the snap hooks is 152527235357 and the sellers name is brand_fire he or she is based in Rochdale ,Lancashire. UK. They sell them in 5s as a minimum cost me £1.59.Hope this helps . John |
| J K Bowman |
| Jim - thanks for the lead on the snap hooks. The originals I have are not for sale as they are so rusty the first time you suspended the weight of an SWC lid from them they would snap. They are useful only really for examples of the original chain. The one in the picture in an earlier post is quite close though especially when covered in the leather or rexine sheath. Paul |
| Paul Barrow |
| Paul OK thanks anyway , guess its back to the internet then . There is plenty of chain about just not quite the right pattern .Actually since its covered anyway what the hell does it matter. John (not Jim ) |
| J K Bowman |
| Paul I can confirm that the chains where covered in leather (not rexine). Anton |
| Anton Piller |
| Anton Thank you for that info John B |
| J K Bowman |
| John The color of the leather wrapping was black. Because my local upholsterer did not have any leather, he (wrongly) used leather cloth, after asking me :o( Anton 
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| Anton Piller |
| Anton Thank you for the photos ,I assume the boot lid chains are the same as the spare wheel cover, but slightly smaller in width. Paul said they were leather as well and originally all black as stated in LTBYs. Better get thin leather or the family sewing machine will be out of bounds to me! Cheers John |
| J K Bowman |
| Yes John they are. The covering though is a very tight wrap and stitch with a very narrow stitched edge. Paul |
| Paul Barrow |
| Paul It seems the best I can hope for is to sew up a tube and thread the chain afterwards, just have to be as tight as I can I guess. John |
| J K Bowman |
| If you do that, place a length of string in the tube before you sew it up so you can attach the chain to one end and then use it as a "Pull Through". Paul |
| Paul Barrow |
| Booth lid chain
Paul and all other Gentlemen, I have to appoligise about my recent statement that the booth lid chain used to be wrapped in leather. It was actually covered in leather cloth - see attached photo of a piece of original material together with the original 1/2" wide chain. The wrapping of this booth lid chain was quite a loose fit. Alas, the two photos, I used with my thread of September 30. show the correct set-up and are good for reverence - even though the accompanying text is incorrect! The chain arrangement of the spare wheel lid was a completely differnt story - see the subsequent threads. I had handled this topic many years ago and at the time was dealing with two different upholsterers/trimmers. This is why I probably mixed things up a bit recently :o) Anton 
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| Anton Piller |
| Spare Wheel lid chain 1 Contrary to the booth lid chains, the 3/8" wide spare wheel lid chains were covered tightly in leather. See attached photographs and follow-up thread. Anton 
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| Anton Piller |
| Spare wheel lid chain 2 The photographs show new chains that are nearly identical to the original 3/8" ones. Probably a leather covering was used to better protect the bumper, when the lid is opened.... Anton 
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| Anton Piller |
| Paul and Anton Thanks for all the info gentlemen. I think I have tracked down a leather supplier but I was under the impression that the boot lid chains were covered in rubber tube. Of course we have to remember this was the early 1950s so they probably used what they could get. Happy days John B |
| J K Bowman |
This thread was discussed between 21/09/2020 and 06/10/2020
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