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MG MGA - Spare Tire Size

Good Morning,

When I bought the tires for my MGA (1960 1600 Tourer), I bought 5 Kumho power star 758s in size 165/80R15 mounted on new Dayton 15X4.5 wires. Now that the car is nearing completion I have discovered the spare will not slip all the way into its slot in the boot. I visited with one noted expert who indicated he forced his into place the first time, and thereafter had no trouble.

I am not so willing to force into my new carpet, etc. What size tires have y'all successfully fitted into the spare tire position?

Thx!

JMG
John Greenlee

John,
The new tires are a tight fit but will go into the slot. It does take some wiggling up and down to get it in. Don't be afraid and give it a try. Have a good day!

John
John Progess

Same here John, I got my 165 to fit with a bit of jiggling, but my carpet recess is a bit older and looser. Some folk get over the problem by deflating the tyre and carrying a pump to re-inflate it. If you do this, make sure you NEVER "borrow" the pump from your "A". You will be very cross if you need your spare and find the pump gone!
Lindsay Sampford

I do the same as Lindsay. I install the tyre in the boot (trunk) partially deflated. I have found that I can then inflate it once installed as it seems easier to pull out rather than push in (as the art mistress said to the gardener). Alternatively, carry an original Sutty pump and inflate when you take it out.

Remember that the slot was designed for the slimmer cross-ply tyres of the 50s/early 60s.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I use the same Kumho tires as you but only buy in sets of 4. The spare is always the best 155 15 I can find in my junk. Never needed a spare in 35 years of A ownership. I find that tires get old before they wear out. Old tires make good spares. I think fate is on my side, as long as I have a spare I wont need one. I am not brave enough to leave it out though.
R J Brown

I also have 165s, but I never tried to force mine into the opening. I just figured I have a bonus "smuggler's space" behind the stowed top.
David Breneman

Strange, mine fits no problems - just needs a good shove
dominic clancy

Well I have had my roadster for about 3 years and have just learned something about my spare wheel fitting that has solved a couple of other niggling problems I have had since I bought it.

I have always been short of legroom in the car and I have had problems preventing the soft top frame from digging into the back of the seats when it is folded down.

I was speaking to Les at Bob West's, discussing the possibility of having some special leather covers made to fit over the folded part of the metal soft top frame where they rest near the back of the seats, so that they would be prevented from rubbing the into the leather.

Les gave me a strange look and asked me to open the boot lid, which I did. He then took hold of the spare wheel, lifted the back of it a little and pushed it very firmly into the slot and it moved a couple more inches inside the car.
Then he asked me to fold the soft top again and to my suprise it folded even further behind the seats and the ends of the frame just folded neatly down flush against the panel.

I then found that I could also move the seat back another notch!

Maybe I should have mentioned this to him 3 years ago!

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Colyn
Are you saying that if the spare is pushed further towards the seats, there is more room behind the seats? Not being sarcastic, just trying to understand how that works.
I was toying with the idea of dumping the spare wheel and just carrying a can of tyre weld instead - has anyone had experience with tyre weld? It would mean a lot more room in the boot.
Graham M V

I think that the answer is that the hood bows/assembly can be stowed a little further back (I have to push mine quite firmly over the protruding carpet-covered 165 x 15 spare wheel/tyre). I have become used to doing this to avoid the hood bows digging into the rear of the seats. I answered a thread about "tyre weld" some time ago and was ridiculed by a couple of MGA "experts" despite my having said that I had first hand experience with it working (even, once, with a Cherokee-six aircraft)! I carry a can in all of my cars, not normally for the sake of space, but to avoid jacking the car up and banging away at wheels on the side of the road! For me, it is a "get home" strategy where I can change the wheel in my shed with better facilities, etc.
Barry Bahnisch

Colyn and Steve, I know what you mean about the hood bows and the hinged part sticking into the seat. This had already happened when I first got the car, and fortunately, the seats needed re-covering anyway. The previous owner had not had a clamp for the spare wheel, and so it just sat loose in the boot, not pushed into the recess. If there is no spare wheel to support the carpet section that protrudes behind the seats, there is nothing to support the centre of the hood bows, the hood bows then flop down pushing the hinged portion forward toward the seat backs. The presence of the spare wheel in its recess is vital to the correct stowing of the hood.
Lindsay Sampford

Graham, Lyndsay and Barry have explained it very well.

By pushing the spare wheel fully into the slot and angling it slightly downwards towards the back of the seats this allows the hood frame and hood to slip further back into the the space behind the seats above the spare wheel.

The hood bows then lie flush along the chassis instead of sticking out and tearing holes in the leather seat piping.
The bonus is I can move the seat back a notch too.

I suppose I have lost a bit of stowage space behind the seats but there is now more space in the boot too so its no real loss.

It looks like I will have to search for a clamp for the spare wheel to keep it in its correct position.

( Finally, just when you think you are getting to know pretty much everything about MGAs, someone puts you in your place! Thanks Les! )

Colyn
Colyn Firth

I don't think anyone on here wants to put others in their place Colyn! The object of this site is not to show-off ones supposed superior knowledge, but to share observations and help others to avoid pitfalls.
P.S. that clamp IS important!
Lindsay Sampford

I’m led to believe that there are two types of hood frame one being an after market frame ( mine ) that doesn’t fold back as well as maybe it should, you can tell the difference as in the semi erect (no intent) position the original frame will fold back over the rear body where as the after market one won't, I’m sure someone can confirm this or indeed tell me if I’ve been given some duff information, Vin
Vin Rafter

Sorry Lyndsay, I didnt mean to imply that anyone on the forum had put me in my place, everyone has been just brilliant with me and have put up with my warped sense of humour for quite a while now.

I was really saying that I thought I was beginning to get on top of the MGA subject and then a real expert like Les at Bob West's looks at a problem I have had with the car for 3 years and in 30 seconds fixes it!

I think the expression is " Humbled"

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Colyn, it wasn't until I had posted that I realised who the "Les" was that you mentioned at the end.
I found out about the hood frame by chancs really. I obtained a wheel clamp to replace the missing one on my car, but had a job to fit it because the wheel wouldn't push all the way into the recess, this proved to be due to the hood being in the way. I lifted the hood up, pushed the wheel fully home and fitted the clamp, and hey-presto, when I lowered the hood, its centre hung on top of the spare wheel and the hinges on the sides swung down and away from the backs of the seats. Just shows that everything on an MGA is there for a purpose, clever people they had at BMC!
Lindsay Sampford

You are absolutely right there Lyndsay, whoever designed the folding hood frame so that it folded away like it does, taking into the account the spare wheels intrusion into the car etc etc, they must have been a genius!
There was no "Computer Aided Design (CAD) in those days either, the designer must have had an inbuilt CAD ability and been able to mentally visualise just how the hood would fold away. Amazing.

Yes, definitely very clever people they had at Abingdon back then!

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Vin, -- I trust your hood frame is original issue. There are two different types of hood frame. The early on will stand straight up without holding it in place, and does not hinge rearward when raised. The later one has difficulty being self-supporting, and it will hinge rearward considerably over the body tonneau. See here: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/top/top108b.htm
Barney Gaylord

Aha! I see what you mean. Thanks very much for explaining.
graham
Graham M V

I deflated the tire and slid it into place before reflating. Worked great except I managed to tear about 6" of the seam of the boot spare tire cover. Arghh!! Sewed it by hand and it looks pretty good.

I still need a spare tire clamp. Anybody can part with one?

BTW does the spare tire packing make a difference in fit? I have been unsure whether and how to install it as I installed a boot carpet kit for noise abatement.

Thx!

JMG
John Greenlee

Many thanks everybody - I have had this exact problem with my spare and 'stupid' hood frame for the last 13 years. Tomorrow we make a fresh start!

The original tyre was of course a 155 width Dunlop Gold Seal crossply not the 165 we all appear to be using now.
Pete
Pete Tipping

JMG -- As regards your original problem -- getting the fully inflated tyre into the carpetted hole.
I overcome this by first putting the wheel(with fully inflated tyre) into a large black plastic bin-liner type of bag. This will then slide easily into the hole rather than the tyre dragging against the carpet. Worth a try.
David
D C GRAHAME

John, on my Coupe restoration I used a 145 in order to make more room in the trunk. It's like a space saver spare. It would fit easily.

Andy
Andy Preston

This thread was discussed between 08/09/2010 and 21/09/2010

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