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My 2015 VS has 205mm five-bolt wheels with 165/80 R15 tires. I'd like to put a spare together that will work in a pinch on front or rear, yet fit comfortably in the frunk. The closer the fit to the normal tire, the better. Anyone out there been through this & happen to know just what wheel & tire combo will work? Thanks!

AMW

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Last edited by Starvn Marvn
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If your car's has a stock open differential then @Alan Merklin's or @James' suggestions are both great solutions (I especially like the painted 4" '66-'67 VW wheel, James!). A different size spare than the rear tires won't hurt anything, even if you had to drive on it a fair way- just be aware of the handling implications, since the spare will probably be shorter and (especially) narrower. I'm pretty sure you can't use a different size spare with a ZF limited slip diff (not that there's that many out there in Speedsterland- I think Stan's car is so equipped- anyone else?) but I do think (but don't know for sure so don't take my word for it) you may get away with a different size spare with a Quaife differential for a short distance.

If you're running a ZF or Quaife, the same size tires front and back and had to contend with a flat on the rear- a front tire swap to the back with the spare up front is the answer. You can drive all day if need be and you won't have to worry how far away the tire shop is. 

IaM-Ray posted:

That looks like a nice set up, I like the screw base it is a bit easier to use than a strap system which I have on mine but we flipped the tire to use the space to store items. 

@Gordon Nichols' spare is mounted upside down and uses a round lidded Tupperware (I think) container (with a bolt through the middle to hold everything down) to store stuff.  

Gordon, could you grace us with a pic?

Love the gas tank @James550! Did you have it made or was it in the car when you bought it? Any more pics?

Last edited by ALB

Here you go, Yoda:  Back when I carried a spare tire I flipped it upside down and dropped a Rubbermaid Condiment Tote (sometimes called a "Picnic Tote", bought at Walmart in the Storage or Housewares aisle) into the depression.  The tote is divided off into 4 or 5 separate compartments to put spare parts into and keep them from moving around.  There are two covers - One smaller, round one for the center compartment and another large one for the whole tote.  I just drilled a hole through the tote to accept the hold-down bolt.  The bottom of the bolt is a fancy "L" with a clevis-like attachment to the frunk floor.

I used the original donor spare tire hold-down bolt in the frunk to hold everything in place.  My spare came from a full-size, rear-wheel-drive 1978-1979 Cadillac Sedan deVille which was the only model and years that had a 16" spare with a 130mm bolt circle.  I pulled the spare, the hold-down, and a few other goodies from a salvage yard Caddie and it all cost me $10 bucks.

I had to delete the spare tire when I added my gas heater and lost the space to store it, but I still use the spare part tote in the Frunk because it is so handy.  The spare tire was mounted in the center and the bottom hung over where my heater now sits.  The heater sticks up far enough that the spare tire no longer allowed the hood to close.  I now carry a hole plug kit and a 12 Volt air compressor.  Sorry for the funky photos - Blame it on Powerpoint!

Layoutwheel carrier

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Do you guys remember the judge from Ohio? (John I think?) His car was a pale yellow and he called it Honey or Hunny or something.

Anyway, he took an old pitted 15 x 4 like above and sandblasted it and painted it silver. Then he grabbed a 110 or 120 section GM spacesaver spare tire and mounted it, then brought it to Carlisle and gave it to me. What a nice guy! It is still pitted and rough looking, but holds air. You know, doing what a spare does: be there when you need it.

Alan Merklin posted:

Has anyone had success with sandblasting wide fives that are rusty and pitted? Hate to buy new if these can be resurrected.

 

You may not have to blast to remove corrosion if you use a well tried and economical method of electrolysis to remove rust. Cheap, easy, eco friendly and I could find the recipe for anyone needing it. Washing soda ( not baking soda ) , water , a suitable sized pail , a piece of scrap steel to attract the corrosion and 12 v source of electricity. Dead easy and it works. 

Some rust is not easy to get to and I have what may be the last set of four Norseman Aircraft steel uncut lift struts still in my possession and they had slight rust on the inside of each 14' long steel lift strut. I made a bath big enough to hold one, did the process and bingo...like new. You can see the stencil on the outside of one....Summerhill Tube Company April 1944. Anyone on the list need four ? Offers over $10 k considered for the set. 

Alan Merklin posted:

Has anyone had success with sandblasting wide fives that are rusty and pitted? Hate to buy new if these can be resurrected.

 

As long as a wheel hasn't rusted away to the point you're questioning it's strength it should be fine. The bead area normally doesn't rust that much, having had the tire to protect it for much of it's life. If you think that after a coat or 2 of paint the pitting along the rim edge is too deep, brush a heavy coat (or even 2) just on the sealing surfaces before spraying the final coat.

A BIG THANKS to all who contributed to the spare tire solution. Took the aggregate advice & purchased a new 4.5" wide-five wheel from JBugs & a 135 - 15 tire from Amazon. It's a close fit for sure & the 'sweet spot' where the spare fits & the lock mechanism works properly is very small with 22 PSI in the tire. (Curious why the ideal location is not dead center on the floor). I drilled thru the floor & outfitted hold-down hardware using the Greg Leach twin eye-bolt method shown herein. Used a piece of angle for the crossbar & dipped it in vinyl to add a little grip & avoid scratching the wheel, then mounted the spare upside down for a little more stowage. The frunk mechanism works well as long as the spare stays perfectly fixed. My only concern now is that the tire could move slightly when taking a hard bump or a quick turn & possibly pop the lid wide open... creating a nightmare situation. I will likely take a couple pounds of pressure out of the tire just to be cautious. The weatherman is predicting a 60 degree day here in SE PA today & I am dying to take 'the car out for another spin. Above all, I gotta tell you guys something you all must obviously know already. This car is an absolute riot to drive. It's much more fun than a barrel of monkeys & any of the 6 nice 911's I've enjoyed driving over the past 40 years. My goal was to get myself back to the 1950's sportscar driving experience one last time. You know... the feel, sound, & aroma that Porsche's NVH engineers have all but completely designed out of the car. This little pipsqueak-on-wheels has accomplished just that. I actually laugh out loud again every time I go thru the gears. Tom Buchanan... this VS is a gas & a half.

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Back-on-the-road Starvn wrote:  "The frunk mechanism works well as long as the spare stays perfectly fixed."

Usually they have to be slightly towards the front or the tire will sit on the gas tank and hit the hood up nearer to the gas tank, which sticks up above the floor.  

To alleviate the spare moving down towards the front, I added a piece of 2" X 2" X 12" long aluminum angle stock that is pressed up against the bottom (front) of the tire to keep it in place when braking - just like a chock block.  That's held in place with a couple of 1/4 X 20 stainless bolts through the frunk floor (I used carriage head bolts to look nice and not deface the tire).  It won't go anywhere with that in place.

ALB posted:

I'm betting, Ray, if it's an original tank, complete with the petcock below the dash, that the reserve tank function works...

I think your right AL, I forgot how mine worked but here is a pict Auf & Zu

It probably simply was a height oriented feed rather than a part moving in the tank.  Simple but effective and I had to use it once  I have to admit as a kid?student I found the bottom on a lot of cars and even my 2004 IM with the TypeI tank.. the gauge was a pain at best. 

When I built my new IM I never thought of doing an original tank but had one custom made in aluminun that was placed lower and ahead of the 911 suspension but protected by the square tube frame.  It holds 15 US gal or 45 liters. I still miss the originality of the 356A and petcock but I have a huge trunk now.  

iu

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Last edited by IaM-Ray
Alan Merklin posted:
WOLFGANG posted:

I've used that hammer finish spray paint on rusty parts and it looks great.

There's an idea

Have you heard of a Rust convertor called EVAPO-Rust 

I use it all the time... If you can dip it in there or simply soak the area for X hours or days it really makes a nice job.  You can help it along with a wire brush and restore just about anything and you can reuse it. 

I would do all the rim seams with it and wire brush them and when you are satisfied use whatever rust prevention paint you want and they look like new. 

On some areas I have to sand as well if you are unwilling to wait.  IF you soak for a week anything can get fully converted if no grease is present . 

This is what I used to get the Hockey game fully restored.  It is NOT an Acid. 

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