What about a tow hitch like this:
http://new.minimania.com/part/G2NMX6...58-59-Cooper-S

and a spare wheel carrier like this:
http://www.etrailer.com/question-18741.html

 

Thanks for providing those links!

Yes, I have looked at this but it requires significant modification of the bumper if I understand it well otherwise I'm not sure how it fits an S model with the middle exhaust. I hope for a solution I can remove entirely and not see it.


. . . I would actually be okay making a cut in the bumper if it wasn't always there when I remove the attachment. Though simple (and yet expensive) none of these solutions are very elegant unfortunately, imo


I'm not aware of this hardware option though it seems there is still much work to fit it to an S.

 

I just wish that someone made a collapsible spare that would fit. Like they have for Porsches, just somewhat affordable.

 

Yes and No . . . As I come to understand the reality of using a spare tire, fitting the spare tire is actually less of a problem than fitting the flat one.
While it is great to not have the spare tire take the space that could be use for packing on long trips, it is far greater that the flat tire + its wheel can actually be brought back and not left on the side of the road... ha ha

 

I wish I knew what anchoring points under the car these guys were using :

 

I think the video is more of an advertisement to sell you a custom hitch that they will build and install for you as opposed to a DIY video! They don't really show you any shots of the underside of the car, the video is sped up in spots and there is no sound (at least there was none on my ipad)!
I believe that the car is also not a roadster but a cooper S convertible , not sure if it matters.
Although it does show me a way to do this that I didn't think of before!

Now that we have the car, I'm annoyed to see the amount of wasted space under the trunk, it seems that the exhaust could have been routed to the side and a spare tire fitted underneath with no loss of trunk space!
Or even a wheel well to allow a spare to stand upright on either side of the trunk. I haven't got down and measured things so I could be wrong!

We're going to Alantic City In a couple of weeks so I'll get a spare and just throw it in the trunk for now .

Steve

 

Earlier this year, when I was investigating the GP2 rear diffuser and straight exhaust for my Justa Roadster, I took some pics of the rear underbody so that I could confirm with the installer that the exhaust hanger mounting points were identical to the S and JCW. In fact, they are...and that ended up facilitating my unique exhaust mod (pictured in other threads).

Here's one of the exploratory pics. As you can see, on the Justa Roadster there is a space on the left that is normally enclosed by a plastic panel. There would be plenty of room for a donut space here if someone wanted to exploit it with some sort of creative mount.

 

I figured it was more of an advertisement but I was hoping the owner night be on NAM with some luck

I went and look under the chassis a few times. There's an option to mount something where the exhaust hangers are but it is very hard to tell how strong that point is.
That's why I'm very interested to see where they attached that hitch as it is obviously to the sides... but where?

Could you share the link to that other post again? thanks


.

 

[QUOTE



I went and look under the chassis a few times. There's an option to mount something where the exhaust hangers are but it is very hard to tell how strong that point is.
That's why I'm very interested to see where they attached that hitch as it is obviously to the sides... but where?

Could you share the link to that other post again? thanks


.[/QUOTE]

On the left and right there are holes in the body that could be used to mount the brackets to support the cross member that the tow receiver welds to, although I would question how much weight they would support!
I only looked at them from underneath tho.

Steve

 

This photo shows the driver's side rail (with the bolt holes) to which the rear exhaust hangers attach, looking forward and to the left. There's an identical rail on the passenger side.

It seems to be a pretty solid component of the underbody construction.



---

 

Yes, I think I saw these location also. I was not sure how strong it was either. I'm sure if I could mount to multiple location at once it would be stronger as well.

parentheses: what's the goo on the metal? Obviously I noticed it as well. Is that for sound dampening?

 

The factory undercoating...with a little bit of Chili Red over-spray.

 

I was not taking about the color but the gummy material. Just curious what it's for... It's obviously not paint.

 

By the way, gil-galad, we were talking about the same mounting points. My memory was at fault

Here was a good picture showing what you show me but how I remembered it with the exhaust hangers:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...86-post15.html


.

 

Random question: Do we have a jack in our car somewhere?

I'm putting together a FML kit (lol) and want to make sure I don't leave anything out.

DIY Kit will include:
--Repair tools and plugs:

--Air Compressor (still deciding)
--Tire Iron and Jack if not hidden in the car already
--Can of Slime in case all else has failed
--Jumper cables
--Flares, flash/headlight, etc.

Also, has anyone had experience with the compressor in this kit?

 

In the boot under the carpet liner close to the bumper is the jack and some tools.

I keep a plugging kit and portable compressor in the boot.

 

Okay, despite my hitch receiver end being crooked, which I'm waiting for some feedback from Outmotoring, I've started to take some measurement for the project. The intent being to create a dimensional prototype:

 

Okay, so I got the new hitch receiver today. Much better than the first one.
The install of the hitch receiver is now complete at it's great!

To top it off, and as planned, I fully concealed it cutting out the bumper just so when my custom cap is on you could not tell it is modified





I used some REN shape material and some special SEM epoxy I had on hand





And here is the comparison between the crooked hitch receiver and the new one. It actually worse than it looks on this photograph




Now I've started to work on the project itself by placing pieces in CAD

 

Great job on the concealed hitch! You can't see the seam in the black honey comb at all! I'm guessing you have access to the pin above the tailpipe, did you have to modify that or is there room to get the pin in and out?
Your job seems to give you access to geat toys to make the designing and fabrication job easier! I have a background in engineering but I do all my stuff the way I was taught back in the day before computers, rulers ,pencil,old style drafting methods !
Anyway, it looks great, make sure you can open the trunk with the spare on

Steve

 

The compressor I went with is a Viair 87P. It works great, I've used it really quick after getting it as my brand new Michelin PSS's picked up a small nail. It also comes with a bag to store it in as well. I'm really happy with it.

 

Thanks Steve, I pretty happy with it. It turn out well.
I didn't have to modify anything. I used a bolt rather than a pin for now and especially to hold that "hitch cap" in place without any unwanted noise. I'll probably replace it with some stainless steel fasteners at some point. You can't really reach the pin hole while crouching. You sort of have to go under the car to put it on due to the Exhaust shield being in the way, but it's really not that bad. I lay on my back and I can fit my head and arms easily. If the car was lowered it would require an extra step to lift it.



Quick update by the way... the other day I found out that my slim kit had leaked. Thankfully it was in its bag so nothing spilled on the car. The kit was place flat under the seat. I think with the vibration made it leak. I put it back vertically. We'll see but It doesn't inspire trust...

 

Hi guys/gals,

Im looking at buying a spare donught... and the seller has a under car bracket system sold with it. I saw that by removing the plastic rear bumper cover there was a space for the donught. BTW, I just have a plain Roadster non S model. Have any of you figured out if you can fit a spare there?

Spare 2 by APDspider, on Flickr

Spare 1 by APDspider, on Flickr

 

I think that the bracket system is designed to be bolted to the 3 studs that are seen on post 60 in this thread, I believe that this is the way the spare was mounted on the original minis that came with a spare.
It should work on a justa roadster but not the S models because the muffler is in the way.
I'm not positive about this but I think I read that the under car spare tire mount would work on non S roadsters.

Steve

 

All of those hitch options shown above attach to the rear bumper mounts.

That European only system is very similar to the MiniFini system. BTW, MiniFini provided the dealer installable bike rack option back in the Gen1 days.

They have a spare tire attachment as well.

http://www.minifini.com/details.php?...47&category=11

MiniFini is pricey, but I think it is the most aesthetically pleasing.

 

Okay, so I'm hoping to go on a road trip in early July so I had to switch gears from working on the bike rack design to make more significant progress on the spare wheel hitch mount. It's not as compact as I started with but it's moving forward at least. I haven't had a tone of time these last months so I had to make some concessions...

The design is done, the aluminum and stainless steel material as well as fasteners/hardware are in hand, the drawings are complete . . . now I have to start cutting and machining all this: