You can't use the donut on a JCW w/o taking the back tire off to put on the front if it goes flat...

 

I know but we don't have a JCW

btw, this is designed to support a full size wheel if I ever upgrade the brakes. It wasn't designed for that per say. It was designed to be able to hold the flat tire and wheel on it. Though it'll require a spacer and a set of longer screws. That is truly the only hardware I haven't spec yet . . .

 

Common, I need a little encouragement here

Finally got some time after work to start cutting the parts... it's going pretty well so far... if I can only find more time...

Oh and Designed and custom ordered a cover for the spare tire... that'll be the cherry on the cake

 

This is very impressive. Clearly you're a man with considerable skills on a mission! ;-)

 

thx . . . I do want to get this done

 

Nice work. I'll bet you could sell several of these on the aftermarket.

 

Thanks Gil!
Wouldn't that be nice . . . but selling is a bit of a different story with regulation and such so for now let see how it is going to workout

That said I went back to the shop today and made some good progress

 

Excellent! I need one.

 

I guess I'm going to need an order list . . .

Since I'm putting the time into it I thought I might as well doing it right.
So right now everything is premium materials (Aluminum, Stainless steel) and uses fasteners over welding so it isn't particularly inexpensive

Next generation could be made with more cost effective construction and materials but it won't last as long as this one.

I should keep track of how much I spent so far for reference...

 

Looking good, you've got quite the well equipped shop there!
I'm jealous��
I'm looking forward to see the finished product with tire cover, you'll have the classiest roadster out there!

Steve

 

Just don't. I tried tracking the cost of a DIY job at home once. When it got to triple what I thought it would cost I stopped...

 

Steve,
I do a lot of mixed material modeling and prototype in my line of work so our shop is a necessity, which is filled with a ton of different things. We never know what we will be using when starting a modeling effort so the variety is convenient. I'm in industrial and consumer product design and development


. . . I know what you mean!

But on this I really wanted to know to evaluate the potential for lower cost


. . . And so far it's not terrible, especially considering the cost of let's say a plastic mirror cover from BMW for example:

$256 worth of materials (The 36" stainless steel square tubing being the most expensive item at about $70, but I didn't use it entirely). A lot of this cost could be lessen by cheaper material and fasteners.

$85.56 worth of tools (I had to buy lug bolt M14X1.25 tap, and some high quality drill bits for precise machining so the whole thing doesn't make a tone of noise)

Oh and I almost forgot the $160 of custom tire cover. That one is a bit pricey! but hey with all this time I'm putting into this I wasn't going to let the last, external and visible touch feel cheap. Plus that's retail pricing. That person makes a living from this so...


.

 

Okay!..... first test fit...!!!!

 

Nice work! One question though, what about your rear license plate? Doesn't that have to be visible?

 

Yes it does!


Funny story about the license plate . . . So all along the plan was to move the license plate in front of the wheel (mind you I may have to figure out if lighting is a lawful necessity which I may have to address). But this last weeks I've been crazy busy and I was still trying to get this project done.
Next thing you know I'm designing a custom cover and the license plate completely escaped me during the design process, that until I put the wheel on for testing last night . . .

Luckily it looks like my design for the cover might be able to work still. But I won't know for sure until I have it in hand.

 

+1

 

That really looks good , clean and compact, excellent work!
From the side view pics it looks like if the tire is in a vertical position the trunk still has room to open, eliminating the need for a pivot, although the pivot givesyou more access to the trunk, you da man with the ruler tho��
After designing and building this,the license plate solution could be done in your sleep!

Again very impressive and inspiring to see a solution to a problem be well thought out and executed!

Steve

 

Where's the 18" rim!?? :p

 

Where they belong . . . on the pavement . . .
But really, I don't need to haul the extra weight around

 

I was thinking... A great Retro-MOD Continental Tire Cover Large enough for a full size wheel and tire) color matched to the car, would be a great add on, make a quick release and attach for the Licences Plate with lights and that would be a real add-on for long road trips.

I like it...

Motor on!

 

Thx Steve for all the compliments! Like any thing custom it always takes a lot of time. Actually it doesn't necessarily take a tone less time than creating products for consumers (except for the decision making process which is a tone shorter and easier, no client to please but myself , not mentioning my clients often look for some form of logical data to make the decision for them which doesn't always help...) so it has been quite a bit of work so far and I'm happy to here some feedback

By the way it takes just a little more space than the vertical to clear the door swaying fully open. But it could have been done. I just wanted this to stay really compact as you said. From the construction it is very solid so the wheel doesn't really move so I'm happy with that. I wasn't sure how much flex I would get and truly there isn't any. . . now I do have to fix rattle from the hitch loose tolerances. It shouldn't be too hard.

I do like the retro look but for this Mini I wanted to stay a bit modern but I here you, it would have been pretty cool. . . I have a custom cover on order so we'll see how it turns out. If I don't like it there are a few good possibilities left

Lastly, I currently investigating ways to do a quick plate release with lighting so you're right on!

 

Okay so I'm leaving in about a week on a 2,000 miles road trip.
I've made some progress and it's getting close to be done.
All is left is the lighting... Yes!

I did a quick test drive yesterday for the first time (since the plate mount is done) and everything felt very solid which is great! No rattle or noises. Sweet

Now I run into a small issue I didn't anticipated. The rear park assist is detecting the contraption. It's not blocking the view but somehow the angle of detection must be as such that it must be picking up the bottom of the tire + cover. It becomes a constant bip right away.

Question(s):
Any ideas what I could do? Can the angle be redirected? Can it be recalibrate ? Can they be unplugged without triggering a warning ... Can they be silenced all together (I don't need them when "I" am the one that drives ()? Anyone had issues with bike rack for example?

It's a bit annoying so thanks!

 

Okay.... it's done . . . just in time for our 3,000 miles road trip!

For show, without license plate:






For driving legally, with license plate:

 

Wow. Amazing!

 

Now I just need a matching set of those driving lights with those look alike covers