Morris Minor Owners Club

Morning. Was the spare wheel originally destined for the under bonnet space? Someone mentioned it on yesterdays Drive It Day run. Makes perfect sense at first but maybe it turned out to have a weight/panel deflection issue?

I am not aware of any original factory ideas for fitting the spare wheel under the bonnet. Over the years there have been several ideas and thoughts put forward by Minor owners for installing the spare wheel under the bonnet. Some owners have carried out the conversion but I would suggest that the bonnet is not of a suitable strength to carry the weight of a spare wheel. I would also suggest that the heat from the engine would do the tyre no good. If I remember correctly there was a item in the MMOC technical tips for installing the spare wheel under the bonnet.

philthehill wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2026 8:22 am I am not aware of any original factory ideas for fitting the spare wheel under the bonnet. Over the years there have been several ideas and thoughts put forward by Minor owners for installing the spare wheel under the bonnet. Some owners have carried out the conversion but I would suggest that the bonnet is not of a suitable strength to carry the weight of a spare wheel. I would also suggest that the heat from the engine would do the tyre no good. If I remember correctly there was a item in the MMOC technical tips for installing the spare wheel under the bonnet.

I totally agree, neither the hinges nor the bonnet construction (including the support mechanism) are suitable for the significant extra weight, there's also act of safely raising and lowering it.
Having done many a daily check on RAF Land Rovers in my younger years, when it was one with a spare on the bonnet they were Bl**dy heavy.
The early Landy Bonnet Hinge Assembly is steel and would undoubtedly support a substantial door, not a lightweight alloy.
The heat cycling would be a problem for the tyre also, whilst there might be some cooling from airflow whilst moving, the moment you stop the sustained heat will peak for quite a while.
Just because something can be done, like with the old Technical Tips mentioned, I have to wonder what the outcome was after perhaps 3 or 4 years of use.

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't going to do it, the idea just tweaked my curiosity

Re heat cycling there are a few, esp french, cars that have the spare near the engine though.

"Re heat cycling there are a few, esp french, cars that have the spare near the engine though."
Yes, we owned a Renault 5 way back and the spare was under the bonnet.

Never mind heat cycling and oil/fume contamination, what about the fire risk!

Wes wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2026 10:00 am Thanks for the replies. I wasn't going to do it, the idea just tweaked my curiosity

Re heat cycling there are a few, esp french, cars that have the spare near the engine though.

Yes, I'm aware of a very limited (in the greater number of vehicle models over the decades) number of cars with under-bonnet spare wheels.
To the best of my recollections, many of them were French, but the location was always carefully designed to minimise the heat, the Citroen DS, with it's strange suspension, had the spare and tool kit in front of the engine.
The Fiat Panda had it in the far back corner of the engine bay.

Remember, the manufacturer has no qualm about their customer needing to get a new spare tyre after a few years...

Not until the cab's tilted on a truck do you appreciate how heavy the doors are

POMMReg wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2026 2:26 pm Not until the cab's tilted on a truck do you appreciate how heavy the doors are

Air cooled beetle always had the spare wheel under the bonnet.
But they moved the engine to the boot to avoid the heat issue.

Vorsprung durch teknic

POMMReg wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2026 2:26 pm Not until the cab's tilted on a truck do you appreciate how heavy the doors are

And before hydraulic cab lift, you certainly new how heavy the cabs were, especially if you hadn't noticed the tarps stored on top

Ah, now I know Bill. I owned a Beetle early 70's and often wondered why the engine had been moved there. 8)The fuel tank is at the front too.

Mervin wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 10:45 am Ah, now I know Bill. I owned a Beetle early 70's and often wondered why the engine had been moved there. 8)The fuel tank is at the front too.

So was the Hillman Imp range, the Fuel Filler and the combined Brake & Clutch Reservoir were both at the front.
I very briefly considered getting an Imp before settling on a Minor, but I quickly decided it would be far too much work and money to keep one on the road.....

geoberni wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 11:57 am

Mervin wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 10:45 am Ah, now I know Bill. I owned a Beetle early 70's and often wondered why the engine had been moved there. 8)The fuel tank is at the front too.

So was the Hillman Imp range, the Fuel Filler and the combined Brake & Clutch Reservoir were both at the front.
I very briefly considered getting an Imp before settling on a Minor, but I quickly decided it would be far too much work and money to keep one on the road.....
Imp.JPG

Yes I had imp van in my yoof. Wolf in sheeps clothes as it had tuned imp sport motor van was fun to work on as the engine is under rear floor, if you broke down you had to unload to fix it

Bill_qaz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 3:51 pm Yes I had imp van in my yoof. Wolf in sheeps clothes as it had tuned imp sport motor van was fun to work on as the engine is under rear floor, if you broke down you had to unload to fix it

My dad got a new Commer Imp van in 66.
He cut the van floor where the rear seat would have been and made a rear seat for it.
We'd have 4 kids across the back....
It was all to do with the purchase tax and additional tax rules on cars/ vans....

geoberni wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 5:47 pm

Bill_qaz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 3:51 pm Yes I had imp van in my yoof. Wolf in sheeps clothes as it had tuned imp sport motor van was fun to work on as the engine is under rear floor, if you broke down you had to unload to fix it

My dad got a new Commer Imp van in 66.
He cut the van floor where the rear seat would have been and made a rear seat for it.
We'd have 4 kids across the back....
It was all to do with the purchase tax and additional tax rules on cars/ vans....

Mine was also a 66 but definitely not new

Reliant Scimitar and Ford mk4 Zodiac had the spare under the bonnet so I guess it can be made to work, as others have said it would need some sort of support frame, the minor bonnet cracks under its own weight!

The Beetle used the spare tire air pressure to power the windshield washer as I recall.

kevin s wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 9:51 pm Reliant Scimitar and Ford mk4 Zodiac had the spare under the bonnet so I guess it can be made to work, as others have said it would need some sort of support frame, the minor bonnet cracks under its own weight!

in the scimitar its part of the crash structure

"The Beetle used the spare tire air pressure to power the windshield washer as I recall."
Yes, it did.