Bonnet mounted spare tire

[flippedrover]

I want to mount the spare on the bonnet and would like to know either how to do it myself or where I can find a bonnet that has the mounts on it.

[rover4x4]

I think there is a kit you can buy, www.roversdownsouth.com may have a hood but you would have to have it painted. try searching the archives and the old BB i know this has been talked about in the past

[flippedrover]

Thanks

[exmodlad]

i have the mounting brackets(USED) in stock to attach to your Bonnet/Hood


Gord

[dmarchand]

I bought the kit from RDS. It was the LR genuine alloy specific kit. It's pretty nice. The only issue I had in mounting was I found the rivets supplied were usually not long enough to get a good hold on the backing plates. I used a combination of the rivets and epoxy to make sure the mounting was SOLID. As long as you don't mind putting a few holes in your hood, it's a fun little project.

[mattdh]

david- what was the price tag for that kit and can you take pics of the top and bottom sides

[dmarchand]

I think it was around $240. The kit is complete with instructions. I can't give you a pic of the underside as it's top secret...

Okay, I covered it already with hoodliner, so you couldn't have a peek anyway.

Took me a couple hours to install it. I spent more time obsessing over the holes being drilled than anything else. I also made sure everything was coated with paint after the drilling so the steel supports wouldn't rust.

Here's some shots.

[dmarchand]

And another:

[rover4x4]

whats it look like with a tire on it?

[exmodlad]

hers a picture.....of what the tire look's like installed

[Tawayama]

I have a spare mounted on the hood of the CrewCab.

Here it is:

http://www.tawayama.com/logos/CCnearMtHood.jpg

I also have a spare on the hood of the 80-inch. It's not bad once you get used to it.

Later,

[Abrooks]

Tyler, I have a spare mount on my hood that I can't use anymore (35's don't fit). If you're interested, or if anyone is for that matter, I'll do a straight trade for a standard hood. Color is white and it's located in Northern Virginia.

[chrisvonc]

I love that picture...

Hi Michael, glad to see you here!

[Tawayama]

Hey CvC...

I'll poke in from time to time.

I have been looking at my webstats and saw that I was getting hits from D-90 source, so I thought I'd check your forums out.

Glad to be here.

Here's a shot (I'll upload it this time) of the Serious One with the spare on the hood.

[KeithD]

more pics on my owner bio

[rover4x4]

Is that a series I with coils?

[Tawayama]

Yeah, you can read more about it HERE. (http://groups.msn.com/TheSeriesOneGarage/seriousone.msnw?Page=1)

Check it out, you'll like it I think.

Michael

[scot]

I put the tire on my first truck's hood...it was easy as dave sez...but measure twice three times a lady and cut only once....now ken loy has the truck...check the paragon ride under trail reports for good pix.

[wicks]

Tyler,

I did mine as well, and like David says, fun little project. Most of the NAS D90s have a different hood frame than D110s and other exports with one of the frame cross-members missing, so the underside where you rivet the backing plate to the hood subframe isn't quite as tough, but it's not a problem.

I have a spare set of the rubber stops and all the hardware except the brackets, from the RN kit, if you need to piece it together...

[wicks]

Oh and there's the mil spec hood stay replacement that comes with the kit too but I don't have a spare of that piece either (installed one on mine though).

[Tawayama]

Hey Wicks, do you think that mil-spec tire strap helps a lot? I do get a lot of wobbling of my tire, but was thinking it was because I had a tire out of balance on the front axle. Got it balanced, and there's less hood-tire wobble, but I was curious about the strap.

Hmmm...you have me thinking again....

Oh wait, are you talking about the hood prop? I'm talking about the 3-way webbing to hold the spare down with.

The hood prop on the CrewCab is one long straight bar hooked to the hood and with a little foot to go into the radiator support bracket.

:)

Michael

[dmarchand]

Hey, I was meaning to ask since we have so many people with hood mounts. My LR "kit" came with a long metal bar, witha 60 degree bend at one end. It's a round bar and definitely had nothing to do with the actual install of the hood kit. Does anyone happen to know what it might be? Seems to short to be a hood prop.

[Tawayama]

take a pic of it and post it.

I'll bet it's the hood prop.

[wicks]

Yeah, David, you take out the stock hood prop and mount that piece to replace it. Works a different way, sturdier, but less convenient.

Michael - those are only on series hood spare mounts - no straps of any kind on this setup. The Series Deluxe tire mounting system was far superior - had one on my IIA, with the tire itself resting on pads (larger foorprint) and then the wheel center clamped down upside down. Didn't wobble one bit and also provided more visibility. The Defender kit is real bad and was a half-baked project I'd say.

[wicks]

Oh, here's a dumb question for everyone - do you have a NATO wheel on the bonnet mount? Does it fit right what with offsets and all?

[exmodlad]

i would dare say the nato wheel would fit the hood mount that Land Rover offers on the 90/110.....but i will find out one of these days .......like others i am looking for a set of wolf wheels....but not looking to hard......i can get them tommorow....just a matter of spending the loot.........

Gord

[Tawayama]

Well, as we all know most of the projects LR has done lately have been half-baked. Well, maybe I've phrased that wrong, but I think you know what I mean.

I have NATO wheels on my hood and I was missing the 'official' bolt-down piece from the top, so what I did was to make a 1/4 inch x 7 inch plate with two holes drilled in it for the bolts to pass thru into the threaded posts for the lugnut holes. The third post with the hole in it for the lock just barely protrudes into the lugnut hole, not enough room to use a lock, but enough to hold it in place while I spin the tire around to line up the other two holes.

I am unfamiliar with the 'official' Defender style, the style I have is a derivative of the SIII style. I had the hood rubber rests, but didn't install them.

[JimC]

Arent there some hoods out there with a round detent in them that allows the tire to sit an inch or so lower? Seems like that would be the hot set up. Maybe I'm thinking of an older Series hood.

[exmodlad]

yes it was the series bonnet........no defender bonnet had the dish i believe

[wicks]

Yeah, that was called the "Deluxe" bonnet. Had one on my SIIA. Was perfect. A D bonnet could easily hold a spare 2" or more dropped in, with a special mold. That would be sweet. Too bad. :(

[JimC]

one could conceivalby rivet in a flanged dish into a hole cut in the hood, after appropriately modifying the hood frame. The exposed rivets wouldnt look any worse than any other part of the defender body. I'm not sure what a source of stampings would be though - anyone?

[mikeslandrover]

A Wolf wheel fits on my bonnet with a slight modification- the locating pin needt to be extended, it passes through one of the wheel stud holes and has the capacity to padlock the wheel to the bonnet. i think there are a variety of wheel mounts though.

[exmodlad]

anything is possible.........given the costs.......which would be high for a questionable looking job.......to many other bends/breaks in the 90/110 Bonnet.......it's not flat like the series bonnet

gord