68vxm

After lots of years sitting in the garage, I’m driving my ’68 convertible occasionally (and loving it). The thought occurred to me recently that I don’t have a spare, and that it would be embarrassing to call a tow truck if I got a flat. So I now have a proper jack, wrench, and spare. I put the spare in the carrier tonight, and it was a pretty tight fit. The spare is the correct size wheel/tire for the car. So two questions: (A) Please confirm that the two front carrier bolts are supposed to be threaded into the cross member as far as they will go, not backed off some dimension to adjust the spare fit. (B) What is a good guideline for how tight the rear carrier bolt should be? Thanks.

7T1vette

Nope. The front mounting bolts are screwed in only as far as they need to allow the tire to be solidly contained in the tub. There should be lock-nuts on the threaded portion of those bolts, so that they can be locked in place when in proper position. You should be able to correctly fit an E70-15 tire or a 275R60-15 tire in there; and that requires those bolts to be adjusted for tires of differing widths.

Easy Mike

Tight enough to keep the tub from moving.

0Corvettes by George

7" AG ralley wheel, or 8" AZ wheel?

my_z

Hi 68vxm, I'm also missing my spare, accessories, & the rear carrier bolt. Where did you get yours? Any specs I should look for?

I'm running 295/50r15 in the back and GR50-15 (235/50r15??) up front.

One more thing, is the rear carrier shifts back/forth? As of now it won't close properly and touches the rear bumper (looks like it shifted back a bit).

my_z

For future reference, GR50-15 equivalent to 265/50R15. "Funny" that I couldn't find that ref anywhere.

At first I was told (at American Tiers) it's perfect fit with 235/60R15 (maybe since they had'em in stock? ), but when measuring my Ansen Sprints and getting 10" width up front, we realized required size is challenging to find...

68vxm

My very unoriginal '68 has 8" AZ wheels. I don't mind the incorrect, slightly wider wheel.

68vxm

My car was a mess when I got it, but it had almost every part, including the spare tire carrier and mounting hardware. I'm not aware of specs, and I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure the carrier (upper tray, lower tub, mounting hardware) was the same for 1968 thru 1982. One piece of advice I wish I had many years ago. Look for used, original equipment first before you buy something "new".

Mine doesn't shift front/rear much at all, even without the spare in place. It's pretty tight. Mounting bolts bent maybe, or perhaps the cross member where the forward bolts are installed has an issue.

my_z

Thanks! Knowing that mounting hardware are the same for all C3s makes it easier to find ... I guess.