Victoria rear spare brace

[jimmiej]

Victoria owner,
I'm rebuilding an early leatherback Victoria. Car came disassembled. All new wood. Original metal parts which may or may not have originally been together.

I am at the point at which the rear spare tire brace is to be fitted to the belt rail and other wood. My question is this. How close does the internal metal spare tire brace sit to the metal skin of the body? Should it sit right on the skin or was there some type of spacer pad between he two? The cars I have looked at do have padding but I do not know if it is original. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks. Jim

 

[jw hash]

the bottom of the inner bracket where the spare bracket bolts to should be right against the metal so you do not dent the back skin when you bolt the bracket on. the rest of the inner bracket end up 1/4" or more away from the back skin. that is not that critical.

 

[Bob Bidonde]

There was no padding or spacer between the brace and the body in my early Steel-Back. The brace does not contact the body skin above its lower attachment. These pictures of the 2nd generation of brace may help you.

Note the patch at the base of the brace. The spare tire carrier held water and it perforated the body skin, so the patch was necessary. Also note that that the insulation material is tucked-in between the brace and the body skin. The insulation is 0.25" thick.

 

[jimmiej]

Thank you for the responses.
Jim