What is that funky spare tire cover on the 1976 Eldorado

[LenInLA]

This very nifty car just sold on ebay for $15,200.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-Cadillac-Eldorado-/231788268377?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=ki1euyegyOiwP5UpEIK%252BIFsyid8%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

I'm fascinated with the spare tire cover... I gather it's not a factory feature.  But has anyone seen something like this before? I would not mind having this done to my car!

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

This is an aftermarket item done on Cadillacs usually in conjunction with the "Rolls Royce" grill surround. They are sometimes found on eBay and Criags list for varying amounts. The attractiveness and desirability of the item varies greatly among Cadillac admirers.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Are you referring to the tyre cover for the tyre inside the trunk?, or the showy dummy continental kit on the back?

The one I made for my '72 is a working one, and I haven't constructed the actual cover as yet, but that won't be too far away.

I have now fitted Western Cyclone II wheels to the car, and the Spare as well.   But, when I am travelling long distances and requiring, I remove the full-size spare.   The box inside the rim holds the electric tyre pump for inflation.   Couldn't get the inflation canisters sent over by air mail.

Bruce.

[Scot Minesinger]

Recommendations:

1.  Make sure your ALC is in good repair if you add it.
2.  To keep your options open, make it removable if you ever decide to sell.
3.  Make it like Bruce's, that is cool the way tire swings out of the way for gas fill up.

This will free up much more space in trunk.

[LenInLA]

Bruce - that is phenomenal work!  Did you use existing parts of was there much welding involved?

Barry, Scott: do you know the name for the "fake" aftermarket part? 

Thanks!

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I looked at various ways of extending the bar, and the way I usually do it couldn't be done this time, simply because it would leave an ugly area in the centre where the trunk lid bottom rises up over the number plate area of the bar.

So I "modified" a 1978 Australian Ford Falcon rear bar that I had laying around, and with a fair amount of cutting, shutting, trimming, bending, turned the complete bar into the tyre surround.

I found out that I couldn't simply attach the hinging mechanism into where it had to go, without completely bracing the original bar as the extension made it simply flop around.   This bracing allowed me to incorporate a Tow Bar Tongue so I can tow my boat with it when going on a vacation.

I had a spare rear Bumper Bar from a '71 Eldo to set everything up and positioned a Space-saver tyre in the desired position, and built the structure around it.

There was a lot of fabricating small pieces to make the required shape, then a lot of Welding using an Arc Welder, as the steel used was mostly 2.5mm solid Bumper Bar Steel.

Bruce.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Once the frame was made, then it was time to make the tyre retaining mechanism.

This had to be done so that it was easy to use, and no chance of anyone stealing the tyre without opening the trunk, and as it worked out, the trunk cannot be closed until the tyre is back in its' place.

The tyre doesn't vibrate or rattle when driving.

I managed to make the original reversing lights fit into place, after a lot of altering, and nobody here has managed to be able to identify the parts used in the bar.

The unit went through a lot of alterations and massaging prior to the final chrome plating, which in itself took a lot of time for the plater to do.   He even said that he had to take a couple of valium before attempting to plate the rear bar.

After fitting the Western wheel, I had to perform some extra changes to the swinging arm, so future pictures will look different.

Bruce.

[LenInLA]

Do you know if anyone's attempted this before - or is yours the only example? I think it's absolutely brilliant!

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Not as far as I know.   Never seen one like mine on a '71-onwards Eldorado.

The reason I used the Space-saver Spare was because using a full-sized Spare, the top of it would sit too high, as the Eldorados, and Cadillacs of the era sat low at the rear, and the taller tyre would severely limit rearward vision through the rear window.

Further, a lot of people simply move the whole rear bumper a foot or so rearwards, which in the case of the Eldorado, with the tail lights being incorporated in the ends of the bumpers looks simply ugly.   That is my opinion.

I made my own Continental Kits for my '57 Chev and '55 Chev, and in the case of the '55, I used another '55 Bumper Bar, and cut and shut the bar and used the Bumper Bar Overriders to construct a removeable unit, that could be removed, and converted back to factory.   I used a '36 Ford Tread Cover to wrap the tyre with, but as the Cadillac Space-saver is so wide, I need to build my own.

When I went to the 2002 GN in Dearborn, and 2008 in Cherry Hill, I looked at every Continental Kit I could find of the Show Fields, and every one was different, especially in the hinging and locking areas.

The '50's cars were ideal candidates for full-sized tyres as Continental Kits simply because their rear bodywork was so high.

I saw my first "kit" in person when I saw a '56 Chevrolet Convertible down here, and I managed to buy some parts of it when the owner pulled it off the car and put on a normal bar.   He lost the chrome surrounds, but I got the special hub cap, and the hinge/wheel mount.   That was back in 1968, and I still have the cap.

Bruce.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Plus, the reason I hinged my tyre out to the right, was so that I could have virtually complete access to the trunk on the side furthest from the traffic, as we drive on the left side of the road.

Hinging it rearwards makes for difficulty in getting bulky stuff into the trunk.

Bruce.

[Scot Minesinger]

Bruce,

Is that a full size spare, and if not is there a way to make one large to accommodate a full size spare or will that not look right?

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Len, most people simply refer to it as a "continental kit." To get the full effect of the various modifications done on many of this era Eldorados, check out the Dirty Harry movie (Magnum Force.) There is a pink Eldo featured in the first fifteen minutes of the show I believe.  Love the color on your car. Best regards, Barry.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Bruce,
Is that a full size spare, and if not is there a way to make one large to accommodate a full size spare or will that not look right?   

G'day Scott,

The one I used was a Space-saver.   The Full Sized tyre just looked too out of place.   I will take a picture of a full-sized one next to the space-saver, and you will see the difference.

Plus, the bottom of the tyre has to be sufficiently high enough to clear the ground when entering or exiting driveways.

Bruce.

[76eldo]

Nice work. Very creative.
Personally I like the cars as they were built but you did a great job on the kit.

Brian

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Thanks Brian,

I like to consider that this is the type of arrangement that the Factory would have made, allowing for refuelling without having to swing the tyre out of the way every time, and at least, when one does swing the tyre out to refuel, it gives a nice seat to rest the body on as one is refilling that huge tank.

Here is the comparison between the Space Saver and the Full Size.

Plus, you will notice a couple of differences between the initially made bumper, and the final chromed version.   The filler modification allows for faster filling than the initial version.

Bruce.

[Tito Sobrinho]

The "Continental Kit" was very popular in the '50s being sold by Whitney out of Chicago.
It was a reminisce from Edsel Ford with his idea transcribed into paper by Bob Gregorie the designer. Hence, the Full Classic  Lincoln Continental was conceived with a covered full size tire on its back.

Bruce, you did an excellent job!