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Jack And Lug Wrench Relocation

The lug wrench and tire jack had to be removed to make way for the stereo power amplifier. The decision as to where to put it became clear, since I would have to be under the rear of the car to get to the spare tire anyway why not put it near the tire. The interior of the 'C' channel rear bumper would make an ideal location to fit the jack. This left the problem of where to put and how to attach the original lug wrench. After some thought the original wrench was replaced in favor of a inexpensive Wal-Mart chrome four way folding lug wrench. This was a better fit as the wheel lug nuts and lock lug nuts required two different wrenches to remove them anyway. Below was the original design. A friend welded the 'T' handle on to a 3/8" x 6" NC bolt. Two conduit retainer hooks were installed to grab the loose wrench arms.

The original design did not hold that well. A small amount of rework with some 3/8" air line hose and a spring as shown below did the trick. It was on tight and would not bounce, vibrate, or come loose.

In order to make this an efficient system a single retention method was desired to hold the lug and the jack. A hole was drilled in the base of the jack. Then a nut welded on the upper side of the base. This would have no affect on the function of the jack. The lug wrench retainer bolt then would feed through a hole in the bumper and screw into the welded nut. The full mounting is shown below.