MTFCA Forum

What does the spare tire mount look like and how does it mount on a 1917 touring car?
I picked up one at an auction, with 2 ears cut off but don't know if it is correct or where it attached.

They didn't have one, because they were still using non demountable wheels.

There was none. Non-demountable wheels. Aftermarket had tire holders mounting on the left running board.
The fully equipped car carried both different sized, front & rear sized tires.

As posted above, no carrier on a 1917 frame, as demountable rims weren't available yet. So most times a spare tire was strapped to the running board, some mfg. supplied brackets even for the rear mounted to the spring clip.

Only the late '19 frame had holes for the tire carrier.


You could drill holes in your frame to use a demountable rim/ tire carrier.


Aftermarket companies made carriers for demountable rims.

And for only the tire without a rim, plain tire holders were made to frame mount.

There were a number of aftermarket running board mounted and rear mounted spare tire carriers available to carry one or two spare tires.

Just look at old automobile supply company catalogues and/or trade journals or publications such as Ford Owner and Dealer and you can see what was available time. If you don't have any on your bookshelf, there's plenty to see online via Google books.

For example, my father has a rear-mounted spare tire holder on the shelf that holds two tires so you could carry both a 30 x 3 tire and a 30 x 3.5 and tire. I believe it was manufactured by Gemco (I happen to have a 1916 Gemco accessory catalogue that covers Fords and non-Fords.) It mounts to the rear cross member at the U-bolts and includes a taillight/license plate holder.

Also, if you purchased aftermarket demountable wheels, like Firestones with five-lug rims, you probably also purchased a spare tire carrier to hold a fifth tire and rim.

I've been driving my 25 pickup for years with the spare in the bed. I've had a restored running board tire carrier hanging in the garage for a long time, and finally decided to use it. It is the one pictured above. They even used a genuine Ford tire carrier in the middle, and have two straps that attach the whole unit beneath the body. The first strap goes to the front body bolt, and the rear goes to the rear starter switch bolt. Some day I'll get around to posting a photo.

In my initial post I should have mentioned that I have 4.50X21 dismountable tires & rims so I will need a later year rear spare mount to add to my 1817 car
Thanks for the reply's

Jim Byrne wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 19, 2025 7:58 pm

In my initial post I should have mentioned that I have 4.50X21 dismountable tires & rims so I will need a later year rear spare mount to add to my 1817 car
Thanks for the reply's

Yes that would have been helpful!
You waste a bunch of peoples time/effort answering the wrong question. You are not the first.

What you need is a '25 only rear frame mount to fit 21" split rims. Very hard to find piece.
Perhaps you can modify a 19-24 clincher carrier. Seen it done. its usually a butcher job.

The shiny painted carrier is the ‘25 version for the split rim 21” tires. Note shorter top arms.

The pitted is ‘24-‘25 version for clincher rim 30” tires.

Note regarding the 21" carrier shown above - the top bar was double hole stamped to receive either LHD or RHD tail lamp wiring.