Does this look right for the '38-40 models?
That piece on the tail end looks to me like it was fabbed later? It is held on by rivets.
The parts book calls for 3 straps. What are they like?
The MK iV version has swage lines to stiffen it, And seeing they are on the rear section , I can’t see why they wouldn’t be on the rest. And… if the rust at the back was bad enough to replace chassis sections there, it would been unlikely that the panel next to them would survive so well. The strap seems to be the same as a Mk IV, The other end of the strap has an over centre catch.
Yes, that’s what I thought as well, it should have pressed cross bars to stiffen it. Was it originally a two piece bottom, or was it all one piece?
And something should hold it up to something, right? That’s what I thought the 3 straps might be. They are called center, long and short, and only the long one is the same part number as for Mark IV.
It doesn’t look exactly the same as mine. Mine has a one piece floor and a small piece of angle under the rear edge. It doesn’t have the swages that criss cross your’s and I can’t find a photo of another SS tray.
I admit that this doesn’t look very convincing but it’s a frame of video of an unrestored 1939 car and I’m pretty sure it has no swages. That said I suspect that in your early car they did use swages.
Given that you are remounting the rear cross member you might gain some advantage in trying to position it slightly lower on the chassis rails. I think it is a generic problem with these cars that there is insufficient height in the spare wheel compartment. I need to keep my spare partially deflated in order to get it in or out.
The big strap is hinged at its mounting point and again part way along its length. The small one has three hook positions.
Peter
Hi Rob.
Peter is posting some good photos so no point me duplicating images on here but have sent you some direct my fuel tank support.
I will get some today of my spare wheel tray which seem quite different from yours.
Regards, Graham
Hi Graham,
I’d be interested to see your spare wheel tray too.
I’m guessing it will closely resemble the MkIV.
Peter
Thanks, friends. So it appears that this riveted on rear tray panel of mine could be original? Perhaps more evidence that in late '37 they were cobbling together body parts in a hurry to get cars out the door.
It is cantilevered out from the main tray where the strength is. I think I will strengthen it anyway, it doesn’t seem very strong to me as is.
So the 3 straps are all to hold the tire in? I see my 3 hook clip end is on the left where Peter’s is on the right.
Another bonus in these pictures is I see a rubber or wood block on the gas tank support. Mine has some only on the front. I bet some DPO who painted the tank pale yellow lost the blocks.
Peter, maybe you need a taller block in there?
I don’t know about fitting a mounted tire in there yet as mine has only an empty wheel.
A fair point.
Thanks,
Peter 
One could try for a 500x 18" tyre. Only a careful look can tell, Where-as there wee many tyre sizes [ 500, 525, 500 , 600 etc] because the market is smaller sizes have been amalgamated so 535 and 500 are the same. But some makers have a smaller section
The SS100 had 525 , the saloons 550. But while a saloon car get the wanders with too small a tread size, it’s only a get you home measure… like the tiny little spares many cars have now.
One could leave the spare deflated and use the tyre pump when you had a flat . But that sounds too much like work to me. And you won’t help marital relations by asking her indoors to share the pumping.
I will not respond.
I will not respond.
I will not…
If you are very patient then there small electric pumps available. I do have one but being a masochist I carry a foot pump instead.
Peter 
I can just see it now in a car going past “Mummy Mummy , I just saw Michael Flatley doing the Riverdance for a lady in an old car”
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I ground off the rivets holding on that rear extension panel, and now I can see that it definitely was not original. Whoever put it on knew how to use metal scissors, bend sheet metal and drill and install rivets, but not much else.
The main crescent panel has definitely been cut off with scissors at the rear edge of the 2-1/2" x 27-3/4" piece in the center, so it must have extended back as on Peter’s car. That 2-1/2" piece is also original in that it is spot welded to the crescent panel. I guess it must be there as a backing panel because the support cross bar is under it. There is also one at the forward end for the same idea, above the forward cross bar.
Or more correctly: The MkIV is the same as the 40SS.
Peter 
Or they are both the same .
It’s the precedence that I was getting at.
Peter
Chronologically the Mark IV might be said to be the same as the 1940, but when searching for information about a lesser known year and comparing to a better known, one might say the lesser known 1940 is the same as the better known Mark IV. 
Regardless and nevertheless, it appears that this feature underwent some development in the 2 years from 1938-40, and mine represents the poorest design, necessitating at least 2 revisions, to Peter’s and Graham’s.
Thanks very much for all those pictures and for all your help, friends.
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