Since the car is running okay, and since the weather has gotten really cold out, I've been working on the race car taking care of its maintenance needs. However, that doesn't mean I've completely ignored my 914.
Shortly after I got the car, I bought 5 new 195/65R15 BF Goodrich tires. Nice tires, but noticeably "fatter" than stock tires. Being fatter, the hold down screw for the spare no longer reached the thread at the bottom of the spare tire well using the stock hold down plate.
My options were getting new tires before these wear out (not gonna happen), making an extension for the screw, making a longer screw or making a new hold down plate.
I chose the latter option. I used a hole saw to cut a piece out of some 1/2" aluminum plate I had. I then turned it down in the lathe and finally cut a slot using the mill.
The new plate drops the flange surface about a half-inch lower, allowing the screw to reach and hold the tire down.