I took a spare tire carrier of a newer chevy pickup and put it on a 51. Hired it put on as I cant weld. The tail pipes had to be re-ran from the back axel and a hole cut through the rear cross member. A spacer was built for the spare tire stop on and remain level when loaded. Total cost was less than $300 counting new tail pipes with chrome tips. Went from this to this . I would encourage any one with the need to try this. Spare tires can come up gone just laying in the back.
What Was The hole for ? If for the hanging bolt , that's a good solution , I've been pushing it for years....
Hole in crossmember The hole was to let a crank handle through to turn the wench. A 3/8" rod was fitted with a 1/2" socket and bent into a crank handle, much like the original jack handle except shorter. The crank sticks in just under the tail gate panel and above the bumper. Not up there with disk brakes but anyone who can cut and weld could do this for $50 or less not counting tail pipes.
Thanx ! I didn't realize you'd used a winch typ of spare tire holder , that's very nice and I've been pushing this idea for some years now..... Makes them much more theft proof . Easier to acess the spare on a muddy dirt road too