I think the nuts are easier to get at if you take the body off first.
sounds as though there are people who would go that far :o)
I just had 3 of 4 off, the other loosened, to fit the spare wheel carrier, put them back with nobbut an open-ended spanner, 2 fingers, a ratchet, that's it! No fuss :o)
I was about to say that it sounded like a job for a piece of scrap metal, a ruler, a drill and some thread taps.. Nut plates are certainly what's used on pretty much anything that I've ever mounted to the rear cross-member of my Defender.
Here's how to fit them without all that fuss:
'innercentralback' is the innermost of the 4 bolts, the spanner there risks dropping off, needing a bit of recovery work with a screwdriver; the one I didn't completely undo for my purposes would be the 2nd-innermost of the 4, although as I say it's quite possible to reach it with 2 fingers, as with the spanner in 'outercentralback'. All the actual turning is from the clear side.
At innersideback/outersideback, fingers go in just as spanners do.
HTH
Regards
Mark
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