Engine Cover Stay - Thank Will!

[Darren]

Just to let them what's interested - I've posted pics in my folder of where I am to date - I'm going to have to put another strut in to keep the cover up - didn't think that would be needed, but there you go!

Big props to Will for the idea in the first place and sending pics. I have used his idea and the bracket for the engine cover, but gone a different route for the lower bracket. It remains to be seen if it works properly, and it does need finishing off, but it's a start.

Comments welcome

http://lancisti.net/photopost/data/905/thumbs/P310808_16_51_02_.JPG (http://lancisti.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7501)

[Will]

Congrats, Darren- and that's a much sexier looking strut than the Attwood job I used- is it stainless? Where did you get it?

Yeah, you'll note I used two struts, and also strong enough to push the lid up automatically when I release the catch. If you make them this strong though, they will tend to push the hinges up about 3/16-1/4" and the engine lid will not lie straight along the back edge. So, plan on making a thin aluminum strap between the hinges (or at least rear hinge) and the body of the car to anchor it down. That should give you perfect panel alignment (and eventuially I'll do it to my car so if you let me know in advance I can cut you one and/or save the pattern for you- although your geometry and bracket are a little differenrt in that corner of the car.

[Darren]

Thanks Will. I got the strut from eBay - they're listed for a VW Golf (Rabbit?) uprated for the bonnet rather than tailgate. I'll dig out the vendor if you like?

Thanks for the pointers on the second strut and panel alignment - I'll keep you posted on how I get on.

Cheers

[davidb]

Nice job Darren, lotsa fab work though. I sent D.J. some Polaroids
of my dual strut install. Lots less work. Maybe he'll post them some-
time. My design is admittedly not elegant but works good enough .

[DJ]

Nice job Darren, lotsa fab work though. I sent D.J. some Polaroids
of my dual strut install. Lots less work. Maybe he'll post them some-
time. My design is admittedly not elegant but works good enough .

Thanks for the reminder, Dave.

I needed to reconfigure my scanner software.

See attached for pictures of Dave's setup.

I like both of these but they are not conducive to mounting the spare in the normal location so I'll still be looking for something different.

[DJ]

An interesting take on things, Darren.

Did you convert your tire carrier to S2-style or was it that way when you got it?

[Darren]

An interesting take on things, Darren.

Did you convert your tire carrier to S2-style or was it that way when you got it?

Thanks DJ, it's not quite there, but not far now. I'm not using the standard spare - I'm going to be using the Integrale spare, which is a 15" space saver wheel and I'm hoping I can jig things around to get a fit, but we'll see. As for the S2 bracket- I had it in my pile of bits and it made more sense to use it rather than the S1 unit.

Cheers

[Darren]

Nice job Darren, lotsa fab work though. I sent D.J. some Polaroids
of my dual strut install. Lots less work. Maybe he'll post them some-
time. My design is admittedly not elegant but works good enough .

Thanks David,

there really is no fab work on your set up at all and I was going to say that there wasn't much involved in mine, before I saw the pics of your install anyway!:eek: Looks good though mate!

Cheers

[davidb]

Thanks to D.J. for posting my pics, sorry for any inconvience
[scanning]. I had to go w/exhaust driven dizzy due to carb
clearance issues so no rear spare space, struts or no. My
install takes $70 [2 struts] & several hours. It keeps the lid
up almost 90 degrees which is a Godsend!

[DJ]

Just a note on your relocated, exhaust-side distributor, David. You may also want to consider removing the tire support stanchion there. When I was running that setup my dizzy would hit the stanchion when revved hard.

[davidb]

Yup, damn close ain't it ! Thought of a cork or rubber pad buffer.
Even w/new motor mounts, any flex @ all, it's really close. Ran
this by Keller, he was optimistic it should'nt break: the dizzy cap.
I'm thinking as I'm commited to having the spare in the trunk, when
it heads to the bodyshop I'll them lop that thing off.

[Will]

A torque arm on a puny motor like this may seem laughable, but anything you can do to take pressure off the mount on the crossmember is IMO a good idea. The forward bolts of the cam boxes allow a good tie point, either braced to the firewall or to a bracket on the catalytic box. The shifter moving around on its own the way it does in a stock scorpion is a problem begging for a cure.

[Darren]

Well, fitted the second strut and now the engine cover raises as soon as the release is pulled. I also moved the strut bottom mounts up so the cover opens a lot further. A few more pics in my folder - thumbnail below.

http://lancisti.net/photopost/data/905/thumbs/P070908_09_35_01_.JPG (http://lancisti.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7532)

Just not sure how to finish it off though - do I go for painted, polished or what?

Thanks for looking! As ever, comments welcome

[davidb]

Outstanding Darren, you should be an aeronautical engineer. Looks
super "V" nice. Thanks for the multiple pics too. My install apparently
would not work in your bay given the pics. I have some nature of brace
you don't so now I understand your lower mounting point location. I
had the same issue:two struts necessary to keep her upright. Better
job than mine, congrads!

[Darren]

lol, Thanks David - instead I ended up going into catering and then finance! I'm just not sure how to finish it off bracketwise - paint or polish? I guess probably paint as there ain't a lot of other polish in the engine bay! ;o)

Cheers

[Andrew S]

Nice job Darren! I would paint it.
How fast does it raise up? Could be interesting to anticipate how an insurance company would view a claim against you if you pulled the release catch whilst someone was admiring you're car up close at a show... ;-) Then again what a great trick if ya don't like someone... ha ha.

Andrew.

[Darren]

LOL, thanks Andrew. Put it this way - you definitely wouldn't want to be looking through the grilles when it opens! It comes up very quick to start then slows down as it reaches full height.

I think I probably will paint it - more pics to follow once it's done.

[Will]

Are you getting any deflection in the hinge, Darren? I painted mine, as you know,

[Darren]

Hi Will,

TBH I haven't checked, but I'll have a look later and take a couple more shots open and closed. Yeah, I'm more or less settled now on painting it. More pics to follow! ;o)

Cheers

[Darren]

Are you getting any deflection in the hinge, Darren? I painted mine, as you know,

Doesn't look like it Will - latest pics below

http://lancisti.net/photopost/data/905/thumbs/P130908_14_37_01_.JPG (http://lancisti.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7537)

http://lancisti.net/photopost/data/905/thumbs/P130908_14_37.JPG (http://lancisti.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7536)

Now all I need to do is take it all off again and paint it!:D

Cheers

[Will]

Hard to tell from your pics, but I think you are getting about what I am- 1/4" -5/16" deflection upwards that can be seen at the left rear corner on the engine lid. This makes sense since your bracket is in the same place and if your struts lift the lid automatically then we have about the same strut pressure, as that's what I set mine up to do. you can confirm any deflection by measuring the engine lid to bumper on both sides, then unclipping the struts from the brackrt and closing the lid and re-checking. One day in the distant future I'll fashion a check-strap. I'll save/post the pattern. You may beat me to it as it's not a priority for me right now.

[Darren]

I don't know Will - If you compare the before and after pics - they're pretty much the same. What do you think?

http://lancisti.net/photopost/data/531/thumbs/DSC000341.JPG (http://lancisti.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=6951)
Before

http://lancisti.net/photopost/data/905/thumbs/P130908_14_37.JPG (http://lancisti.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7536)
After

[Will]

I looked at the pics, it looks (to me) jacked up in the left corner. See above for how to verify/correct. Unless you don't care which is OK with me, just trying to be helpful. Your call.

[Darren]

I looked at the pics, it looks (to me) jacked up in the left corner. See above for how to verify/correct. Unless you don't care which is OK with me, just trying to be helpful. Your call.

Hi Will,

Just re-read yourpost and I guess I'm too far into this bottle of wine and can't understand exactly what your solution is mate - any chance you can rephrase/explain as if you were talking to a small child, who happens to own a Monte?:red face: Cheers!

[Will]

I enjoy a good bottle of wine myself, no problem! :)

The gutter the hinge pins are attached to is kind of weak, so the struts pushing the lid up (at least on my car) tend to distort that channel slightly as they push up on the lid. This makes the left side of the lid (viewed from the rear) sit slightly higher than it is suposed to. It's not instantly obvious or anything, it just looks like a slight panel misalignment. I believe the best solution short of reinforcing that whole gutter and hinge assebly is to simply add a strap or metal brace from the hinge location on the gutter, tying it downwards to the chassis of the car. This should (IMO) make it stay in alignment. This may not be important to you, it's just something on my mental checklist to fabricate for my car one day, it solves the only problem associated with the lift install, which I find advantageous in every other way over the bird-trap-stick arrangement.

Man, I could go for a fishbowl of cool Chianti right about now,,,but it's only 5:35. :(

[Darren]

Will,

Cheers mate - I finally got it!:D I'll re check my panels and see what I come up with and will post up here. There's a tiny bit left in the bottom of the bottle, but that's left as the leader into tomorrow's bottle!!:D:D

Cheers

[davidb]

Glad you fixed it Darren. I feared strut[s] that would lift the lid would
exert too much pressure on the lid when closed. Why I opted for weak
struts which hold the lid up but no auto-lift. W/strong struts that lift then
you have to push it closed. Weak struts won't lift but will close on their
own. I prefer the manual lift, auto close method I did. Anything is better
than that damn support bar.

[Darren]

I may give it a go with just one strut in the new position to see how it works. But it is great to see the looks on other Lancisti when I show them. It looks like it could end up as this season's must have accessory!! ;o)) Let you know how it goes down at the Consortium End of Term Bash next month! 8)

Cheers

[lanciatomcat]

Darren
Can you please advise the manufacturer of the strut you used please
Thanks
Tom

[Darren]

Darren
Can you please advise the manufacturer of the strut you used please
Thanks
Tom

Ebay - 220287627644

Brand new and delivered for less than 20 quid!:cheers:

[lanciatomcat]

darren
Thanks for that will pursue.
Regards
Tom

[lanciatomcat]

Darren
With the wonders of modern technology order has been placed.
Thank you for the information.
Regards
Tom

[FORZALANCIA]

Darren,

very neat setup, saves mucking around when opening the hood, have you
made up any kits for this setup id be keen if u did or could point me in the right direction?

Cheers,
Tony

[Darren]

Hi Tony,

The original design props should go to Will H on here - he sent me the drawings and I made a few amendments to suit my own needs. If I were doing it again I may be inclined to moved the lower mount so I could retain the spare wheel position. I haven't thought about supplying them in kit form. From memory - and probably earlier in this thread, you'll need a couple of hood lifts from a Golf - ebay special! and I used 2" angle in aluminium cut as you see. The lower mount uses the spare wheel platform with a couple of plates to locate - there should be a few more pics in my folder.

Hope that helps!

Darren

[FORZALANCIA]

Darren/Will all i can say is pictures tell a thousand words :), will get started on one in the next 2 weeks, an excellent solution to the old trap door lol