911 RSR Deck lid hinges

The brackets arrived this afternoon.

Here are three pictures of them in the approximate position I intend to install them.

Toying with making some gaskets to go between them and the body.

Also, they didn't come with mounting hardware, which didn't surprise me

Bob - Might we be seeing this beauty (with you and Anna aboard) this fall in Virginia?

I would look into getting boat SS screws as marine quality might be better than general SS out there .

are those light under the grill?

Ray:

Yes, that's my "Stevie Wonder can see this brake light" setup.

Put those on about a decade ago

Lane:

Perhaps.  More likely the Cayman.

We are for certain doing the foliage tour up north.

Ray:

Good point about marine grade hardware. We have boatyards and marine supply stores all over the area. I just finished putting marine grade fasteners on a full tonneau that came with the car but was never finished.

Good stuff.

Hey....   Those look GREAT!

Look for hardware at either a local ACE hardware store or, as Ray mentioned, Marine hardware would be a good choice, too, and you've got...  what?  Three West Marine stores near Pensacola?  

Look for counter sunk, "Oval Head" (sometimes called 'dress') SS machine screws.  Get some stainless Nylok nuts and SS washers for the underside of the body, too.  It's always fun spending money at West Marine.   😖

Take along a hinge to match up the hardware size (mine were 6mm, IIRC, but your mileage may vary) as well as see how the different screw head designs (flat, domed, etc) look in the hinge.

I'll start with West Marine. That's where I got the tonneau fasteners. Thanks for the suggestions Gordon.

Stupid-cool, Bob.

Can’t wait to see it.

I think either a thin rubber cut to the exact size or even a delrin or ABS would work real nice.

@Gordon Nichols posted:

Hey....   Those look GREAT!

Look for hardware at either a local ACE hardware store or, as Ray mentioned, Marine hardware would be a good choice, too, and you've got...  what?  Three West Marine stores near Pensacola?  

Look for counter sunk, "Oval Head" (sometimes called 'dress') SS machine screws.  Get some stainless Nylok nuts and SS washers for the underside of the body, too.  It's always fun spending money at West Marine.   😖

Take along a hinge to match up the hardware size (mine were 6mm, IIRC, but your mileage may vary) as well as see how the different screw head designs (flat, domed, etc) look in the hinge.

Gordon …. Ace hardware is the tajmahal of fasteners for hardware stores.  On my California trip my door pull handle came loose.  The screw  a SS needed a bigger body and a same size head as the hole was bigger ….. the clerk helped me and they had the exact screw that I needed !!! Wow is all I could say I bought a few to say the least!  

@Panhandle Bob posted:

Toying with making some gaskets to go between them and the body.

Also, they didn't come with mounting hardware, which didn't surprise me

I’d get a bit of black leather like the seal for a lexan windscreen. And even though Phillips are easier to deal with, I’d get SS slotted oval head screws. If you can’t find any pretty ones, a fine wire wheel on a grinder or a dremel will pretty them up.

Belmetric has them if your local Ace or a marine store doesn’t.

Or jeweller rouge polish .  

I am going to start on this project later today after I finish installing the Aperta rear wind deflector I just got from Cabrio Supply in the Netherlands.

I was inspired by Stan's.

They reportedly make long drives a bit more comfortable, and I think it will make it easier for my wife.

Shipping was expensive, but even paying for the cheapest option, it arrived in about a week. The installation brackets were all wrong but I fabbed new ones from them and I think this will work out just fine.

You can also just tilt it back under a tonneau and it disappears.

I removed the roof as I never use it, so that makes installation and storage a cinch.

I  sort of like the look.. sort of not, but a lot of you seem to so here's a long reach option.. https://www.overtons.com/stain...ch-hinge-316204.html

@Panhandle Bob posted:

Toying with making some gaskets to go between them and the body.

Also, they didn't come with mounting hardware, which didn't surprise me

yep some thin rubber sheeting

I would likely use socket head screws and just get some chrome cap-plugs

Wrenn:

That's a real elegant look. I'm not sure my car is worthy!

I'm wondering whether the long reach version allows for too much play. I guess it depends on the pin and the barrel tolerances no matter what you use.

@Panhandle Bob posted:

The brackets arrived this afternoon.

Here are three pictures of them in the approximate position I intend to install them.

Toying with making some gaskets to go between them and the body.

Also, they didn't come with mounting hardware, which didn't surprise me

Bob.  Are you sure the fibreglass in both those areas is going to be strong enough for this to work?  This was one option I thought about on my car, but too late in the build.

I asked Henry about it, and he said the reverse engineering needed for this to work would be too much to do, once the lid was set up with regular/internal hinges.

I'm no engineer - just stating when Henry told me on my build.

It's a great look.

@Panhandle Bob posted:

Wrenn:

That's a real elegant look. I'm not sure my car is worthy!

I'm wondering whether the long reach version allows for too much play. I guess it depends on the pin and the barrel tolerances no matter what you use.

The cap plugs finish off the look and keep the socket head clean.  Used a lot on motorcycles- Cruisers especially, and I'm sure your car is worthy.    If you go for this, remember that flat head socket screw allen-hex size is different (smaller) from standard socket head scew allen-hex size and the OD at the top of the head is larger so there may be a different cap-plug needed.  It's just a nice touch..   Audi left the socket head screws exposed on the TT's fuel cap mount...  You do you, and be happy with it.

The engineer in me would like to see a larger spread on the bolt pattern of the mounting flanges (more square).. I notice Emory did that on his hinge.   The decklid is not really heavy and there's no real stress on it.. so it's probably just me being too analytical.  (that's how we'll pronounce it anyway)

I imagine that one will need to mark and drill for the new hinges with the old hinges in place.  An aluminum reinforcing plate might be needed on the reverse side, but that isn't too difficult to accomplish.  Then the old hinges will need to removed and the new ones installed with the engine lid off the car, the lid then placed back on and the pins installed.

On a coupe the lid flops back against the window and stays open. On a speedster I'd slowly open the lid to see if there were any issues with having it put too much strain on things when it's all the way open 180*.  Probably not, but you never can tell. A prop rod is a pretty easy solution if it's needed.

This will make cleaning idle jets, etc. MUCH easier. Can't wait to see the finished project, Bob!

Bob:

I'm not sure of anything but I think this will work. The fiberglass in all four areas seems to pretty robust.

Wrenn:

Thanks for your help.

I think I'm going to go with the exposed heads for now and see how I like it.

I will definitely have to pay attention on how the lid folds down on the back of the car.

I'm considering a prop rod no matter what.

Michael:

I think the hinges weigh as much as the lid!

This is all an experiment.

I may go with the thin aluminum backing.

Definitely putting gaskets on.

Bob, get a mountain/cruiser bike inner tube and cut with sharp scissors. Glue the gasket to the hinge with contact cement.

If you have a leather belt hole punch you can make nice round holes for the hardware.

Make sure you touch up paint the holes in the fiberglass or seal them in some way.

Thanks ,Danny!!!!

For a while, back when I was waiting for my VMC speedster to complete and I was dreaming of cool things to do with my adult doll, I considered external hinges for the rear lid.  They have fallen below the bar on my wish list, in part because I think someday I might want to install a luggage rack and it just seemed to me the added weight would be a challenge for the hinges.  

I then had a crazy idea to mount faux hinges that would look legit until close examination. The pin would be missing its middle section, I would cut the screw heads off and epoxy them to the hinge flanges so no holes needed, and I’d use emblem tape to install.  But it occurred to me it would just look cheesey.  

@JMM (Michael) posted:

I imagine that one will need to mark and drill for the new hinges with the old hinges in place.  An aluminum reinforcing plate might be needed on the reverse side, but that isn't too difficult to accomplish.  Then the old hinges will need to removed and the new ones installed with the engine lid off the car, the lid then placed back on and the pins installed.

On a coupe the lid flops back against the window and stays open. On a speedster I'd slowly open the lid to see if there were any issues with having it put too much strain on things when it's all the way open 180*.  Probably not, but you never can tell. A prop rod is a pretty easy solution if it's needed.

This will make cleaning idle jets, etc. MUCH easier. Can't wait to see the finished project, Bob!

I was coming on here to say the same thing. I would trace the base of both sides of the new hinge and cut out a base plate for the underside of the body and the deck lid, just in case. When I added the gas struts to my frunk lid I did the same thing because people were telling me the gas struts would put too much stress on the fiberglass. I never had an issue after eight years.

An alternative to Danny's bicycle inner tube would be one from a car or (preferably) a truck.

Places that sell/service car/truck tires usually give away old tubes for the asking (especially if they know what's going to be used on).  On a scale of thickness, it would go bicycle, car, truck with the truck being 3/32" thick or better.  I've used inner tube rubber for gaskets like that often.  It's easy to cut with an X-Acto knife or scissors and you can use a single-hole paper punch for a nice clean hole.

I bought a pair from Amazon (Supplied by Marine Part Depot) for $12.98 (free Prime shipping).  Plan to use them on engine lid for a dune buggy I have.  They are polished stainless steel.  Looks like they could be sand blasted for a less shiny look.

The hinges are installed. No rattling and the gaps are as they were when I started this little project. I had to remove some of the thin lip at the top of the engine bay to accommodate the hardware. I have to do some more trimming small clean up stuff and paint work but it is otherwise done.

My car is not a show car. It is a driver and I am becoming more and more comfortable modifying it into an outlaw style on my own as much as possible. I'm looking hard at my side louvres sitting on the bench and working up my nerve to do the install.

Looks good on top .   I like it
Doing it again I wonder if a flush zert of some kind would have been able to work but then you would not want them to come loose.  Just saying

The ultimate I guess is to embed a fastener in the lid itself … an Alan thing

The exterior of the deck lid is basically a flat surface. The bottom piece on the deck lid is not, it angles pretty severely.

I took nylon spacers and cut them at an angle to mold to the curved under surface. So it's washer, nylon, nylock nut.

Tight as a drum and no wiggle or vibration of the deck lid. When I pull the opener it pops just as before.

Bob love the look!!

Excellent!  We’ll done.

For the archives, can you take and share a photo taken from the side that shows how the lid sits on the body when fully open?  

Jon T.

Sure. I'll have it up by tonight. I put a folded towel down between the lid and the body.

The engine access is really terrific, and I can completely remove the lid in about 3 minutes or less.

How do you release the hinges?  From the inside or outside?  Pict might be nice.

If you mean separate the halves, there is a pin that is removable. Look at the early pics in the thread and it is easy to see.

Duh, just saw it... that should work and yes the engine access looks to be wonderful

Bob - while examining one of your photos, I notice you have what appears to be a gigantic dead pedal.  I’m having a hard time understanding what I’m seeing here, it looks impossibly large.  I did a search and found a thread where you asked for suggestions on dead pedals but during my admittedly brief search I didn’t see any posts you provided showing your end result.  Curious minds just need to know!