Beck Louvered Deck Lid

Alan,

I would first need to post some pics of it as I modified the inner piece to accomodate my original turbo plumbing and I'm sure that some wouldn't like it. I'll do my best to post a pic of it Monday.

I won't reinstall it on this car so I'd let it go for $150 shipped if you're interested after seeing the pics.

Thanks,

Jimmy

Would be a shelf item for a future use, Tnx Jimmy

Alan,

Here are the pics:

The top has a crack in the paint (left of the grill opening) that happened when I was modifying the back side. The hole saw I was using went through the back and hit the top which cracked the paint. No biggie.

The back has additional material removed from the drivers side of the lid and has a hole approximately 1"x2" which is where I removed material to clear my charge pipe from the turbo.

If there was a decent enough market for these, I would make a mold for this and the louvered lid and sell them at a decent price but I think I'm busy enough as it is for now.

Michael,

I made a quick model of the bracket that I used to attach the gas strut to the engine lid. I also made a model of the hinge bracket. Nothing to scale as I didn't drive the Speedster to work today but I hope it helps you get an idea of how I installed the strut.

Looking at the model, the engine lid will be "sandwiched" between the strut bracket and hinge bracket. The 1/4" 90 degree bend ensures that the bracket will not bend upwards and being that I made mine from 1/8" 304SS, I doubt it would bend anyways.

With the bracket installed to the engine lid, you'll install the 13" strut to the hole in the bracket. With the strut installed to the strut bracket, you will now need to open your engine lid to the position that you want it to be (fully open) and then mark the position where the strut will need to be attached to the hinge mount on the firewall. It would be a good idea to protect the paint on the body with something so that when you are opening your engine lid to the full open position, you don't open it too far and scratch your paint. If you currently have the pin that keeps the lid open, you could lock it open with that and set the strut position to where it needs to be on the hinge mount on the firewall.

I attached the strut mounting stud directly to the hinge mounting bracket on the firewall. There is no need for an additional bracket here - only a hole large enought to fit the stud through. (5/16")

If I had the room to install a strut on the drivers side as well, I would probably do so and use 2 of the 30 pound struts instead of 1 of the 45 pound struts but I have no room on the driver's side to do so. The 45 seems to work well but I do sort of like the idea of having 2.

I picked up a number of struts from eBay and paid roughly $20 each with shipping. You can find them all over the place and can surely find them cheaper than $20 if you try.

If you need the exact dimensions of the bracket that I made, let me know and I will put a tape to it when I get home.

Hope that helps you.

Jimmy

Jimmy, thank you for taking the time to do this.

I don't know if it is just my computer but I can't the first image assem1.

On the lid why didn't you attach to the end of the hinge piece instead of using the additional bracket? It looks like there wouldn't be much change in position in the photo.

Does it make a difference which end the gas cylinder is on?

You're right Michael - I can't see the image here at home either. I save it as a .jpeg but may have done something wrong when I was loading it here. I'll try to post it again tomorrow or I can email it to you if you like. If I can't get it to download tomorrow and I do end up driving the Speedster, I can get the measurements and make another bracket and send it to you.

I didn't attach the strut directly to the hinge because the strut would interfere with the inside of the deck lid when it is closed. The bracket drops the strut mounting point down about an inch which gives it the room it needs.

According to the information screened onto the cylinder, the rod is supposed to be positioned down and the gas portion of the cylinder up. It will definitely fit both ways though.

Thanks.

I'll have to figure out if the strut will clear my fan shroud which is has the more square corners than yours.

I also have breather lines going to my air cleaners.

I can see the model in the message here at work.... I took a picture of the screen and hope it turns out okay.

Is the bracket something you made?

Is the attachment point for the strut pretty much even with the end of the hinge piece or beyond the end?

Who manufactured your Speedster? I am wondering if the hinge bracket on the "firewall" is the same as mine on my CMC.

Thanks again.

I did make the bracket and the mounting point for the strut is about 1/2" past the end of the hinge bracket.

Mine is a CMC as well and while I had the engine and trans out, I made a new firewall from 304 stainless and also made new brackets for the hinges to attach to the firewall. They are pretty much the same as the brackets I removed - only prettier.

OK, I thought maybe your hinge bracket at the firewall allowed a lower mounting point for the strut.

But, if it is the same height as my CMC bracket I should be able to match the mounting of yours.

Well done my man. I am glad that lid found a good home. It wasn't doing anything in my garage except collecting dust. I originally bought it from Carey Hines.

Thank you for the great deal! Gives the back end of the car a little more attitude.

Have a great weekend!

Jimmy

I would also be interested in teh CMC  lid

How much to make another set of brackets?

If you would like to buy the lid, it's up for grabs for $150.

Jimmy

Would take me a few days as I'm currently busier than a 1 armed wallpaper hanger but I could make a set of prop rod brackets for about $20 plus postage.

Jimmy

I will take it.  W ill pay if s

I will pay more if shipping is hi to 97701  thannks.  Pm me 4 payment arrangement.  I .  Will be home in the pm

?? I can ship it tomorrow. Do you have a Paypal acct? If so, you can send payment to my email address in my profile. What do you plan on doing with the whale tail? My wife would freak if I put one on the Speedster but if it's held on like the regular lid with 4 bolts, it would be fun to change it up for a day....Whale tail, wheelie bars, slicks and a parachute - yeah that's the ticket!!

I replied to your pm.