Engine deck lid/grille handle ideas

The 356 was originally equipped with this clever German suction lifter in its tool kit. The handle was used to raise the engine lid, but could then be removed and stowed so as not to detract from the car's flowing lines.

Original old stock examples in good condition now fetch about $1200, but Stoddard has high quality reproductions for about $350.

Hazet was apparently sued over the design by the American Standard company and had to eventually relinquish all rights.

You could install a small spring on the latch mechanism to help the deck lid up up 1”-1.5 inches when released.  No need to install a handle, 

ref attached thread with pictures- instructions;

https://www.speedsterowners.co...k-lid-doesn-t-pop-up

cheers,

Yeah, that looks pretty poor and no one has done that. 
instead, you can install one or two pressure struts to lift it when released.  Search on here for solutions.  

There are many mechanical spring loaded door poppers available from the hot rod community, eBay, Summit racing etc. You might be able to mount it close to the latch. Good luck.

I think I involve myself with this forum to (1) feel stupid but meanwhile (2) be thrilled at the excellent solutions.  

@Sacto Mitch Thankfully the "knock-offs" of that suctioning apparatus often come in red which'll match my car.

@Gotno356 Thanks for that, funny enough I think I have a few of those spring-loaded door poppers lying around and I STILL didn't think of that.

@Gordon Nichols @Lfepardo Thanks for those suggestions, I'm going to look into going that gas strut route.  Here are a few good threads on that solution for anyone finding themselves reading these words...:

• Thread: Rear deck lid doesn't pop up (the one linked by @Lfepardo above)
• Thread: Better way to hold up the engine lid?
• Thread: i think i have solved the riddle
• Thread: Cool deck lid idea...
• Thread: Deck lid spring (mostly same concepts but a few more nuggets)

@Sean Seena

Sean, for as long as I've been on this forum (beaucoup years), I learn something new EVERYTIME I log on to this site. Best bang for the buck as far as information and entertainment value! 

Wow.. mango’s gas strut idea has a great clean install- out of the way..... may be worth adding as winter “have nothing better to do project“ ( though the spring on the deck latch has been working great for the past few years).  Thank you for posting all those links Sean.

cheers,

luis

@Sean Seena I was going to post this: https://www.speedsterowners.co...1#438713955069046961 But you already found it. IMHP that is the best engine pop I've seen. If the car were to catch on fire this may not open the lid if you don't get to it in time but that's what insurance is for.

@Robert M posted:

@Sean Seena I was going to post this: https://www.speedsterowners.co...1#438713955069046961 But you already found it. IMHP that is the best engine pop I've seen. If the car were to catch on fire this may not open the lid if you don't get to it in time but that's what insurance is for.

I allayed that "open the lid" concern by installing the BlazeCut system. Now, if fire sh*t happens, it would be best to wait until the system does its job and let things "cool" before taking a look.   

 @Sean Seena ,  Something you may want to consider when deciding to either instal a gas strut ( to open your rear deck lid completely when you release it) or installing a spring on the latch ( to just pop up your deck lid 1.5” when you release it)”.

I just remembered why I didn’t instal a gas strut (and chose the spring release method instead);

When I go on longer drives on hot days I like to prop my rear deck lid up ~3” to get additional air/ ventilation in my engine compartment.

Terry Nichols shared his ingenious idea back in 2013.

With the strut installed you run the risk of the lid popping all the way open while driving.

hope this is useful. 

cheers.

As I pondered this situation, which is an issue with my car also, the reason we have this problem is that the release spring is not strong enough to pop the lid up to where it should be. So, short of having a new spring made, we should be able to add a spring in an inconspicuous place that doesn’t look like a Rube Goldberg. I think I’ll be disassembling the latch and polishing the parts for ease of movement and adding that spring underneath the latch. I am working on this as we speak. Good luck.

I originally had gas struts installed.  They seemed to be pushing the lid to the rear when closed and I removed them.  I installed a Fiat latch that had a spring to raise the lid. There is also a cover available to cover the latch. This is described in the thread in the link below.

https://www.speedsterowners.co...1#599172805040851541

Before all of this, I made a tool out of a spoon.  I heated it and bent a hook at the end on the handle that I could hook under a slat in my CMC grille.  I cut a slot in the other end so I could fit under my Tenax fasteners behind my windshield.  I coated both ends with Plasticoat.

@Gotno356 I'd been pondering about it too and came to the conclusion that generally there are 3 modifications for the lid opening action:

• Gas strut
• Door popper
• Additional helper spring to latch mechanism
• (And then related upgrades like this deck lid catch discussed here that I happen to already have installed thanks to PO, or the deck lid prop bar, or added helper latch spring to pull your latch knob back)

I think the gas strut would be a really nice luxury touch, but in my particular situation I have limited engine compartment area available in that area, wanted it done quickly versus waiting on parts, and realized I only care for the deck lid to pop so I don't have to rely on a handle (the gas strut would be a creature comfort).  Same problem with door popper- the ones I had on hand were too weak and I didn't want to wait get my hands on new ones.  So I decided on the helper spring approach, which also seemed the most minimal (@Napa Paul thankfully I have a BlazeCut new in box thanks again to PO so that'll take care of the fire concern).

So with the help of my father who's more capable, we drilled a hole in the latch arm for one end of the helper spring as most others have done.  Then we drilled/tapped a hole in the latch mechanism itself to create an area for the pictured screw, then we played with different stretch distances for the helper spring by "shimming" it with different objects (as you can tell from our kludgy final setup).  We were proud that we kept the mechanism contained to the metal frame of the latch, so that we weren't relying on a hole in the fiber glass that could get beat up over time.

But then @Michael McKelvey just posted that awesome thread ("Engine Lid Latch") that I wish I was aware of earlier because it would have cut down on our "R&D" going in circles, and we probably would've had a more elegant solution.  That thread shows examples of keeping the spring tension "local" to the body of the latch.  That said, I'm totally fine with how it ended up, it's pretty inconspicuous, any better and it would've just been extra bonus points.

We also added the deck lid prop bar while there, why not?  (thanks @Lfepardo for mentioning).  Tapped the rearmost hole and added a thin nut so that they'd hopefully work together to keep the bolt from falling out one day.

I would've really liked to fix the deck release knob lower latch arm, because whenever I pull the knob in the cabin, it stays open.  But it seemed like it would require a super strong spring- I think the wire just has too much friction inside the pipe it travels through.  I think I've come across discussion on this issue somewhere but "ran out of gas" on the issue for the moment.