Engine Lid

To further your thinking, Carl- why not build them with the bigger engine lid to begin with?

Carl - A VW Karmann Ghia would be your simplest solution.  

    Al,

    The Japanese have a word for "fooling the eye" especially used for floral arrangements so life-like that an admirer has to actually touch the petals to ascertain if they're real or not. I'm sure that an off the shelf larger engine lid on our speedsters simply wouldn't be acceptable. It's vital that our tubs visually (& dimensionally) duplicate the original...but how we later modify them for personal taste, or convenience, IS ACCEPTABLE. Jay Leno showcased Emory's personal 356A coupe with a larger engine lid that's so subtly done that it's initially unnoticed...In fact that coupe has many subtle modifications that aren't immediately apparent.

    The replica's engine bay is constructed differently than an original (I had no access difficulty with either my '59 coupe or my '61 roadster, although I did cut the handle of a ratchet down to a nub as to get at #1 & 3 sparkplugs!)

    Greg (Wolfgang)

    You're right . The Karmann Ghia has all the engine bay 'tinkering room' a person could possibly want...but it simply doesn't have the panache of a speedster, nor does it foster the intense, consuming, madness that speedster's generate!!

    Think about it Greg. There's good money to be had in dealing with 'panache'...Instead of lounging on your deck staring at the gulf you could be in your cavernous barn/workshop constructing the mold for the engine lid that I need!...Don't forget the louvers.