Right side decklid shock mount

[Christien]

I want to add a right-side decklid shot, because my decklid isn't sitting flat when closed - the left side has pressure on it from the shock, but there's no shock on the right side to counter this. Problem is, there's nothing to mount the shock to at the back of the engine bay.

Anybody ever done this before? A search turned up a couple threads that suggested manufacturing a shock mount, but no discussion of anyone actually doing it. Is this something possible to do with tools in my garage? (no welding equipment, just standard wrenches, saws, etc.) Pelican doesn't sell anything for mounting, at least not that I can find.

Thanks!

Chris

[Gunter]

If you are referring to the struts, they are not there to align the lids. Both, front and rear lid, are set by the hinges. I found that adding, or subtracting, flat washers under the mounting bolts for the hinge solved the problem of making the lid flush.

[Christien]

I've played around with quite a few washers (and lost several in the engine bay) but I still couldn't get it to sit flat. The right hinge just hangs limp when the decklid's not attached to it, so when I close it then only spots that have any pressure applied are the left hinge and the latch. The right hinge wobbles left and right a little bit, so I assumed it's not applying any lateral pressure anywhere. That's what led me to think another strut would make it sit even.

How many washers did you end up using?

[Gunter]

It might take several attempts; there is no set rule or number of washers. Try one or two, tighten up, close the lid, observe alignment. If too high, subtract and visa versa. Make sure of the correct spacing required so it does not scrap the paint on closing. Use a magnet to find the lost washers.

[Christien]

Ok, I'll keep at it. I played with it with washers for maybe half an hour or so, maybe I just need to keep trying different combinations. I learned the hard way to watch more closing when closing to avoid scratching the paint. d'oh.

Thanks!

Chris

[yelcab1]

The washers at the hinges only adjust the forward lip of the lid to make it sit flush with the front of the engine cavity. To adjust the rear lip of the deck:

1. Adjust the spring latch to add more tension to force the lid to close tighter at the rear latch.
2. On the side sitting too low, adjust the rubber stop out to make contact, and rubber stop in on the other side sitting too high.

This is what I had to do when I added a double shock(s) to my left side hinge after the tail is added.

[Christien]

The rubber stops were the first thing I thought of. Problem is, this is a new decklid (ducktail from Mike Shaw), and there are no holes for the rubber stops. One thing I though of was measuring very carefully, then just cutting the rubber from the original decklid to the right height and attaching it with some kind of glue.

[thabaer]

Have you pulled off the strut to see if it is affecting the closed position ?

[Christien]

No, I haven't - that's actually a really good idea - should've thought of that before...

Thanks!

[911pcars]

Christian,
You are on the right track with the bumper stops. Just drill holes the same size and location as the factory lid, then screw in the rubber bumpers. Adjust until the corners sit even with the fenders. After this, adjust the latch accordingly.

Sherwood

[Gunter]

Christien: I didn't know that you are dealing with a new lid. I second drilling holes for the rubber stops in the right place. Mark out the position, then use a center punch mark for the hole so the drill doesn't run all over the place. Pre-drill a small pilot hole first, then the correct size. The rubber stops will determine the flush position of the lid. When adjusting the latch, be careful when setting the lateral (sideways) position. If you go too far to one side, the lid may not open at all!!!!!!
Use a little grease for the latch.

[Christien]

Sorry, should've mentioned it was a new lid. I played with some washers today and it helped things sit better, but still not perfectly. I'll do some drilling next weekend. One quick question - there are already holes drilled in the new lid which are about 1cm or 1/2 inch in diameter. The rubber stops that were on my original decklid were closer to a full inch in diameter (no holes for these in the new lid). Are the smaller holes for smaller rubber stops or something else? I'd rather buy new rubber stops than drill more holes.

Thanks!
Chris

[911pcars]

Have you got a factory hood to compare the rubber stop holes? If so, just replicate the hole size in the new lid. BTW, the holes are smaller than the bumper. Only a portion of the bumper stop screws into the hole (like a thread).

Anyone have the hole dimension?

Sherwood

[Zeke]

The bump stops don't *screw* into the fibeglass like the thin sheet metal. If you look closely at the metal lid and its holes, it's like one thread of a nut, or like a speed nut. Hard to do in glass. I'd "stick" with the glue idea. You can keep cutting them down little by little and holding them in place with duct tape until your fit is where you want it.

Almost all lids touch down on the right side first, so the RH bump stop is very important.

[aigel]

I have seen some poor fits on the aftermarket all fiberglass ducktails. Are you sure the thing has the correct shape to start with?

George

[Rufblackbird]

5 years ago I had the same question when I put a turbo tail on my 911. I called Pelican and they came up with a list of parts to add a right side decklid shock, ala turbo. I bought the parts but never got around to installing them. Here's the parts list...it wasn't on the website; I had to call to find out:

PN 911 501 729 01 Bracket
PN 930 512 039 00 Plate
PN N0126452 Clip (2x)
PN 999 166 043 02 Pin (2x)

HTH

[911pcars]

"The bump stops don't *screw* into the fibeglass like the thin sheet metal."

Milt,
But that's what I did on my ducktail. Worked fine. Perhaps some composite lids are too thick at that location to screw on the rubber bumper. If period correctness is not an issue, there are rubber-tipped screw-type leg levelers that could work in this application.

Sherwood

[Christien]

The ducktail isn't a perfect fit. The proportions are fine, edges straight, but it's not quite wide enough. Maybe should be another 1/8 to 1/2 inch wider. It sits perfectly flat on my workbench, though, which is why I was trying to fix the corners better (rather than assuming the front lip wasn't straight thus not sitting flat). Adhesive on the rubber stops it'll be, next time I'm in the garage.

Thanks for the help, guys!

Chris

[Rondinone]

Originally posted by Christien
I want to add a right-side decklid shot, because my decklid isn't sitting flat when closed - the left side has pressure on it from the shock, but there's no shock on the right side to counter this. Problem is, there's nothing to mount the shock to at the back of the engine bay.

Anybody ever done this before? A search turned up a couple threads that suggested manufacturing a shock mount, but no discussion of anyone actually doing it. Is this something possible to do with tools in my garage? (no welding equipment, just standard wrenches, saws, etc.) Pelican doesn't sell anything for mounting, at least not that I can find.

Thanks!

Chris

When you put a turbo tail on and try to double up the left side, the same thing happens. I was not able to correct the warping by adjustment, I tried several times. So I bought a second set of hinges off Ebay and used the second left side hinge to add another shock to the right of the lid:



Because the left and right hinges are offset differently, you have to offset the connection between the hinge and the body using a bolt like this:



Then you need to make a mount for the bottom of the shock. Basically I made a folded piece of metal that looks alot like the one on the left and bolted it into place. You can get to the front side of the firewall by taking the seatback out. It would be easiest to drill holes from the inside. You need to make the mount very strong because the hood shock is very strong. I'd take a picture but I don't want to peel back any more insulation.

[NoLift911]

Originally posted by Rufblackbird
5 years ago I had the same question when I put a turbo tail on my 911. I called Pelican and they came up with a list of parts to add a right side decklid shock, ala turbo. I bought the parts but never got around to installing them. Here's the parts list...it wasn't on the website; I had to call to find out:

PN 911 501 729 01 Bracket
PN 930 512 039 00 Plate
PN N0126452 Clip (2x)
PN 999 166 043 02 Pin (2x)

HTH

This is the way to go - I installed a factory Carrera tail and got the same parts with mine. I installed the bracket with 6 small sheet metal screws to the firewall - painted using touch-up and never looked back - solid and looks oem.

-Jeff