Engine lid stuck-quandary

[WRGREENER]

I have been reading tips, tricks, and magic about opening stuck lids. While considering last resorts, what would you think of drilling out the six t-bolts and taking out the grill? Would you be able to get into the cable area and free the contact? Theoretically asking

[mean_in_green]

I had to deal with this a few months ago - various threads if you search: some managed to get a swan neck spanner under the lid to loosen the pin fasteners, others parking their cars half on a kerb to flex the chassis then man handling the lids into submission. Another way is to unscrew the T-handle on the cable. The lid catch design is supposed to leave the catch open once the handle is removed, although this relies on it being correctly set up. My handle had fused with the cable - trying to unwind it snapped the cable, then I found the catch hadn't been set up properly and the lid was still shut...

John Walker wrote that it's possible to get a long screwdriver through the rear seal and bend the engine tinware enough to get onto the bottom of the latch pin, but my merely mortal hands were unable to achieve the same result.

In the end I took the silencer off and drilled two holes: one in the lower face of the reflector box section and one in the upper, revealing the bottom of the latch pin. The lower hole will probably need to be larger to allow the drill chuck in to make the upper hole (if you don't have a long enough bit). Then it's just a case of poking something long enough through and pushing the pin up. The main problem you face with this approach is figuring out how far in to make the holes as to my eyes the view was totally alien.

The advantage of approaching it this way is that it can be very easily repeated. I wasn't totally happy with the solution but as a C3 tail and lid swaps feature in my short term plans I thought it better than sacrificing a grille.

Hopefully these pics will help someone facing the same dilemma. My first guess pilot holes where a little out - the blue dashes are a better guide:

[WRGREENER]

Good illustration. However, i drilled out the "t" 6 each. Started with a small pilot then larger (2x) till finish. Vacuumed filings, dropped nuts in to engine, and pulled grill. Since i have carbs (with covers) i have plenty of room to reach in and pull lever.

Here is the kick.... It was not the lever problem. It is a mis-alignment problem of the striker assembly's head piece catching on the side of the receiver assembly.

The lever assembly was working just as it was designed to: Opens when pulled and opens when it has enough slack (or brakes).

I would suggest that a lot of the sticking trunk threads are dealing with the same problem. That is why hitting, tugging, pulling, slapping, the chicken dance and all the other hints work on this problem... I ended up with direct forward pressure to the dead center rear, 2" vertical portion, of the lid and it popped-up

ero, drilling holes, extracting parts, fishing expeditions are a waist of time.



However, as an added precaution drill a hole just next to the tail light connection and run a emergency cable.... Just in case.

[80-911SC]

do you realize how much the grill and the nuts are for these cars, the T 's are not even available for most of them.. .

[wolf76]

Hello. I had the same problem on my 84. The pin was not aligned properly and was caught in the latch. What worked was to use a piece of wire (heavy duty wire) and wrap it around the pin. Then, while the release was pulled the wire was pulled and it moved the pin over enough to open the deckild. I posted the sme question and recieved numerous suggestions one involving using a hacksaw to cut the pin. Thankfully I didn't have to go through that. I hope this helps.

Chris

[WRGREENER]

POST 4 I GUESS I WAS NOT CLEAR. I DRILLED OUT THE T BOLT...THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE DAMAGING THE GRILL (IF YOU ARE CAREFUL THAT IS TO SAY DRILL FROM SMALL TO LARGE TILL YOU BORE OUT THE BOLT). THE t-BOLTS ARE $3.95 EACH 5mm NUT/.95 OVER THE COUNTER (DID NOT SEE THEM ON PELICAN TRY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS...CAN I SAY THAT HERE?)

THE WIRE SOUND FEASIBLE ESPECIALLY IF THE POST IS CATCHING HIGH (THUS PULLING IT DOWN) OR TO THE SIDE. HOWEVER IF IT IS CATCHING IT ON THE DOWN SIDE I WOULD QUESTION ITS' EFFECTIVENESS. WORTH A TRY.. THE HACK SAW.. YOU CAN RIP A LOT OF PAINT ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BODY (I HAVE DONE THAT TOO) MY CLEARANCE WAS NOMINAL