Hood and trunk FLEX

Va914 · 01-31-2001, 05:44 PM

Hey Guys, I am fairly new to the 914 and have a question..

The rear trunk lid is very weak in the center, is this common to all 914's? Is there any way to stiffen the lid up?

The front lid does not sit level when closed. It's high on the drivers side. I have noticed some of the crossmembers (below) are pulled down away from the lid about 3/16". It looks like there was some kind of sealer (black) used. Can I just add some kind of sealr and twist the front lid to bring it back to level?

Conrad W Peden · Conrad W Peden's Garage

My front lid started to sit 'unlevel'.

The reason for mine doing it was that the points where the hinges bolt on were stating to weaken due to rust at the bolt holes. The torque from the springs when closed was trying to open the lid and its was giving away at the rusted area.

You may want to check and see if yours is this case. Otherwise it may be the hinge point where it attaches to the car. Not unlike the way the rears break off. Never heard of it happening to the front but you never know with a 914, anything is possible.

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CWP/VIR
72 914 L20E in rusto.
73 914 L20E 2.0L in resto.
http://members.rennlist.com/a914lover

SteveStromberg · 02-01-2001, 07:37 AM

I have a 914 that the PO had used spay foam to fill space between the outer hood and the inner frame work it stiffend it up but the foam has trapped water and the rust has set in. It was a good idea but caused other problems. Steve www.914underground.com

John Rogers · 02-01-2001, 08:28 AM

I had the same trouble with both our 914s and I used a clear sealer called "GOOP", the plumber's variety available at Home Depot, etc. I cleaned the reenforcement areas with laquer thinner and scuffed the paint and then used many dabs of the sealer between the metal parts and then clamped the hoods to let it set. It used blocks of wood under the hood that were set to touch the inner areas so that when the hood was nearly shut it pressed the parts together and held the hood down with duct tape until the sealer was dry but it was not latched. I also had the car setting level so there was no body twist during this process. I used this sealer on the race 914 to glue in the rear window too last year as it was rattling around and it has sealed very well with no sign of loosening. Good luck.

Va914 · 02-01-2001, 09:09 AM

Thansk...I think I'll look into the sealer idea. I think I saw that "GOOP" stuff you were talking about.

Thanks

HMeeder · HMeeder's Garage

John has a good tip:
There are many versions of GOOP (I think as many as 8) and they seem all to work equally well. Find one of them that works on rubber (not every one does, for some reason) so you can use it for many other applications as well. I found that contrary to the packaging, it doesn't work quite as well as a contact cement as it has a tendency to skin up quickly. I also place the tube in a glass of hot water for a while before using it. At low temperatures it is quite stiff and warming it up will get it to flow better. I used it when I made a new rear targa seal according to Demick Boyden's tech article here on site. It required some clamping with a pair of long 2x4s since it doesn't set up as quickly as the contact cement recommended in the article. I was quite happy with the results.

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Herb

John Rogers · 02-01-2001, 10:30 AM

I forgot to mention another use for GOOP and that is to lock nuts and bolts. On my race car even jam nuts have been know to viberate loose so now I put a dab of GOOP on the nut (s) and shaft/bolt and no more loosening. Great for things like Weber carb vertical linkage nuts, etc. It is easily removed when disassembly is required. Good luck.