My first triumph!

[LilMur9]

Okay...I am proud to say that today I triumphed over my very first mission w/ the 914! Due to a small problem with the lock, the rear trunk wouldn't open. Considering it would cost $340 to order a new lock, I decided against drilling it open or prying it w/ a crowbar. But in order to get to it to see what the problem was, I had to take the hinges off by way of the engine. This sounds easy, but it proved very difficult because there are springs connected to the hinges(you know, the ones that hold the lid up when you open the trunk) and many a time a screw or bracket flew up and landed 30 feet away. Also, I had to use pressure to hold the spring from shooting up prematurely, and considering I weigh a mere 90 pounds, this was difficult. Thankfully, I had the aid of my helpful step-dad. I figured out the problem w/ the lock, and it's pretty simple. Now all I have to do is fix it and put the hinges back on and I'll be ready for some summer cruisin' w/ the targa top off! So, has anyone else had to deal w/ lock problems like this before?

[oredith]

congrats..

some of us have been there, and can REALLY appreciate how hard it is to do the job you described.. glad you didn't take a finger off in the process (no, no one i know of has done that either, but it seems like a highly probable mishap given the tension those torsion bars are under)

90 lbs?!.. i thought i was light!..

[prsche914]

Cool its good to see that you got yourself a good car, other than the minor trunk problem. Mine on the other hand keeps just breaking just when i think its going righ. but on the bright siede when i do get it going all the problems will be worked out.
well im gonna go kick my front tires,
Tim

[LilMur9]

Yup, I could've lost an eye out there! The hard part is gonna be getting those hinges back on...but it won't be quite so cumbersome since I can put the lid on last...nonetheless...

BTW, I'm small boned and of Asian descent ; )

Sorry you can't get your ride together prsche914...I can imagine your difficulties. Thankfully most of my problems can be remedied pretty easily, although the list of replacement parts is quite long. What problems are you having? Optimistically I guess, you can always say it's part of the joy of owning an old car...

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Taking a finger off isn't even the worst thing that can happen to you...

Here's a few examples of things not to do:

1) Always make sure someone knows you are working on the car, and have them check in on you every once in a while if you're working solo.

2) Do not use box-end wrenches to pry down on the rear deck lid torsion springs.

3) If you ignore that, do whatever you can to keep the wrench from twisting off of the torsion spring.

4) If you are doing that, and you have taken the rear lid off, never EVER lay on top of the area where the hinges come up. (Can you guess where this is going?)

So, picture the car, with the rear decklid removed, with a big guy laying across the area where the hinges come up, with one hand on a box-end wrench trying to pry that torsion spring downward. Whoops! The wrench slips, the torsion spring jumps up and catches on the hinge, the hinge rockets up and hits our less-than-intelligent friend right in the middle of the chest.

I don't think my heart beat once for about 15 seconds. I do know that the only thing I could do was lie there on the ground, trying to figure out how to start breathing again. And it was a good 15 minutes before I could do anything more than sit there, muttering "ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch"...

LilMur9, congrats on your triumph! And congrats on showing more intelligence than myse... I mean, than our friend above. ;^)

--DD

[prsche914]

Hey Guys,
Well the only other problem i am having is my turn signal switch/assembally gizmo is fried. But that is no sweat because my electrican/dad can fix it but the part will get here while he is in canada on buisness. Oh well it gives me time to work on my speaker box. Soon all will be well and i will definatly be at the next auto x.
Tim

[pbanders]

Two more safety tips to add to what DD has already posted. Wear clear plastic safety glasses at ALL times when working on your car, even if it seems unnecessary. If you get into the habit of doing this, you'll have them on when the unexpected happens and something is flung into your face.

Second, go to your local Costco or Sam's Club and buy a big box of latex gloves and use them every time you work on the car. Cleanup becomes trivial, your hands don't come in contact with potentially nasty stuff, and you'll find you have far fewer minor cuts and scrapes from your activities.

We should probably put together a car repair safety FAQ and put it in the Pelican Tech Articles section. There are plenty more recommendations than these few we've covered.

Brad Anders