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Looking for some ideas for supporting both lids without using a 2by4. Maybe a notching mechanism like on Corvettes. Anyone have a good solution to share. My arm is breaking trying to hold up the engine cover. There has to be a better way. Thanks
winnipaw a simple support rod like on a Chevette or many import cars is perfect or if you want to do some work use a hydraulic support that many upper end cars use .Good Luck
DanMy car has a support rod made from what looks like electrical conduit that has been flattened on each end. One end attaches to the left overider bolt using a longer bolt and two nuts. the other end is held in place by a clamp attached to the right overider bolt.It is hardly noticeable behind the rear bumper but is easily removed from the clamp and raised to fit into a bracket mounted to the engine cover near the center between the spare tire and the lower edge of the cover to hold it up.
The hood has a length of seat belt attached to the firewall near the center and also to the center of the hood. It is long enough to let the hood open far enough to stay open but it does not let it open enough to hit the headlight. This does not work good on a windy day.
I’m not gonna help you with this one winnipaw. 🙂
My Duchess’ engine cover is hinged at the bottom and swings back over the rear bumper. When I working on the car, I simply use straightened coat hangars to hook the latches together and hold the cover off the bumper (it would rest on the spare, which is OK, but leaves line across the spare).
Well OK.
You could use gas lifts like this one (they are available in different pressures, so you would have to see how much weight the open cover presses down with).
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=74269& amp; amp;pdesc=Black_Powder_Coated_Gas_Lift_Springs&cname=Oth er-Hardware&aID=601J7&merchID=1009&r=view
You could adapt an adjustable support like this one:
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=74985& amp; amp;pdesc=Pontoon_Bimini_Top_Fittings_1_1/4_Aluminum_Adjusta ble_Strut_with_Click_Connect&cname=Bimini-Top-Hardware-A ccessories&aID=601B5&merchID=1009&r=view
Make your own…here’s an idea you might be able to adapt:
http://www.cruisinstyle.com/content/uploadarticles/Jan-08/ho od/LowDollarHood.pdf
Not sure how this one works, but here is a universal hood prop rod kit (scroll down)
http://www.legenshotrod.com/Don%27s%20Hot%20Rod%20Site%20Inf o/parts/univkits.html
OK, I think that should give you ideas.
PMOSSBERG40136.8925810185
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
My Duchess’ hood is held open with a length of seatbelt webbing just as Larry Murphy described.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Paul, Did you just reverse your piano hinge or was it built this way? I like the idea of opening from the top but what to do with all those holes.
I followed your links and one was interesting to try. Larry, I’d love to see a picture of your prop rod, stowed and holding lid up. Thanks Dan, I’ll be looking for one that fits. Thanks guys.winnipaw,
I think we need to clarify somethings here.
My Duchess is a VW based car.
There are no piano hinges.
The front hood has two hinges on the passenger side. There is a chrome strip down the center; underneath that strip, on he underside of the hood, these is an inverted “u” channel, supporting the length of the hood. the seat belt is screwed to that and to the fire wall.
The Duchess hinges the engine cover by using the two vertical bars that also help support the spare tire carrier. in my gallery (PMOSSBERG) you can see the ends of the bars on either side of the spare tire. and you can just about make out the bolts that serve as hinges. The entire engine cover tilts towards the rear.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Winnipaw, My car is a London Roadster and the splash pan and the engine cover are made together as one piece . After looking at the Bill Collins photo gallery I can see that my type support would not work on a car with MG style bumper brackets as I think you have. Take a look at Bill’s gallery and you will see another option, [a removeable engine cover]. Looks like a good idea to me,as it gets the cover completely out of the way and would be about the same cost as supports.You would need to put a disconnect plug on the license plate wires but that is not a big deal.Pink MG ,one of the moderators of this site built the car and I know that he believes in quality products and design.The brackets at the top of the cover are available at marine supply places.
I used a cut off shaft from an old five iron! It’s chrome, the right length, and works just fine.
Greg
Paul, I see the bracket hinges on your engine cover. Would love to land a couple of those, but mean while I’m playing with the idea of removing the whole cover like Bill Collins’s car. Might be too heavy though. As far as using my golf clubs on the engine cover, the vehicle will pull to the right to match my slice…very unsafe
I just checked the oil in my wife’s car 06 PT. the prop rod hit me.
it has a hook coated in rubber about 12 inches long that mite work ? just a thought
DanThey are just 3/4 or maybe 1″ steel tubes bent to a “z” shape to match the engine cover. There are plugs in the ends like the plugs in the endof bike handlebars.
The hinges are riveted through the splash pan into the steel sub-frame that surrounds the engine compartment.
Under the engine cover there is a steel plate shaped sort of like this
__ __
____/The “z” bars bolt through the fiberglass to the steel plate.
The lower part in the diagram above protrudes through to the outside of the engine cover. The spare bolts to that.
If you want to try something like this, I can take some pictures for you.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Paul, I think I’ve just about solved the dilemna of the heavy engine cover. I purchased a pair of the lift tubes from one of the links you provided. I am supposed to receive them by next week. I’ll let you know about the installed results. Thanks for you clear expanation of your system.
I hope it works out!
PS: I like your signature. I remember the feeling the first time I turned the electricity on in my Duchess. Only one mis-wired taillight, and that was because of a change Classic Roadsters made between when they drew eh schematics and package the kit parts!
And then when I cranked it over for the first time! Yes, I felt like ducking! But it fired up and all has been well since.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Luckily the builder of my car was an electrical engineer. His work looks very professional…knock on fiberglass…one less thing to worry about.
The builder of my car was me. And even scarier, I was only 25. Of course by that age, “I knew it all”…and despite that the car came out fine!
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
I have been searching for the builder of my car. I have a few choice words for them……and they are not good ones
. I practice saying those words each time I discover some of the things they did behind the scenes. Everything does work though…..by a miracle.Ah divine intervention. Good for the soul…and the car!
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
With my handicap I did not seem to need that five iron anyway! BTW, I attached an old hazard flasher can with the insides removed to the inside of the hood, using one of the screws that hold the latch in place. I painted it black to hide it; placing the rod inside the cup assures that it will not be knocked out by my avid… maybe rabid? fans when we show the car.
Greg
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