1300 engine decklid: height difference

[Ulix]

To increase vertical space under the hood of my '74, I found me a 1977 engine lid.
This is much taller looking from the outside as many of you know and have discussed here before.

I now wanted to install this engine lid on my car to make room for DCNFs with velocity stacks and tall air filter.

I was quite disappointed to find out that when measuring the actual useable room under the lid, it is exactly the same! :-(

This how I measured:



So, no use in swapping to the less elegant taller lid.
What I have done is slotting the holes in the hinges where it bolts to the firewall to move it up.
(Apparently the 1500 hinges are much taller too, I did not try that).
I also lengthened the loop that engages the latch in the front and lengthened the threaded hood supports.

This raises the lid, giving more room and improving ventilation at the rear of the lid.

I have DCNFs on a PBS manifold with low K&Ns. There is room to spare but not enough to really use by going to a taller filter.

Oh, BTW, intake manifolds vary in height!
My buddy just bought a brand new one that is >10mm taller than my PBS. That will also affect clearance to the lid.

 

[JimD]

Hi Ulix,

It sounds like you have figured this out already. The engine cover hinges were longer starting in 1975 when the taller engine cover was introduced for the 75-78 Xs. The longer hinge continued on to the new 1500 covers as well.

 

[carl]

I think the rain tray takes up some decent vertical height too.

 

[Eastep]

I think the rain tray takes up some decent vertical height too.

Ditch the tray for room to play

 

[dcioccarelli]

I also lengthened the loop that engages the latch in the front and lengthened the threaded hood supports.

Hey Ulix,

just out of interest, how did you lengthen the loop? I have the same problem as I replaced the rusty engine cover in my '78 with a pristine one from an earlier car without realising that there were differences. I had to use the earlier hinges (which I had, luckily) but never fixed the closing issue (which only becomes apparent on bumpy roads). I've had some ideas about how I could lengthen the hoop, but I'd be interested in seeing how you did it (photos would be great).

Cheers,
Dom.

 

[Ulix]

I just cut it off about midway and had a buddy weld in two short pieces of rod the same diamter of the loop.
Then it ground the welds down and painted it.
Looks factory now.

My first X had no latch like yours.
On the highway, even at US speeds, the hood would be half open from the air flow through the engine compartment. If the highway had bumps in it, it would slam down and fly back open. Kind of annoying.
Does that not happen on yours?

 

[roadster27]

So you're saying I carried that thing all the way from Mittlestead to you for nothing?

 

[MikeHynes]

Ulix,
I'm a bit confused about the issue you had with the '77 engine cover. Perhaps the issue has to do with differences of parts between NA and Europe? I did a little looking today and found that there was a significant difference between the '74 engine cover and later 1300 engine covers. The big difference is in the length of the loop. The '74 loop is shorter at about 34.33mm tall.

Later covers have a loop that is around 79.67mm tall. The difference is 45.34. I realize that it's not a whole lot of difference, but that was enough for me.

It would be easy enough to modify the early cover by adding a bit to the existing loop as you did. Or you could even simply cut the loop off of a late model cover and graft it on.
I did look at the hinges, and I didn't find any significant difference in the height of the hinges. So I don't think the hinges make any difference. The biggest difference I found was that the later hinges had an extra "stop" welded to them to stop the cover from opening too far.

The '77 engine cover had a spring loaded rod to hold it open. (Not my favorite method.) The one I measured today (year unknown) had the same sliding nylon button cover holder opener that would make it a direct replacement for the '74 cover.
The early model cover with the long loop has a loop that's shorter than the late model cover.

It's difficult to say just where the latch is located on the early car vs the late car as the sheet metal cross member is different. But, it seems to be in the same relative position as I was able to successfully fit a late model cover onto an early car. (Of course I had to remove the early plastic bits on the side and fab a couple of simple plates to mount the later plastic bits.) So I don't think the latch or the latch position is a problem either.
In any case, I'm glad that you got things worked out. I'm looking forward to seeing the end results, it sounds like a nice build.

 

[Ulix]

So you're saying I carried that thing all the way from Mittlestead to you for nothing?

Yes!
I am so sorry. That was actually one of my first thoughts when I realized that I won‘t be using the later engine cover.
You carried that thing halfway around the world for me!

 

[roadster27]

No worries. It was fun getting to see you in Germany. I think I brought home a Uno Turbo exhaust manifold for Ripley on that same trip.