Piece of hard plastic between no. 2 cilinder and engine tin, How can I best remove it? Options

[Marcel Aircooled]

When checking my spark plugs I found a loose piece of hard plastic inbetween the no. 2 cilinder and the engine tin. It turns out to be one of the alternator inspection covers. I have no idea how it got there and unfortunately it is just too big to fit through the spark plug hole in the engine tin so I cannot get it out of there. I found the plastic piece a year ago and only just recently found out it is one of the inspection covers and it does not seem to do any harm where it is now but it just bugs me knowing it is there. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get it out from under the engine tin without removing the engine? Would it be easy to remove the engine tin only where the plastic piece is located? Or any suggestions how to break or bend the plastic piece?

Here's a picture (sorry for the poor quality) of the piece seen through the spark plug hole


This is an example picture of the part I am talking about

[Jack Standz]

You can undo the fasteners for the tin and grab hold of it with a pair of long nosed pliers or a surgical clamp. Did this with a spark plug and/or socket last year sometime (can't remember why we couldn't get it back throug the hole in the tin). And, yes we used a magnetic thing. You don't have to completely remove the tin, just enough to pull it up enough to reach in with extra long pliers or a clamp. Not difficult.

Or try holding it up to the spark plug hole with some long nosed pliers and taking it out in pieces with some side cutters.

But, it's really not necessary. When we got around to rebuilding a motor that was removed from a 914 about 15 years earlier, it had a spark plug that was laying on/behind #3 cylinder. Who knows how long it had been in there. You can just leave it.

[Marcel Aircooled]

You can undo the fasteners for the tin and grab hold of it with a pair of long nosed pliers or a surgical clamp. Did this with a spark plug and/or socket last year sometime (can't remember why we couldn't get it back throug the hole in the tin). And, yes we used a magnetic thing. You don't have to completely remove the tin, just enough to pull it up enough to reach in with extra long pliers or a clamp. Not difficult.

Or try holding it up to the spark plug hole with some long nosed pliers and taking it out in pieces with some side cutters.

But, it's really not necessary. When we got around to rebuilding a motor that was removed from a 914 about 15 years earlier, it had a spark plug that was laying on/behind #3 cylinder. Who knows how long it had been in there. You can just leave it.

OK, this I can try, thanks Jack! I know it is not necessary and the piece must have been there probably since the rebuild by Auto Atlanta in 2017 or short after but it just bugs me a lot knowing that it is there and that I cannot get it out (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)