Short intro, as this is my first post and first 914. Picked this up late last year and am just now getting around to driving it now that the weather is starting to turn. Pretty decent shape overall, but needs a lot of little stuff to make it good.

One major annoyance (besides the tail shifter!) has been the engine compartment lid. It's got some issues. The right side dips down below the level of the rear window rubber, not sure why. The mount look stock, and in decent shape. I guess the lid could be bent. But the big problem is the engine lid hits the rear lid's forward edge, and it has chipped the paint. I loosened the bolt under the right hinge but I've reached the travel limit of the slot. I'm as far forward as possible and it's still contacting the rear deck lid. So next I adjusted the rear deck lid hinge rearwards. This did the trick, but it's a temporary fix, obviously, since it looks awful. I'm hoping to avoid body work here, but I'm thinking I need to remove the engine lid entirely to sort this out.

Any suggestions?


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Yup remove the lid completely. You will probably find a broken weld on that hinge mount where it attaches to the firewall. Same thing happened on mine, same side too.

As far as the engine lid dipping down, it appears from your pic it is bent down. If it is not bent, remove the lid and check the two mounting brackets. They are 90's and are almost always bent and/or cracked in the bend.
As long as you have the engine lid off, cut slots in the lid brackets to the holes. That way, to remove the engine lid all you have to do is loosen the bolts, not remove them. This will help with the "millions"of times it will be removed in the future...

Trunk hinge base is broken too?

hi. i dont have recommendations since i have the same issue with my car. it is in the long list to fix. i just want to say

It's common for the weld to crack on the right side hinge. It's hard to tell with the lid on since it's under pressure from the torsion bars. Without the weight of the rain tray when you pop the lid it goes up fast and puts stress on the hinge.

Once you get this fixed, open the lid with one hand and hold the other hand on top of it to all it to open slowly. If you're not going to use the the rain tray, you can remove one of the torsion bars and this will lessen the stress.

Thanks everybody. The trunk hinges seems fine. I'll get the engine lid removed and do a little more detective work. I already like the slot mod, I thought of that immediately yesterday when fiddling around with it.

Ran out quick this am to check. Sure enough. My bracket is shot. Might as well do both of them while I'm at it.

While I'm asking, do I just weld on original brackets, or can someone point me to perhaps a better solution people are using? Only reason I ask is, I'm still learning the search function here. Not having the best luck so far.

Restoration Design sells the brackets.
As for other options, I'm sure there are but I don't remember seeing anything except complete removal on 4 quick release for racecars.
Good luck.

A good Mig Welder might be able to repair that one in place. Just be careful.

I agree.
Pretty sure bet the rear lid hinge is mangled too.

I have seen repairs but it isn't right and the part is not a million dollars. You will be in there will a welder anyway so....

http://www.restoration-design.com/store/product/PP343

Thanks for the tips. Ordering up some new brackets then.

One more thing. This car is a blast to drive. I was scooting all over town early this morning, felt like I was going fast, and barely broke the speed limit. Love it.

These 2 areas break on even the best cars. Best to do all four points as they tend to all give eventually.

Glad you love your car. We all enjoy the drive except for us jackstand heroes.

Be very accurate when positioning the rear lid hinge mounts.
Measure, measure, measure.
Do all preparation with the torsion bars disconnected.
If your drivers side is still intact use it as a reference.

I have the identical problem. I fixed it without welding. I had the drooping lid at the right side and the engine lid impacting the rear trunk lid. I was fussing with adjusting and it did no good. I saw that the stationary hinge bracket was cracked at the right angle bend. I discovered that if I riveted a plate of steel (.141 or 3.58mm thick) beneath the cracked hinge bracket, it stiffened the bracket from flexing. Now the engine lid closes properly. This may not be a permanent solution, but seems to have held up for the past 2 years. My engine lid is open all time for my trickle charger and each weekend when I go for ride, I am closing and opening the lid. I will do a weld job at some later point, but for now it seems to be an acceptable repair, or until the hinge bracket gives way. The riveted steel plate prevents the hinge bracket from flexing and keeps the motor lid from impacting the rear compartment lid.

Thanks for the alignment tips, and the temp fix idea. I stopped by my body shop today and he thinks he can get everything aligned with some strategic welding.