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I was just looking at my engine lid latch and when the engine is hot it seems that cable for some reason opens the lid but by the time I get to the back the latch is locked again.  Once the engine is cold it works fine.  So it is either a two man job or something else. 

Now I saw somewhere that there is a new latch available with a spring release but I was wondering if anyone had any other work arounds.  Essentially the new style has a plate attached to one side of the upper hole you see and a spring attached pops up once the main latch is released and prevents the latch from re-engaging. 

I think Bruce @aircooled could make one easily .

 

 

engine latch

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Here is the new part which is available and I am considering getting, I think Lane has one.  

It seems so simple that anyone can make it. Can We?  

Essentially, you see the top two holes on any latch and they made a metal rising bar that lifts up on the PIN.  with the spring attached.  Simple and Neet concept.  Mike's as well is simple to do but this seems like it belongs     Sorry Mike. 

@aircooled this one you can make and sell  

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Last edited by IaM-Ray
IaM-Ray posted:

I was just looking at my engine lid latch and when the engine is hot it seems that cable for some reason opens the lid but by the time I get to the back the latch is locked again.  Once the engine is cold it works fine.  So it is either a two man job or something else. 

Now I saw somewhere that there is a new latch available with a spring release but I was wondering if anyone had any other work arounds.  Essentially the new style has a plate attached to one side of the upper hole you see and a spring attached pops up once the main latch is released and prevents the latch from re-engaging. 

I think Bruce @aircooled could make one easily .

 

 

engine latch

I'm noticing the same thing in the heat, Ray. I had added a couple of small, clear rubber, glue on standoff pads earlier this Spring but have now added one more layer of them and solved the problem. They're hard to find but I got a pack of about 30 for about $6. at Lee Valley Tools.

If you look at the latch photo immediately above this post, that assembly has the hole for the little kicker lever, plus the notch on the other side for the spring to attach to on the left side (check Ray’s photo a few posts up).  All that is missing is the lever itself, that looks like it could be made up in less than an hour and attached with a pan-head bolt.  Looks like a nice project for this weekend.......

I see a kit of parts in the future.

IaM-Ray posted:

Here is the new part which is available and I am considering getting, I think Lane has one.  

It seems so simple that anyone can make it. Can We?  

Essentially, you see the top two holes on any latch and they made a metal rising bar that lifts up on the PIN.  with the spring attached.  Simple and Neet concept.  Mike's as well is simple to do but this seems like it belongs     Sorry Mike. 

@aircooled this one you can make and sell  

@IaM-Ray

From where on the internet did you get this photo? Was it a generic photo search, word search, parts catalog, etc?

@Michael McKelvey My builder is now selling those and I think SE does as well as Lane has one. 

I started to look at it and I figured it had to be existing out there. So here is one..  fiat-124-spider-1968-74-

I have not yet found a supplier of NEW parts other than my builder but when I looked at the picture they sent me I just thought duh... that is the original latch with a sprung lever.  Who has a 3D printer handy  

Robert M posted:
IaM-Ray posted:

Here is the new part which is available and I am considering getting, I think Lane has one.  

It seems so simple that anyone can make it. Can We?  

Essentially, you see the top two holes on any latch and they made a metal rising bar that lifts up on the PIN.  with the spring attached.  Simple and Neet concept.  Mike's as well is simple to do but this seems like it belongs     Sorry Mike. 

@aircooled this one you can make and sell  

@IaM-Ray

From where on the internet did you get this photo? Was it a generic photo search, word search, parts catalog, etc?

Robert just a note that Midwest might be your source above link for fiat.  For those who might have a slightly different latch this guy says that their are 100's of different latch types made by Italian companies, some have very small nuance differences, latch position, directionally left or right etc.  and he will send me info on what he has if your trying to retrofit something special. 

Last edited by IaM-Ray

latch side ways @Michael McKelvey Well I got my new latch and installed it from my builder.   Works like a charm.  FYI, I had to reuse the spring from my old one on the cable side, as which ever car it came from it has a really strong spring which makes pulling the remote cable near impossible to open the latch.  

Hence I put on the old springlatch sdeways which is not as strong and it opens like a charm and pops the lid up just a bit.  I think Carey has these too for you guys south of the 49th. 

Here is is installed and a pict of how it opens with a good fingers worth open so it does not reclose when the cable is hot.

Honestly now that I have it in my hands the old latch could have easily been modified by simply creating the small plate shown and adding a spring.  Look at the first pict you can see the V plate and the RIVET that is missing from the original latch. 

latch installedLatch Lid open

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This all is getting more complicated than I expected.

I received the Fiat latch.  It is a used latch that has been cleaned up and replated in yellow zinc.  Unfortunately, the plating flakes off.  I also got a latch cover.

My pull wire has a crimped on loop on the end I didn't want to undo so I rendered my old latch unusable getting it off.

The hole for the wire connection doesn't align with the wire tube in my car so I decided I would drill and tap a hole above it and put in a #6 machine screw to attach the loop in my wire.  It took multiple drill bits including 2 cobalt to make the hole and when tapping the hole the tap broke off.

So, I used a piece of safety wire to tie the pull wire to the latch hole and slot.

The moment had come to try it.  That is when I discovered that the post slot in the latch is more narrow than the slot in my old latch and the post on my deck lid is too big.

 

20190803_120843

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