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Sun Dec 15, 2019 2:56 pm

Here is my raised engine lid, as designed and fabricated by Flint European Automotive in East Nassau, NY.
I am pretty sure Andrew (xoo00oox forum handle), doesn't mind me sharing.

This is a 2" raise to accommodate, in my case, the reversed 1.8T
Overall view

As you can see, the horror of having a raised engine lid expressed by so many, who never had raised engine lid. (Insert sarcasm but with good humor font here).
The bed cushion cover is made by a friend. It is canvas - left over pieces from making the pop-top tent. Koreans are thrifty!

OK, let's pull the cushion off and have a look. Sorry for the poor exposure, but it shows how the engine lid has been offset to the right.

Ok, let's pull the engine cover off and I bet some of your are green with envy on the 1.8T.
You can see the footman type loops installed on the frame to accept the engine lid tabs.
Since the stock engine lid is retained there a bit of possible dead space under the lid, on the old van floor.
In this case, it provides a space for the ECU and some fuses. .

I should velcro a plastic box in my empty space with a meter, crimper and some electrical items

Now some details pictures..
Back right corner gusset.
The narrow open space to the right between the van wall and the raised lid frame typically holds a breaker bar with wheel lug socket, a few latex gloves and lonnggg zip ties.

Left back. You can see a bit of the metal that seals off to the left.

I'm not sure those gussets, not the extension to the left are structurally necessary, but damn, do they look great!

One of the two tabs that locking tabs from cover mate with.

One could add gas cylinders, or a prop rod to keep the engine cover open for a quick check on the oil, etc. I found my breaker bar makes a good prop rod.

Slightly visible in the 2nd picture posted -in the 2" deep dead space ahead of the lid, but behind the rear seat, is 2"foam padding left over from replacing the sound insulation above the transmission before Andrew got the van. I have since filled the entire space with additional 2" padding foam, this time with left-overs from a hard plastic shipping box. Upcycle baby!

Eventually, I will be keeping my Fiamma awning rafter and crank out pole in this spot and hopefully a covered 2" high box to hold tools or misc.

I have not raised the rear seat, nor used any extra cushions to make up for the seat being lower than the bed. I say I have noticed the height difference perhaps 25% of the time. I've shifted my head to the rear. I have a plan to raise the seat, but it's just not high priority since most times, I don't even notice it. I did bring extra left-over 2" from from the shipping box for my wife last vacation - just trying to please.

The biggest inconvenience is the small cabinet door, just hanging up on the home-made cushion cover - no biggie, I just push down on the cover with one hand while I open the door with the other.
I think only with the use of a mattress topper would truly be an inconvenience.
I hope to design a new rear cabinet and have a friend build it for me. It will incorporate some ideas I have, eliminate all dead space and allow me to drill at will; I will raise both these doors a bit.

I just bought a 4" inflatable mattress for my wife-whether a new cabinet will be designed to accommodate such, or we will shift it aside, as it is 5" narrower than the bed, or roll it up and I do with a Thermarest mattresses. Time will tell after a summer of use. Only then would a new cabinet be fitted.

Even it you have a stock height engine, you might want to consider the shifter engine cover. Personally if I were making an interior from scratch. I'd do a 4" raised lid, raise the rear seat and use the 4" space for tools, manual, spare parts, loose awning, tent poles, etc.

Well, I hope this helps someone!

Mon Dec 16, 2019 2:48 am

Enjoying reversed engine?

Mon Dec 16, 2019 4:58 am

pechaaa wrote: Enjoying reversed engine?
Totally! Week long trip with my wife, after a few days, she said " I don't even worry if it is going to start anymore ":lol:

Mon Dec 16, 2019 6:59 am

till you have a MAF get wonky ;-) dang thing didn't show any faults or range issues but was causing starting issues for a few months till I just swapped out each part..

as for the cabinets, upgrade to the Condelli slider door method.
http://www.limbobus.org/archives/cabinet_mod/

Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:40 am

danfromsyr wrote: till you have a MAF get wonky ;-) dang thing didn't show any faults or range issues but was causing starting issues for a few months till I just swapped out each part..

as for the cabinets, upgrade to the Condelli slider door method.
http://www.limbobus.org/archives/cabinet_mod/
Yeah, I should get a few 1.8T spares-crank sensor, etc.
On the sliding doors, I'm not sure they would work well on the smaller weekender cabinet there would be a much narrower opening-perhaps even hard to avoid some overlap obstruction.

While every thing is a compromise, I (usually) like the flip down door, at least I can see everything in the cabinet of the Weekender.

With a raised bottom door edge, the lower space will be more obscured, but I could fit a false floor and keep emergency items in there. I should make some trail cabinets out of junk wood to trial different lay-outs.

But to get back on topic (else we will need a new thread, says the king of digression :lol: ), with no mattress topper, this stock cabinet works fine.

Mon Dec 16, 2019 7:47 pm

Lucky you. 8)
That Flint guy does some kinda amazing work.
And I know you like how it runs.
This engine/trans combo is a sweet setup.

Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:24 pm

Looks great and nice engine!
We have a similar OEM S.A. setup on our 5-cyl conversion but it is open to the underside of the cabinet still, I like being able to put spare items in there.

Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:45 pm

That is really well done.

Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:19 pm

Well done.

Raising the engine lid was 10% - 20% of the reason I didn’t go with the 1.8T when I did a conversion (other factors were cost and I became a fan of the Bostig when I came across it back in the aughts. I’ve since seen a few raised lid configurations that show there are actually some benefits to it such as handy storage space.

Thu Mar 03, 2022 3:12 pm

Anybody have measured drawings for the raised engine lid of the 1.8t Stephen's Autohaus, or GMW, style?

The one from Auohaus is $1000-$1200!

I'm thinking it will probably be cheaper to have one welded up locally versus trying to get one shipped from one of the converters to here in Canada. I could source and cut the tubing myself and then get someone to weld.
Looking to add a bit more airspace over my Zetec and have the extra storage.

I most likely will have to design one for myself but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask!
Thanks.

Tue Jan 03, 2023 7:14 pm

MsTaboo wrote: Anybody have measured drawings for the raised engine lid of the 1.8t Stephen's Autohaus, or GMW, style?

The one from Auohaus is $1000-$1200!

I'm thinking it will probably be cheaper to have one welded up locally versus trying to get one shipped from one of the converters to here in Canada. I could source and cut the tubing myself and then get someone to weld.
Looking to add a bit more airspace over my Zetec and have the extra storage.

I most likely will have to design one for myself but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask!
Thanks.
I apologize, I just saw this. I can take measurements and more detailed pics-but it would have to wait until the weekend. Let me know.

Wed Jan 04, 2023 1:24 pm

Thanks, no rush. This is a "one of these days" project :wink:.