[DeTomaso] rear decklid

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/24/10 12 04 58, justingreisberg at hotmail.com writes:


> 
> i am painting my rear decklid, and I noticed that the frame underneath the 
> decklid is not attached -- the decklid has a lower frame which strengthens 
> the large piece of metal.  As you know, it is more or less a large 'X' 
> shape.  on the front decklid, the frame is rigidly attached to the 
> surface/upper metal.  On the rear decklid, the 'X' is attached at the ends, but the 
> middle of the X floats, so that there is no bracing for the middle of the 
> lid.  I cant tell if it was attached at some point in time, or if it was 
> always floating in the middle.  Any thoughts?  justin 
> 

It's supposed to be attached in places with a flexible material, but over 
the years that material dries out and cracks and separates.   Kirk Evans was 
visiting my house one day, and he did a beautiful job attaching the decklid 
to the 'spider' with black RTV silicone.   Rather than using a little dinky 
tube, we purchased a big tube and used a caulking gun.

He first scraped away the old, crusty stuff, then used masking tape to 
establish the borders, ran big beads on both sides, smoothed it carefully with 
his finger, then removed the tape, leaving a nice, even seal.

Among other things, attaching the decklid to the spider eliminates a source 
of vibration drumming, cutting down on interior noise.

Mike