- Joined
- Jul 27, 2012
- Messages
- 3,127
- Reaction score
- 491
- Location
- Brisbane - Australia
- My Car
- 1973 Mustang Convertible
Hi To All,
I've come up with what i think is a fairly good solution to the problem of heavy trunk lids that won't stay open. I started out with a stock factory trunk lid on my '73 Convertible with the standard torsion rod bar spring setup.
That worked fine until i installed a fibreglass rear trunk spoiler which weighs a ton. So now the trunk lid only stays open when i'm parked on horizontal terrain. I do realise that the Mach's had the spring setups that catered for spoiler placements. However, trying to adjust the existing rod setup or trying to find another genuine rod to add to the existing one,was all too much mucking around, so i looked into the concept of installing a modern day gas strut lifter to solve the problem. Bingo!!! Big WiN !!!!
It took a while to figure out how i was going to come up with a workable install, but the end result is a little ripper.
Now, my lid stays open without hassles, even when i'm parked on a steep backwards slope. The only problem will be with the purists who would think it unspeakable to install a modern day product on a lovely classic car. I myself dont give a s##t, as long as it looks OK and it works. Also, that embarrassing black sealing gunk around the trunk rubber is factory would you believe, and will need a tidy up make over at some stage as well down the track. BTW, if you want a super heavy duty working result, you can opt to install another gas strut on the other reverse matching side, and that will give a more even look to the whole thing as well. If anyone want's me to post a detailed description of the project for their benefit, let me know, and i'll present it later on. See my pics below. Austin! You've done it again!
Many thanks,
Greg.
View attachment 25903
I've come up with what i think is a fairly good solution to the problem of heavy trunk lids that won't stay open. I started out with a stock factory trunk lid on my '73 Convertible with the standard torsion rod bar spring setup.
That worked fine until i installed a fibreglass rear trunk spoiler which weighs a ton. So now the trunk lid only stays open when i'm parked on horizontal terrain. I do realise that the Mach's had the spring setups that catered for spoiler placements. However, trying to adjust the existing rod setup or trying to find another genuine rod to add to the existing one,was all too much mucking around, so i looked into the concept of installing a modern day gas strut lifter to solve the problem. Bingo!!! Big WiN !!!!
It took a while to figure out how i was going to come up with a workable install, but the end result is a little ripper.
Now, my lid stays open without hassles, even when i'm parked on a steep backwards slope. The only problem will be with the purists who would think it unspeakable to install a modern day product on a lovely classic car. I myself dont give a s##t, as long as it looks OK and it works. Also, that embarrassing black sealing gunk around the trunk rubber is factory would you believe, and will need a tidy up make over at some stage as well down the track. BTW, if you want a super heavy duty working result, you can opt to install another gas strut on the other reverse matching side, and that will give a more even look to the whole thing as well. If anyone want's me to post a detailed description of the project for their benefit, let me know, and i'll present it later on. See my pics below. Austin! You've done it again!Many thanks,
Greg.
View attachment 25903
Last edited by a moderator:
