Trunk lid will not stay open

[JJHStang]

My trunk lid on my 71 Mach1 with spoiler will nit stay open.
I looked and it is on the 3rd notch already.
The only time I would like it to stay open is at the Charity car shows.
Is there a way to keep open without replacing the torsion bars?
From what I have seen it is not an easy task.

 

[c9zx]

Well, you could do what I have done on my 1969 eliminator since 1982, a length of 3/4 inch dowel rod wedged between the bottom half of the hinge and the truck floor. Paint it the right color and it isn't very noticeable. Chuck

 

[Stanglover]

I had the same problem after I added a factory spoiler, replacing a light aftermarket one.
Here are some pics of the torsion bar positions which are working fine.
Is it possible to have them wound the wrong way, I don't know?

 

[tony-muscle]

I have the same issue. Sometimes it closes on my back while I am getting stuff out of the trunk. I kind of have learnt to leave with it but I am curious of a solution as well.

 

[Fabrice]

The rods/torsion bars are twisting gaining and storing energy, if the weight is too much because of metal tiredness, I guess welding a rod of same diameter on one of the two bars, kinda doubling its diameter should fix the problem.

 

[JJHStang]

I had the same problem after I added a factory spoiler, replacing a light aftermarket one.
Here are some pics of the torsion bar positions which are working fine.
Is it possible to have them wound the wrong way, I don't know?

Pics of mine.

 

[vintageman]

When I added my rear spoiler, I had the same issue. I had to use a piece of pvc to hold the lid up. I moved the torsion rod from the further front notch to (I think) the middle and it was fine after that. I can verify later tonight that I moved it to the middle notch though.

Tom

 

[JJHStang]

When I added my rear spoiler, I had the same issue. I had to use a piece of pvc to hold the lid up. I moved the torsion rod from the further front notch to (I think) the middle and it was fine after that. I can verify later tonight that I moved it to the middle notch though.

Tom

Oh, my torsion rod is connected to first notch closest to rear of car/trunk opening. I added a couple pics of how mine are attached. Don’t know if you can see them.

 

[Stanglover]

Pics of mine.

Well, it looks like the same as mine. To be honest, mine stays up, but only just. It takes little effort to close it, but I haven't had it fall on my neck since I increased the torsion after installing the factory spoiler.
It's been awhile now, but I do remember it took quite a bit of effort using large Visegrips to obtain the torsion necessary to hold the lid up.
It may just be your bars have past their best before date. Replacements may be hard to find.
Was there different torsion bars for different applications? I don't know.

 

[Stanglover]

Oh, my torsion rod is connected to first notch closest to rear of car/trunk opening. I added a couple pics of how mine are attached. Don’t know if you can see them.

No pics.

 

[JJHStang]

Oh, my torsion rod is connected to first notch closest to rear of car/trunk opening. I added a couple pics of how mine are attached. Don’t know if you can see them.

Yes, for all I know they may be original. Replacement is probably what I need.
I think I can find the rods but need to buy a tool.
I think I may just prop it up.
Thanks for the comments.

 

[vintageman]

Oh, my torsion rod is connected to first notch closest to rear of car/trunk opening. I added a couple pics of how mine are attached. Don’t know if you can see them.

Sorry for the late response, I just checked mine and on the left side of the trunk, my torsion bar is in the notch closest to the rear of the vehicle. It was originally in the middle and I made a tool and moved it to the rear notch. Have not had an issue with the trunk lid since. There is a pic of the homemade tool on this site, I don't have it anymore. I just picked up a piece of metal at Home Depot that had some holes already drilled in it for a couple dollars, drilled one hole out a little more, made a notch at the end and slipped it on the old rod to move it. If your torsion rod is on the most rearward notch, the rod may have reached it's end of life and need replacing or another rod added to assist. Good luck.

Tom

 

[Fredensborg]

I had the same problem after I added a factory spoiler, replacing a light aftermarket one.
Here are some pics of the torsion bar positions which are working fine.
Is it possible to have them wound the wrong way, I don't know?

I have this same issue, I didn't realize there were different slots for the torsion rods to go into. I'll check this out tomorrow on mine. Would be nice to not get nailed in the back by the trunk when I'm digging around in there

 

[Austin Vert]

Hi to all,

Around 2014, i posted a thread /tutorial about installing a gas lift setup for my '73 Vert trunk lid that would not stay up after i installed my rear spoiler. My car had standard factory trunk torsion bars. The post was eliminated and lost when the Forum was upgraded a while ago. See some old photos below.
As i recall, another Forum member took up my idea and made up a two strut system for his ride. He sent me his photo. For my Vert, one strut does the job really well - two struts are overkill.

The project was a complete success, and problem solved. I imagine this same or similar setup could be modded up to work with hardtops as well.
Also see my link to my hood gas lift setup project as well. That is another winner as well.

https://7173mustangs.com/threads/austin-verts-hoods-a-real-gasser.40619/#post-405927
Many thanks,

Greg.

 

[Fredensborg]

I just wrestled my torsion bars into that 3rd slot, and my trunk lid does stay up now but just barely. Much better than propping it up with an arrow shaft like I have been doing for years.

 

[Richmond]

My trunk lid on my 71 Mach1 with spoiler will nit stay open.
I looked and it is on the 3rd notch already.
The only time I would like it to stay open is at the Charity car shows.
Is there a way to keep open without replacing the torsion bars?
From what I have seen it is not an easy task.

What I did was I purchased an other torsion bar from a fellow and I installed it in the opposite direction from the original and it works perfectly.

 

[DSwan]

My trunk lid on my 71 Mach1 with spoiler will nit stay open.
I looked and it is on the 3rd notch already.
The only time I would like it to stay open is at the Charity car shows.
Is there a way to keep open without replacing the torsion bars?
From what I have seen it is not an easy task.

Here's a pic of the tool I made after trying the vice grip method and damn near taking a finger or two off. It really worked to move the spring rod to the max position (most rearward).View attachment 65108

 

[mrgmhale]

We already had two trunk torsion rods when got our 73 Mach 1. During a deep restoration I opted to install a rear wing. I did move the ends of the torsion bars to their maximum torsional pressure setting using an adjusting tool from WCCC. BTW, the torsion rods for a 73 Cougar are the the same as for a 73 Mustang (WCCC even says so in their catalog)...

 

[tony-muscle]

Interestingly enough now that I redid my trunk lid and the spoiler was moved to the correct location, it stays open on its own. I didn't think about it at that time, but before the spoiler was in the wrong location a couple of inches further back, which placed more force on the rods. Now it stays open as it should. That said, the location of the spoiler is something else to think about.

 

[JJHStang]

Could be never thought about it. Thanks, I will check it out but if mine is not correct I will live with it.
Don’t need new holes in my trunk lid.