Jeff N

Your Mileage May Vary
By request, I'm posting the mod I recently did to add gas strut lifts to my rear trunk and engine cover. I have long been annoyed at the engine cover prop that came equipped on my 76. Unlike later years, there is no spring assist, only the loopy metal piece and the plastic post. Besides not holding the lid open far enough, it just seemed very inelegant, not to mention squeaky and clunky.

Searching the local auto parts stores, I found that none of the struts they carried listed the weight the strut was rated for. After purchasing and returning several, it started to get annoying. I then checked around on the internet and found some at Future Sales RV that not only were fairly inexpensive, but also listed dimensions and rated lift weight. After a bit of measuring and trial and error, I found that the following Master Lift struts work quite nicely:

Engine Cover: #ML 13-60 $12.95
Rear Trunk: #ML 15-40 $11.45

You will also need a ball stud at each end, #FS-101-69BS, which are $0.95 each.

In order to mount the struts, I had to fabricate mounts for the top end of each of them. The lower ends were mounted using existing mounting points.

For the engine cover strut lower end, I drilled a hole in the existing prop bracket large enough for the ball stud on one side of the bracket.

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I then fabricated a bracket out of steel bar stock, which I welded to a small square of sheet metal and bolted to the engine cover.
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The bolts do show from the top, but using low profile allen head bolts painted black, they will be pretty unobtrusive. I will probably cut the bolts flush with the nuts and spray the bracket with undercoating to help it blend in better.


For the trunk strut, I fabricated another bracket, which I bolted into holes I drilled and tapped in the trunk lid.

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For the lower end, there is a rib that runs up the inside of the wheel well in the trunk that is wide enough to dill for the ball stud. Drill the hole, bolt in the ball stud and the strut is ready to install.

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When you pull the lever for the trunk or engine cover, the struts lift the lids 4-5 inches. Light finger pressure will then lift them to fully open, where they stay put. They also close with fairly light pressure and both struts are out of the way and don't interfere with working on the motor or loading stuff into the trunk.
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Total cost for the struts and ball studs was $28.20 + shipping. The bar stock for the brackets I had purchased for something else previously at Home Depot for a few bucks. I'm pretty much a beginner when it comes to welding, but they were pretty simple to make. I will very likely do the struts for the Frunk sometime soon, after I look back through the archives to figure out which struts I need from an earlier thread on the topic.
 
What... nothing for the front???

HA!

I believe someone up in your neighborhood (Greg Smith???) made up a couple for the FRONT TRUNK that worked fairly well also.

I think he added a PAIR...
 
Yes...

A pair is needed otherwise the front trunk lid sags a little at an angle.

I'll dig up the info on strut specs if I can find it. 40# is the lift capacity. At one time I assembled kits for sale but the maker of the end brackets reduced their selection and eliminated the ones I preferred for the hood strut kit of course.
 
Nice work...

I've puzzled over fitting similar things to the late models and have come up short. The brackets you made seem to be the missing link.
 
Nice work!

I want to add a trunk assist - I've nearly been hit by that lid on a couple of occasions! With the rear spoiler, I'll assume I need a little heavier assist compensation.

The fronts I did last year based on others here

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adventurer RV was the web resource for the struts, brackets & all. I have the receipts with the #'s if no one finds the link before...
 
Cool!

Jeff: Very nice! The key definitely is finding the right gas springs. I tried this once and didn't get very far because I couldn't get the right ones.

On the front though; it was one of the first things I did when I got my X1/9. I wanted to be sure I could get a replacement (gas springs weren't nearly as common back then) so I got one from a VW Rabbit rear hatch. I figured that way when it wore out, I'd know exactly what I needed and should be able to get one easily enough.
As it turns out, I still have that same one and it still works fine.
Just needs one. I have it on the driver's side because it works best to open and close on the same side as the spring -but it works from the passenger side too.

I didn't realize how lucky I was to have found the right spring on the first go-round, until I tried to do what you've succeeded in doing on the rear!

Lest anyone underestimate what Jeff has figured out here... realize that there are several factors besides the amount of force the spring exerts. There are the mounts, there is the overall length, and there is the extension length all to be considered. The extension has to stop at the right point too, or you can't install it.

Unlike on the front, there's very little space on either of the rear hatches, so there's really no leeway.

Nice job Jeff! And thank you for sharing! :)
 
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