Trunk hinge repair/ spring to lift strut conversion.

[493 Mike]

Hi Fellas,
After fabbing lines for my new fuel cell I discovered they ran into the trunk springs. Not wanting to reengineer the lines, I decided to swap the torsion springs for lift struts. 3 sets of struts and 4 sets of mounting brackets later: SUCCESS! NAPA was very accommodating in this process! While doing the swap I discovered the hinges were worn as well as the stationary pivot shaft. I overbored the hinges, welded in 3/4" ID x 7/8" OD tubing, pressed in 3/4" OD x 1/2" ID flanged bushings from the local hardware store to repair the hinges.
The struts I wound up using were 28" extended @ 100#s pressure.
Be careful removing the torsion springs!!!
I hope this story can help someone else!
Mike

 

[HT413]

hey that's pretty trick.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Dang! Is that cool or what?

 

[69a100]

You Thumb smasher, nice job!

 

[493 Mike]

Thanks fellas. My thumb is still not right after 4-5 years! Lots of power in those springs!
Mike