Show me your trunk prop rods!

[David Hodgkins]

Trying to make up my mind which one to get so let's hear from you guys that have one (pics help!)

I need:

Pic if possible...
Description.
Where you got it.
Would you get the same type again?

Thanks!

[AC Bill]

I've been looking into getting one for my roadster as well. There are a few to choose from commercially, that would work good for our cars, but I've also seen some great home-made prop rod ideas.

If your looking for authenticity there is this type. It was used on several British sports cars, including the Ace, and Cobra. Some of them have a small lever you must depress to lower them, others you lift up a tad to release it to be lowered. That kind worrys me a bit, as if a gust of wind caught it, your lid may go slamming down.


The Lokar prop is a really nice unit, available in a 3, or 6 position lock height. $70-80+, depending where you buy it. so not cheap.


Both would need some thought on installing them, as to location and fastening them to both trunk, and body.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Not interested in gas struts?

[David Hodgkins]

Not interested in gas struts?

Possibly. My trunk hoop has been modified and I don't know if struts will work.

What 'cha got?

[Ray]

Dave,

I used a rod and fittings that I bought from McMaster-Carr. Put a rubber cap from an oxygen bottle over the end of the rod.

Ray

[myjones]

Possibly. My trunk hoop has been modified and I don't know if struts will work.
What 'cha got?

David
Keep in mind that gas struts add a bigger point load <than a prop> where they connect to the trunk lid.
This only happens in part of the stroke but it can do damage if not spread over enough area. I added curved
metal bars on the trunk lid of my 33 to distribute that load and prevent damage to the fiberglass. Some apps
even keep a bit of load on the glass at rest which can cause a shape change in the hot sun, or over the long term.
Yes they are handy and better than a rod but be careful. Hopefully Bear has already solved those issues for ya.
DB

[cobrajj]

Dave, I've been using a length of wooden dowel with vacuum caps on each end. Simple, cheap and light.

[cobrajj]

Here's mine.

[Jazzman]

I plan to do the mod that uses the gas struts hidden behind the hinges, but I am not sure you have enough space for the gas struts with your cubby reducing the space in the trunk. I like the hidden nature of that setup.

[David Hodgkins]

Here's mine.

I've been doing that. Looking for a better setup now that I have the hole in the trunk covered.

[Norm B]

I installed the Finish Line prop rod. It locks up and you have to lift the lid and hold the button to lower. Takes up very little space when the trunk is closed.

Norm

[frankeeski]

I'm really partial to Mike's strut setup. So much so that I carried it over to the MK4 trunk lid I installed on my MK3

[canuck1]

Possibly. My trunk hoop has been modified and I don't know if struts will work.

What 'cha got?

define modified? My trunk hoop has a section cut out of the middle. The gas struts still attach just fine to mounts on the hoop stubs on either side. Look similar to Frank's setup. Worked fine for years on MK III body, continues to function just as well with MK IV body etc.

Sean

[edwardb]

I used Mike's strut setup on my Mk3, like Frank pictured, with the struts on the trunk lid similar to how FF does the hood. Always worked great. Takes up a little space, but no big deal. When the lid is closed, they push out straight and don't affect the lid, how it fits, etc. Again, similar to the hood design. For my first Mk4, I did Mike's revised strut setup with the struts inside under the body and pushing on the hinges. Nice and clean, but I find they adversely affect how the trunk fits and the hinges adjust. I've got them working OK, but still not 100% happy with them. You have to really compensate for that constant push on the hinges when closed by adjusting the lid low in the opening. At least that's been my experience. For my new Mk4 build, I'm going with the ********** prop like Norm B posted. Authentic, simple, and doesn't affect the lid or hinges in any way.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Real hard to get a camera in there but the struts are completely hidden. They connect to the hinge close to the trunk opening then go straight forward. Other end connects to the cross tube by the seat belts pass through.

trunkhinge.jpg

[markiemark]

I installed the Finish Line prop rod. It locks up and you have to lift the lid and hold the button to lower. Takes up very little space when the trunk is closed.

Norm

Interested in this. Was it an easy install and does it come with any hardware? I'm using a stick now but this looks more finished. Thanks

[edwardb]

Interested in this. Was it an easy install and does it come with any hardware? I'm using a stick now but this looks more finished. Thanks

The ********** prop rod comes without any hardware or instructions. Just the device itself. Kind of on your own to figure out how to install.

[Norm B]

As edwardb said no instructions or hardware. Once you determine where it has to go attaching it to the lid is easy. Just drilled and reinforced two holes in ridge in the lid. Attaching to the body was another challenge. You either have to make a bracket or modify the prop rod at the mounting point. I modified the prop rod by removing the mount and reattaching it facing the opposite direction. On the road right now and it's hard to explain in a post on the forum but, if you are interested I'll take a bunch of pictures and measurements and write a proper set of instructions when I get back home in a couple days.

Norm

[edwardb]

As edwardb said no instructions or hardware. Once you determine where it has to go attaching it to the lid is easy. Just drilled and reinforced two holes in ridge in the lid. Attaching to the body was another challenge. You either have to make a bracket or modify the prop rod at the mounting point. I modified the prop rod by removing the mount and reattaching it facing the opposite direction. On the road right now and it's hard to explain in a post on the forum but, if you are interested I'll take a bunch of pictures and measurements and write a proper set of instructions when I get back home in a couple days.

Norm

I for one would be very interested in more details about how you did yours. I noted it would probably be best to turn the lower bracket around, but haven't taken it any further. I was thinking of fishing a piece of metal with two tapped holes into the trunk lid ridge to capture the top bracket and provide the necessary strength. Doesn't look like it would be that hard to do through the trunk light access hole. Curious how you reinforced your top lid for the attachment. Thanks!

[Jester]

I have attached a few pics of the Mike Everson trunk strut kit that I installed. One end of the strut attaches to a mount bracket that is riveted to the 1 inch square bar (slotted for seat belt) and the other end attaches to the trunk hinge. These are hands free with no prop rod required, work very well and are very high quality - I highly recommend. Easy to install, completely hidden, highly functional.

Mk4 Trunk Strut mount.jpgMK4 Trunk Strut mounts.jpg

[Norm B]

I am back at home and as promised here is the method I used to install the ********** prop rod. Couldn't find some of my original pictures so I partially removed it from the car today to show what I did.
IMG_1465PropTrunk.jpg
First I drilled out the rivet, circled in red, to remove the lower mounting bracket.
DSC05065__1472073258_104.205.69.82.jpg
Then I turned it around and reattached it with a1/4 bolt and nylock nut.
DSC05064__1472073220_104.205.69.82.jpg
You can see I bent the bracket to keep its attach point parallel to the rod while compensating for the angle it comes off the body at.
DSC05067__1472072939_104.205.69.82.jpg
Next I made a reinforcing plate for the mount in the trunk lid. It is 1/8x1/2 steel flat stock drilled and tapped for 10-24 machine screws.
DSC05068__1472072968_104.205.69.82.jpg
I bent it to match the curvature of the lid.
DSC05070__1472073008_104.205.69.82.jpgDSC05071__1472073041_104.205.69.82.jpgDSC05072__1472073096_104.205.69.82.jpg
My original idea was to slide it into place by pulling it along with a shop magnet on the inside of the trunk lid but the surface was too rough and there is a fair amount of loose fiberglass strands on the inside. Changed to a wire bent to guide it into place and then cut the loop off once I had one of the screws in.
DSC05077__1472073134_104.205.69.82.jpgDSC05066__1472072815_104.205.69.82.jpg
The measurements I used where; for the lid 15 3/8 from the front edge of the lid to the forward hole, and for the body 2 3/4 back from the start of the trunk opening.

HTH

Norm

[edwardb]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing. I plan to duplicate exactly what you did here.

[TMScrogins]

David
Keep in mind that gas struts add a bigger point load <than a prop> where they connect to the trunk lid.
This only happens in part of the stroke but it can do damage if not spread over enough area. I added curved
metal bars on the trunk lid of my 33 to distribute that load and prevent damage to the fiberglass. Some apps
even keep a bit of load on the glass at rest which can cause a shape change in the hot sun, or over the long term.
Yes they are handy and better than a rod but be careful. Hopefully Bear has already solved those issues for ya.
DB

Exactly my experience. I had Michael Everson's gas strut kit which is really slick and well concealed. However, after about 2 years, I began to notice that the forward face of my trunk lid began bowing up. My kit from Mike came with 40 lb gas springs. In a compressed state that's 80 lbs of constant pressure pushing at the hinge points when closed. I contemplated softer gas springs but the trunk lid needs every bit of the 40 lbs to hold the lid open. So, I decided to go with a prop rod instead. I too looked at the more authentic route and even bought the ********** prop but didn't want something so bulky. I went the way of the Lokar rod. FYI, the extended and compressed measurements are about identical between the ********** replica rod and the Lokar.

PropCompressed.jpg


I also didn't like the bottom attachment directly to the body. So I fashioned a mount off of the trunk hoop.

RodMount.jpg

And here is the finished install.

PropInstalled1.jpgPropInstalled2.jpg

The prop works great but given the weight of the trunk lid on my MkIV, the opposing side flexes just a bit when propped open. Also, wasn't too keen on the possibility of accidentally letting the trunk lid drop and slam closed. So I actually ordered some 10 lb. gas springs and re-employed Michael Everson's setup along with the prop rod. This helped stabilize the opposed corner and gave a little lift assist and dampening effect without warping the trunk lid.

Trevor

[pavieSD]

Dave, I kept it simple and bought this based on a post on the other forum that some of the coupe guys were using it as their hood prop. It's super heavy duty, comes with rubber caps on both ends, and collapses down to a very small footprint when fully collapsed, so doesn't take up a lot of room. Been working well for me and easy to store.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mark