trunklid props

What do you guy's use to keep your trunk lid open? lookin for something I can scrounge from the pick and pull. later shawn

The little hydralic cylinders they use to hold up the hatch on most new cars works pretty well, and they come in several lengths. The old hood prop rod works too, but sometimes they are a pita on a trunk lid. Gene

Any idea how long of one to use? The wifes sport-trac uses them to keep the hood open, they are short in size. The sedan trunklid is sorta heavy, so I'm wondering if those would be enough to hold it open? Thanks, later shawn

Pep Boys or any auto parts stores carry these new. They carry many different sizes and are cataloged by application. I would try and determine the lenght needed and pick one from maybe an SUV.
Arno

We had a mid 80s Lebaron hatchback, I can tell you without a doubt that hatch weighs a lot more then any 30s or 40s trunk lid, even the huge business coupe lids.

That said, you probably will want a longer one, its a long reach from closed to open, you will have more mounting options with a longer cylinder. Mounting locations are going to be the trick to having a smooth opperation, and I suspect you will have to do some trial and error to get it right. The factory used a prop rod type thing. The long arm mounted between the trunk frame and the lid and it expanded until a little lever locked it open, you lifted past the lock point then lowered the lid a few inches to set on the lock. To close the lid, you lifted past the lock point, and the lock released so you could lower the lid. Often you had to lift past the lock point a couple times before it would lock or unlock so you could hold it open or close it. Pretty neat little deal, but could get frustrating. Hard to find ones that still work, so that must have been an issue through the years. Gene

Thanks guy's. I wasn't sure if they had any kind of prop from the factory. When I got my car it didn't have a trunklid with it. I didn't see any signs of a prop with it. Thanks again for the ideas. later shawn

The auto parts store cylinders would most likely be your cheaper choice.

For shinner choices try a street rod vendor for deck lid props, like:

http://watsons-streetworks.com/hood_deck.html

http://www.yogisinc.com/results.cfm/-/Category=2356/search_cd=prop/results.cfm


John

If I still had my 39, I'd take a picture of the factory unit, but the car is long gone. Gene