40P10touring sedan Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I started and finished the install of a 160# gas strut for my trunk lid today...the star wheel never worked very well and I didn't like the prop rod I had. I snapped a few pics of the install, but there aren't too many of the 40's here let alone touring sedans like mine...anyone interested in seeing it otherwise I'll conserve bandwidth here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I'd be very interested in seeing any pics, either thru here or direct to me at scaleautomobilia@hotkey.net.au thanks andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40plyrod Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 count me in too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40P10touring sedan Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Done and done gents...here we go. Was out taking a pic of the refinished trunk badge on the car, scanned around and thought, this is a good day to get some gas struts put in and loose the stupid prop rod. I had two gas struts I bought off of ebay along with 4 13mm ball studs for mounting...all I needed was some 5/16" nuts and some angle iron....a trip to the local ACE goit the hardware and a rummage thru the basement turned up an old bedframe...I was set. After lot of measuring, fitting and cutting I started to assemble a basic frame to go behind the rear seat that would offset the 160# force that the struts would be giving me..well, the car. I fit the lower angle iron across the back of the X frame just inside of the two forward rear body mounts {real snug fit with what I used} and then cut up an angle iron for across the bottom of the package tray frame between the body tabs and then clamped that up....I then proceeded to make two horizontal spanner bars out of the angle iron to bridge the gap between the upper and lower pieces, then bolted them together- I don't have provisions to weld so bolting was the order of the day. You could easily weld this if you wanted. The gas struts are 160# rated and I put a bathroom scale under the trunk hinge {high tech-huh?!} so I already knew the needed rating. These struts are 27" at full extension and 17" at full compression, so all I had to do was make sure the the struts weren't getting pushed past they're limits...they weren't so I proceeded. I marked off where I wanted the strut to be mounted on the hinge - dead lowest postion - drilled and mounted it. Now you take the strut and with the trunk propped up at near full open {I kept it 1/4" shy of that for cheap insurance so not to over extend the hinges} and mark where it hits on the horizontal spanner angle iron, drill, mount and viola...sort of. I knew the spare tire would be an issue for either removal or installing with the strut on the pass side....I was right. She does work fine though and I have another strut to mount yet on the driver's side in a better location and I'll sue that as my primary strut and have this one clevis pinned in for easy removal should I need access to the spare - the driver's side will hold her up by itself. Now for some pics- If you've never messed with gas struts you'll need to swing out and drop the outer safety pin or you'll break it trying to push the ball stud in or removing it- Push the ball stud in, there's an inner securing wire too, and reinstall that outer safety pin and you set. Tire removed, there's plenty of room, but that's no good so I need to install the tire- Tire installed and there's still a 1/2" of room...yes, I had to remove the strut to do this...the driver's side is a better way to go for single applications! I could and will try moving the strut inside of the hinge and see if that affords me any better clearance. Probably not- You can see with the seat removed and I highly recommend this for the project, that the frame will not be any kind od issue with the rear seat. A closer view from in the car- Now, with the mounting points where they are this is what you'll get...a limbo area at this point...she'll hang here neither going up nor down but go an 1" higher and she'll start to climb till full open. Next side I'll move the hinge mounting point to where the strut is "just" under the trunk opening and higher up the hinge, this will also move the inside point higher up too but "should" start the pushing process earlier than what I have now..but whay I have now is infinately better than the prop rod! To open the trunk is easy as is to close it...now for reference sake this was done on a 45 degree day and we all know struts work better/harder in warmer weather. I don't forsee any closing issues though. Anyone wish measurements of the used pieces just yell and I'll get them. BTW, since the lower cross bar is a snug fit, I only have one little clamp holding the top bar in and with the strut installed I don't even need that, the system does what I wanted it to and takes the contant pressure and widely applies it to the back of the seat area across the package tray and lower rear seat mounts...I suppose I could/should run some bolts thru there but it doesn't really need them. One neat thing about where I mounted on the hinge is that it actually pushes the trunk closed some...my measurement was 10" from the top of the trunk lid hinge to the hinge itself -I remember that one. Going further out should get earlier pushing and probably less closed pushing...I'll retry the other side this weekend and report back...you might as well learn from my mistakes before you try it yourself. Questions will be answered, comments read, and critisms probably ignored- {lol} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40P10touring sedan Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Guess I forgot the rear pic of the tire clearance- oops. Maybe its just me but the tire seems to lean "in" and it is flat against the holder...may have to trim the holder for a more inward cant! Here's what started it all...well, that and the dumb prop rod- 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40plyrod Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Nice work, thanks for posting. My rotary latch works but only sometimes so I'm thinking of doing this. I can't have the gas strut push the lid closed though because I have installed an electric solenoid to release the catch and the pop up spring I'm using has just enough strength to lift the lid now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40phil41 Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 My '40 Dodge has the same star wheel hinge assembly. It holds the lid up but doesn't rotate/release the way it should. I have to rotate the star wheel with my finger to let the lid down. I still am not comfortable with the stock arrangement since the trunk lid really does weigh a lot. I may just look into something like you have done. Thanks for posting. I guess another option would be to try to back-fit a '41 spring loaded hinge assembly to the '40. Haven't really investigated that route yet. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40P10touring sedan Posted February 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Nice work, thanks for posting. My rotary latch works but only sometimes so I'm thinking of doing this. I can't have the gas strut push the lid closed though because I have installed an electric solenoid to release the catch and the pop up spring I'm using has just enough strength to lift the lid now. Nice idea...I'd like to see a pic of that set up. As far as the struts pushing downit's a very minimal amount...very minimal. Maybe a slightly stronger spring for your set up either way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40P10touring sedan Posted February 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 My '40 Dodge has the same star wheel hinge assembly. It holds the lid up but doesn't rotate/release the way it should. I have to rotate the star wheel with my finger to let the lid down. I still am not comfortable with the stock arrangement since the trunk lid really does weigh a lot. I may just look into something like you have done. Thanks for posting. I guess another option would be to try to back-fit a '41 spring loaded hinge assembly to the '40. Haven't really investigated that route yet.Phil Never seen what a 41 has...that'd be an interesting idea as well. My star wheel never really worked at all and the inner hinge was chewed up from when it did work{before my ownership at least}. With my self or my two kids the prop rod I had was just trouble waiting to happen...that trunk is just too heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40phil41 Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Never seen what a 41 has...that'd be an interesting idea as well.My star wheel never really worked at all and the inner hinge was chewed up from when it did work{before my ownership at least}. With my self or my two kids the prop rod I had was just trouble waiting to happen...that trunk is just too heavy. I agree fully with your sentiments. Unfortunately, I don't have a clear photo of the hinge design on my '41 and it doesn't come out of winter storage until late April . I'll see if I can find one on-line somewhere. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oilslick Posted February 6, 2021 Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 I would like to see how you did the trunk prop rod. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcel Backs Posted February 6, 2021 Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 Nice job at making one of those old "guillotines" safer. I was going to try to rig up a couple cylinders on my coupe trunk lid but lucked out and found a couple NOS prop assemblies with fresh springs and pivots (horseshoe was in the right place that day). Finding genuine ones is a rarity since the sheer weight of a Chrysler product trunk lid eventually destroys this part and used ones are usually not very reliable. No more need for a helmet while looking in the trunk! All the Best M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldSmith Posted February 6, 2021 Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 The post-war DeSoto Suburban had the trunk open to the cabin, so there was no space for the usual big springs that counterbalance the lid. So, struts were used. Open the lid and the struts click locked. Raise the lid some more, and the locks retract. That's the way they are supposed to work. Sometimes one strut will lock and the other won't. Raise the lid to release the one strut and the other one locks. It takes some artful twisting of the lid to counteract this and get both struts in sinc. I've been tempted to use gas struts instead of the mechanical ones. To-do list. James Douglas did this to his Suburban. My lid still has the Bakelite liner, so its weight would have to be figured in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcel Backs Posted February 6, 2021 Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) That de Soto is a class act! What is the wheelbase? The trunk lid looks like it would be a good lift for Arnold S. Very nice ride man! Edited February 6, 2021 by Marcel Backs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldSmith Posted February 6, 2021 Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 139.5" wheelbase. 225.3" length. It just fits in my garage. 3,974 lb. curb weight. The long wheelbase sedans were 18 inches longer than the regular sedans. The doors were 9 inches longer. I believe that the front door is the same as in a two-door sedan. The top edge begins to drop down. The back doors, unique to the long-wheelbase sedans, are curved to match. The trunk lid is a bit heavy to heft. The wood-grain Bakelite liner adds some weight. (By the way, Bakelite is not Bake plus light, it's named after a guy named Bakel, who developed this phenolic, thermosetting product more than a hundred years ago. So it's Bakel -ite. But we pronounce it Bake -Lite. "Thermoplastic" materials soften and melt when they get hot; "thermmosetting" materials, like Formica and other plastic laminates, do not soften and melt; they scorch and stink. Phenolic sheets and other products have been used as electrical insulators for ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted February 6, 2021 Report Share Posted February 6, 2021 Actually,, I pronounce it bake a lite which is how my Dad said it. He used to use the stuff in the steel mill he worked at Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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