ehansen007/33 Machine Build Page

[j33ptj]

Oops!!! It was you Erik I meant to ask!!!

I get confused eaisly, must be an old age thing... (this is the 33 Forum, not Harleys??? Right?

Robert

[ehansen007]

I searched around and didn't see that anyone had setup the hydraulic struts for the trunk so here's my take. While the prop rod looks period, I felt that train had already sailed on my more modern interpretation anyway so why not give it a shot. Plus I had so much stuff in my trunk for the shows the prop rod was just a pain and I had the lid land on my head more than once.

I used the gas struts from the hood and then I made some standoff brackets out of some urethane I had lying around and man that stuff is dense! Worked great! I mounted to the inside sheet metal of the trunk which is a bit flexy since you don't attach that to anything and plan on reinforcing it with a bracket. But it works great without it and the trunk stays open by itself. It may not look the coolest but I really need function over form here.

I also made a little spring trunk popper thanks to some of the others here on the forum and their great pics. Now I can release the trunk with the cabin latch and then open it up and it stays up!

[j33ptj]

OK, I'll ask, what's the "thing" in the boot?

[Barrel]

Originally Posted by j33ptj

OK, I'll ask, what's the "thing" in the boot?

Hey Erik, why not let us guess? I'm going with a climate controlled Hasp storage unit.

[Wayne Presley]

That's his "Bat Gas" storage unit, He likes Jeff so much he carries around some of his essence...

[Tim Whittaker]

I've had this system available for almost a year now. It has a steel bar that gets bonded into the trunk inner skin. Keeps the trunk lid shape and gives a strong support to the trunk gas struts. On the bottom end, it attaches to the trunk side diagonal tube. Very strong and the longer length strut has a less vertical load on the trunk skin.

[ehansen007]

Nice Tim! I knew someone had done it. Just too lazy to search around for it. That's my Bazooka subwoofer in the trunk.

[Tim Whittaker]

Thanks. Yours looks great !!!!

If you find the hood struts are a little more power than what you need or they cause problems with the lid alignment, let me know. I have reduced powered struts to replace those supplied for the hood.

[ehansen007]

I love this photo stuff. I went down to Cars and Coffee early this morning and it was as clear as I've seen it in a long time (Santa Ana winds...it's almost 90 here today). So I hit the rooftop next door to the show and got a few pics. Let me know which one I should submit for POM. A certain wookie has already seen a couple of these and said I should!

[ehansen007]

I also did some finishing work to my trunk. I made these little trim plates from scratch so that was fun. Nothing like working the file back and forth for a seemless cutout. Although it's not perfect for sure! I had to give up the ghost on those gas struts. They just flexed the trunk lid to much on the left side and I couldn't get it to close right on the left side. So strange and I worked it for days and nothing would bring the shape back in with the struts installed. So good old fashioned prop rod is in the house! Or the trunk for that matter...

[jmann]

Erik, nice job, simple and very effective. Have you looked at self locking trunk lid supports? My '46 chevy has one ( stock). When I lift the lid, it extends and locks in the open position, to close just lift it higher, the little latch doo-daa-thing-a-ma-gig releases and the lid can close. No force on the lid when it is down. I saw these in a hot rod catalogue somewhere......

Ohh, nice pics too. Car looks great.

[dagall]

I had one of those in my Cobra until a friend went to close the trunk and bent the hell out of it and almost damaged the trunk lid because he didn't know how to close it. Don't get me wrong, I like that locking prop, if everyone knows how they close.

[sheephearder]

[QUOTE=ehansen007;2731009]I love this photo stuff. I went down to Cars and Coffee early this morning and it was as clear as I've seen it in a long time (Santa Ana winds...it's almost 90 here today). So I hit the rooftop next door to the show and got a few pics. Let me know which one I should submit for POM. A certain wookie has already seen a couple of these and said I should!

Great job, Erik. I like the first one the most. They are all very good!

[ehansen007]

Originally Posted by dagall

I had one of those in my Cobra until a friend went to close the trunk and bent the hell out of it and almost damaged the trunk lid because he didn't know how to close it. Don't get me wrong, I like that locking prop, if everyone knows how they close.

Exactly why I didn't do it!

[ksuhre]

I vote for the second pic.

[H R Lucky]

I like the first Pic best.

Nevin

[Jim Unland]

Originally Posted by ehansen007

Correct, no wipers needed in California.

Yes, I had to buy a different radiator hose from Pep Boys and cut it to make the filler cap work for the outside. Put a steel tube in the middle to connect the upper half that comes with the kit to the lower half from the radiator hose.

The gas still backs up in the tube a bit so I have to hold the nozzle just outside the hole and shoot it in. I think I'm going to get a McCuff for filling. Hey, Paul Senior uses it and he's a man of integrity ( I mean, how many people have the balls to sue and disown their own kids!) And yes, I used the cap that came with the kit. It works great. I'm actually using the stock tank and so far, no real issues! Just remember to throw out that square seal for the sender and get a round one!

McCuff

Hi Erik,
I just received my TOP and have been going to the various inspections to get registration I filled my tank at a gas station the other day and it spit back somewhat and got gas on top of the body. I had to hold the nozzle just at the top of the hole and dribble the gas in. It took 10 minutes to put in 8 gallons of gas I relocated my fill cap to the top of the car as you did. Did you get the McCuff and did it eliminate the backup of gas in the tube?

Thanks for your comments.