Posted by Sam Mangano (209.71.88.146) on March 18, 2001 at 23:07:18:
In Reply to: Trunk help posted by Fred Fermin on March 18, 2001 at 19:46:26:
Fred,
Your '72 has a torsion bar that keeps the trunklid open. You need to have the bar in the uppermost notch in order to achieve maximum tension. Take a peek inside the trunk near the passenger side hingle and you should see the bar and 3 notches. Use a pair of large vise grips or similar tool to grab the bar and move it from one notch into the next notch. Be careful as there is a considerable amount of tension on this and if you slip you could hurt yourself. In the event that the torsion bar is already in the uppermost notch, there really isn't much else you can do to hold the trunklid up short of retrofitting one of those gas filled struts that the newer cars use, and that would take some doing. After almost 30 years the metal can become weak (just like a set of worn out rear springs) and just won't hold the lid up anymore. The later model 4 door Mavericks used a pair of torsion bars instead of the single one you have. These are more than capable of holding the lid up - in fact it can snap up too fast at times. Hope this helps.
: Hi all,
: The trunk on my 72 Grabber has a difficult time keeping open, especially on an incline like the driveway. Anyone here know the procedure to go about adjusting the tension spring/rods? that help to keep the trunk open?
: Thanks again,
: Fred
: 72 Grabber