Gas Strut on 544 Boot lid

Salop Farmer · Apr 24th, 2024, 16:12

Was wondering if any of the PV544 owners out there have successfully fitted a gas strut (s) to assist with opening and holding their 544 boot lid. To me this is a sensible modification as the original latching mechanism is awful! I would be most grateful to anyone who could supply me with dimensions, brackets and gas strut pressure required to complete this update. Thank you.

morwenna240 · Apr 25th, 2024, 00:57

Yes, I have thought of this, the latch is indeed awful. Given that the p/V boot lid is nowhere near as heavy as a 140 or 240 tailgate, an the opening arc is smaller, we would only need one (instead of the 2 on aforementioned), off something smaller. Various moderns have them, why not nip down to your local scrappers, say what you are doing, Ann they may point you to something suitable that you can experiment with? I haven’t heard of anyone else doing this, so you may be the first. When I bought mine, the previous owner had provided a stick to hold up lid. . .

blueosprey90 · Apr 25th, 2024, 12:12

I need to "get on my knees" to put anything in the boot. My goal is to put the hinges on the bottom, shave the handle and have a clamshell opening.

redbrock · Today, 16:20

Hi
Yes I have fitted gas struts to my PV 544, the job was remarkably very simple to carry out once you ascertain the length of strut required.
You will need 2 x part No GSV8-200 Adjustable force gas struts & 4 x metal ball stud extensions there part number is T4 but you will need to phone the supplier and advise them you need there longer thread option. Standard thread options have a thread length of 13mm they can be used at a push but they are a bit short in as much that you cannot get a full nut on them. I spoke with SGS Engineering (the supplier) and they supplied Ball stud extensions that had a longer thread length of about 20mm that would take a full lock nut.
the supplier as mentioned was SGS engineering they have an online presence and helpline, Tom Radford was my contact.
I can send you a picture of the struts as fitted a PV544 please let me know if you want this as I was unable to download a picture I have onto this reply.
I actually made the brackets for mine but suitable ones are listed on eBay.
Don forget to remove the existing boot opening Pawl (again easy to do)
one final thing you will need to lock the boot as I forgot to do this once and it opened the boot when driving on poor road surface.
I hope this helps
Joe

Apr 24th, 2024, 16:12	#1
Salop Farmer Member Last Online: Yesterday 14:50 Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Oswestry	Gas Strut on 544 Boot lid Was wondering if any of the PV544 owners out there have successfully fitted a gas strut (s) to assist with opening and holding their 544 boot lid. To me this is a sensible modification as the original latching mechanism is awful! I would be most grateful to anyone who could supply me with dimensions, brackets and gas strut pressure required to complete this update. Thank you.

Today, 16:20	#4
redbrock New Member Last Online: Today 16:39 Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Bangor View Photos By: redbrock	Pv544 boot gas struts Hi Yes I have fitted gas struts to my PV 544, the job was remarkably very simple to carry out once you ascertain the length of strut required. You will need 2 x part No GSV8-200 Adjustable force gas struts & 4 x metal ball stud extensions there part number is T4 but you will need to phone the supplier and advise them you need there longer thread option. Standard thread options have a thread length of 13mm they can be used at a push but they are a bit short in as much that you cannot get a full nut on them. I spoke with SGS Engineering (the supplier) and they supplied Ball stud extensions that had a longer thread length of about 20mm that would take a full lock nut. the supplier as mentioned was SGS engineering they have an online presence and helpline, Tom Radford was my contact. I can send you a picture of the struts as fitted a PV544 please let me know if you want this as I was unable to download a picture I have onto this reply. I actually made the brackets for mine but suitable ones are listed on eBay. Don forget to remove the existing boot opening Pawl (again easy to do) one final thing you will need to lock the boot as I forgot to do this once and it opened the boot when driving on poor road surface. I hope this helps Joe

Apr 25th, 2024, 00:57	#2
morwenna240 Senior Member Last Online: Yesterday 10:25 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: heptonstall	Yes, I have thought of this, the latch is indeed awful. Given that the p/V boot lid is nowhere near as heavy as a 140 or 240 tailgate, an the opening arc is smaller, we would only need one (instead of the 2 on aforementioned), off something smaller. Various moderns have them, why not nip down to your local scrappers, say what you are doing, Ann they may point you to something suitable that you can experiment with? I haven’t heard of anyone else doing this, so you may be the first. When I bought mine, the previous owner had provided a stick to hold up lid. . .

Apr 25th, 2024, 12:12	#3
blueosprey90 Master Member Last Online: Today 12:48 Join Date: May 2017 Location: New Milford, Connecticut	I need to "get on my knees" to put anything in the boot. My goal is to put the hinges on the bottom, shave the handle and have a clamshell opening.

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