DIY: Trunk Shocks, no more BULKY torsion bars

[portabuddy]

I was inspired by the hood shocks that we installed last week and remembered that i had some Volvo shocks from a wrecked truck(they are used for the boot box) sitting at home doing nothing. Sooooo i decided to test fit them

these are the damm things that i am getting rid of. Getting rid of them Frees up almost 3"



First thing you need to do is gut your trunk. this is easy enough and needs no explanation, just remove the clips and then the carpet.

Step two is determining a position for the shock, i used the hole from the current bars, to do this get in the trunk. I'm a Big boy and there was quite enough room in there. I would rate the trunk at Only one body though.




here is a pic of the shock on the current bar, I way trying to see what kind of travle I could get.


Once i saw that the system was going to work I set out to take out the torsion bars without killing myself as they are under about 50lb or rotational force each with the trunk closed. this means that IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFULL THEY CAN BRAKE YOUR HAND AND/OR DENT YOUR TRUNK!!!

You need to unclip them from the clips on either side of the sub like in pic one.

then with A pry bar you need to take out the bars


PRY CAREFULLY!, once it comes out it will TRY to torque out the prybar from your hands.

I Decided on useing the stock hole, tried mountings on the inside and outside to see what i could get away with.




I had to make my own ball joint for this as the ones that i had where only a 1/2" long. for this i took the grinder to 2 12mm bolts 2" long Rounded the heads into balls then welded the washer to the shaft... Sorry no progress shots.

then i scoped some lower points.


Made a bracket, drilled the holes and bolted it down.


First one bolt to make sure i had clearance... the shocks are really strong and need 50lb-60lb of force to compress each one. so i cant hold them



Here it is in the closed position.


Ever so minor touching. i would say withing spec for now.


That was A lot of work... lets have a Beer!


Here Is the left side done.


And bolth all hoocked up.



There is enogh room that you can cut a tiny hole and peek the lower ball joint through the carpet. For me the carpets arnt going in. but rather a 2.5Cu" custome MDF box with a F/glass face. all fresh black carpeting.

[obert]

Thats looks good man,no drinking and trunking...LOL

[truflip]

nice trunk tray

[portabuddy]

EH? thats cardboard, im useing it as a guide to see what room i have for the box, amp racks and the doors for the spair.

The floor will be devided into 5 pieces. the rear that will be the sub box, the two front ones that will open up barn door style. and the left and right side that will house a second battery, two amps a cap and inverter.

[KMM]

mikey likey but we need more power on them shocks

[denice25]

nice post! thanks for the share!

[portabuddy]

Your welcome guys. But I have found that the shocks arnt as strong as id like. i need either stonger ones or i'll just put a spring on them like a coilover strut.

[portabuddy]

bump for the new year.

[honhon]

the shocks are probably strong enough, just have to re-engineer the mounting locations to get better leverage.

great idea though...

[portabuddy]

yea i need to move them up the arm, but the holes where already there so i used them...

[honhon]

true. but good work none the less.

[IceMurder]

awesome, it'd be cool if a company made something like this for us

[portabuddy]

i forgot to mention that my calculations where off i made the box too big for the sub and now i need to make it smaller


also a biit too bulkey to fit into the trunk. so it was all for the psssssssssshhhhhhh factor.

[EyeDoc14]

Cool idea, but like you said, they're too close to the hinges and can't get enough leverage

[KMM]

using a more powerful shock will fix it

[honhon]

Originally Posted by KMM

using a more powerful shock will fix it

it may, but a stronger shock will put even more stress on the thin sheet metal.

[honhon]

after looking at the pictures, i believe i figured the most adequate spot for the shocks...



basically, you'll want the shock mounted to the arms, where the arms go lowest. or just slightly towards the hinge... because the way they are mounted now... when the trunk is closed the pressure is actually trying to push the trunk down. basically you'll want the strut to have a straight shot extending all the way right away... wheres i think the spot you have them at.... it compresses slightly and then extends

i know you just used an exsisting hole, but its just food for thought if you do plan on changing it... but then again if you are putting in a system you may want that little bit of pressure pushing down on the trunk to get a better seal.

[KMM]

indeed thats a spot we thought of too but did't feel like drilling it at the time, now it's wintery out there so we will resume in the spring time....

at the moment it bakes a fonominal seal.... the trunk is really heavy either way.