First off I suspect that many of you have already have gas strut lifts on your boot. If you're still reading, you are probably in it for the entertainment or maybe you just don't have enough to do!
Second, I readily admit that for many of you, installing gas struts on our boot lid is not a big deal. I don't know how unique a skill it is - turning the simple into the complex - but I seem to excel at it!
Thirdly, if you haven't installed them already, you should! You are a fool if you don't. I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner! I can't tell you how cool it is!
I was going to tell you the story of how I installed my struts, but I decided to save you from that and just list some notes. You're welcome!
There are some fairly simple instructions on Lotus Europa Central (
http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/misc/body/struts/hoodproject.html) unfortunately, I didn't try this myself because even though there isn't much welding involved, I don't know how to weld and didn't want to bother (or pay for) somebody else to do it.
r.d enterprises sells a strut kit (see attached pictures). This kit is actually purchased from Richard (at Banks). Ray is a great guy but even with the shipping from England, it was significantly less expensive to get it from Richard. It appears that Richard adapted the plans linked to above to be a bolt on kit.
The picture on the r.d. website show it installed on an S2. Richard told me it would fit on a TCS. It didn't fit on mine. The shoulder belt strut assy. is partially in the way, the area where the mount ('F' shaped piece) needs to be bolted on the wheel well is not flat, I had an electronics panel on the left side that interfered with the strut mount, and the forward end of the strut mount is to be bolted in the rain gutter. My rain gutter is not flat and I thought I would probably crack the glass if I bolted it there.
After thinking about it a lot and putting it on the back burner a lot, I figured a way to mount the strut on the car by using square aluminum tube (1" square, 1/16" wall). A fish mouth (3/4" diameter to match the diameter of the tube that goes between the shoulder belt mounts under the rear window) on the front end of the tube would support the front and the rear could be bolted to the wheel well. It was complicated a bit by the aforementioned shoulder belt strut assy. and electronics panel, but it was easy to cut the aluminum to make it fit. Actually, it was a lot more work than I thought!
I didn't take pictures through out the project but mine really is a special case. Two like the one on the right of my car would probably work for most people. What you can't see from the pictures is the cut-out so the tube lies flat on top of the shoulder strut assy. It's interesting to note, and not that surprising given Lotus build quality, is that the wheel well is not flat so you just have to live with it.
The boot mount for other end of the gas struts had to be installed from the rear. This meant that I had to take off the foam rubber block that seals the trunk tray from the elements and I ordered some extruded rubber seal from Steele (
https://www.steelerubber.com/search?q=83-0139-73) from Pfreen's suggestion (
http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=2124.msg19863#msg19863). For placement of this mount as well as the placement for the strut on the aluminum tube, I used the dimensions listed on the instructions from the Lotus Europa Central link. For the boot mount, it says to place the mount (measured from the pop rivet hole closed to the front of boot 16 1/2" from the forward edge of the boot. There is a significant draft angle on that edge so I pretty much split the difference. I don't think it's that critical.
It took me a lot longer than it should have - partially because I don't have any machine tools and was relegated to using a hack saw, drill press, dremel tool, and files. I also had to do some fitting on the left hand side because of my electronics panel. In the end, it might have been easier to follow the instructions from Lotus Europa Central instructions. If you have access to a mill, I think my way might be easier. Most people would only need to make two like my right side mounts.
Pictures (sorry for the dirty car!):
installed strut kit from r.d. enterprises website
picture of strut kit from r.d. enterprises website
picture of the fish mouth in the square tube
front of my left mount
rear of my left mount
front of my right mount
rear of my right mount
