Air Lift for Model A trunk lid

[C9]

Been doing the trunk latch bit on the 31 A roadster.
Got most of that done, one more bracket to make so the lid shuts in the right place.

Along those lines, I got a couple of air lifts off an 89 Taurus wagon at the junkyard yesterday.
Ball mount on the rod end, bracket with swivel on the cylinder end.
26" long fwiw.

Made one bracket, drilled two holes - which get a reinforcing plate later - and the air lift fits pretty good.

Mounting points are on the inner back wall near the floor and the lid bracket air lift ball pivots in the same place the original Model A mechanical hold-open did.
The rod travel on the air lift is about 8".

I'm only using one lift on the left side and the problem is, the trunk opens fine, but way too fast.
I don't want to bang the trunk lid to the stops for fear of damage over time.

What I need is some kind of cushioning device to cushion the end travel of the air lift.

I thought of a rod with spring stop, but if there's a better way, I'm all ears.

I realize that using the station wagon air lift is a little too much strength, but the length is just right.
I could go down to 20" if necessary, but would prefer to keep the 26" length if I can.

If it ain't one thing....

[enjenjo]

NAPA has some universal lifts, listed as tool box lid lifts, in the parts and accessories catalog. Several length choices, and the lift capacity is set in 10 lb increments, 10, 20, 30 ect. You can fine tune the lid so it opens just the way you want.

[Fat Cat]

You can also look at places that carry motorhome parts. Alot of coaches these days have them on compartment doors.

[Flipper]

Could you put a dead one on the other side to act as a shock absorber to slow it down?

[C9]

I thought of using an NG lift, but all the ones I could find were good.
Figures....


Anyway, did a little more thinking about it and made a temporary test bracket with a series of holes in it.
All of the holes advance toward the trunk lid hinge so the leverage on the air lift is increased.

Moving the pivot point about 2 1/2" toward the hinge  softened things up so it doesn't slam to the stops at the wide open point.

The system works smoothly now and comes to a gentle stop.
Only trouble is the lid doesn't come off the closed position without help.
That would be ok I suppose, but I prefer the lid to open fully once the solenoid is popped.
I did make some UHMW topped poppers, but prefer not to use them and they wouldn't lift the lid far enough to give it a good start anyway.

One more test bracket moving the pivot point a little ways to the rear ought to have things working well.

Once that's done I need to find my 1 1/2" x 1/8" aluminum angle so the bracket can be made wide enough to spread out the load.
One leg will be cut down to 1" for the pivot ball, but the 1 1/2" side should spread the load on the trunks sheet metal inner piece.

I've got a few pics of what I'm doing although my digi-cam broke.
If I can get granddaughters digi going I can shoot some more pics and then show what I'm doing.

Don't hold your breath though....