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Build an Articulated Gas Strut Linkage
We have been driving Project FANTM47, our ’47 Ford phantom coupe delivery, for over 10 years now in various states of condition, all of them being pretty far from completion. For many of those years, we put up with a rear door that had a mind of its own, opening whenever it felt the need and not staying open when it should. A bear claw latch cured the first problem, but it took a lot of head scratching to solve the second.
Unlike a regular car door, the back door of a sedan delivery is often left open for loading, unloading and so on. With nothing to hold it open, the slightest breeze will slam it because when a delivery is dumped in the front as ours is, gravity lends a heavy hand to the slam. We’ve never been knocked unconscious, but we’ve suffered some nasty lumps on the noggin. Worse yet, with no mechanism but the hinges, you never hear or see it coming.
We don’t know what the factory provided because we’ve never been able to find any two deliveries that are the same. Our ’47 served its commercial duty as a plumber’s truck and had many holes in the door frame, door, cargo deck and floor. Obviously, the plumber couldn’t get it to stay open, either. The other deliveries we’ve seen just use a stick or have some sort of brace that either folds or slides out after opening the door. One guy just jammed a wedge in it. Our engineering background simply would not allow the stick or block technique. There had to be a much more complicated way to do it. A few more blows to the head forced a solution to be found, and fortunately, the brain still had some marbles left.
We needed to keep the door open and prevent it from opening too far and clobbering the license plate and taillight. But that wasn’t enough of a challenge; we also wanted it to stay open at any position. Being the typical street rodders that we are, it had to be completely hidden, too. That should be easy enough. Well, the solution wasn’t exactly a no-brainer, but it wasn’t that hard, either. The only problem was the fact that the theory was difficult, if not impossible, to prove in a mock-up on the bench and had to be worked out on the car through a lot of trial and error.
Follow along as we show you step by step what is involved in making up what we call an articulated gas strut. We’ve all seen gas struts used to raise and support trunk lids and hoods, so why not use them on your doors? Ours can be adjusted to where the door will open itself when the door handle is pulled, so you should be able to set yours up where your doors will swing open at the touch of your remote. Or if you’re in the car, you could just tap your hidden button for the door to open and stay open. How cool would that be? Many parts stores stock a wide selection of gas struts as replacements for hatchbacks. They come in a wide range of lengths, pressures and various mounting provisions, so check ’em out!
