i finally got my gt/cs back from the paint shop after being there all summer. i have one problem though.... the shop had taken my rear deck lid off off the car along with the rear tension rods. the collision shop owner asked me if i new exactly how they went back on because he didn't remember. i went to a local car show and saw a 68 sheby convertible and took pics of his deck lid hinges and rods. i took the pics to the shop owner and he put them on exactly the same as the shelby, he even tried attaching the ends of the rods in the different slots to try and get some springing action in the lid. no luck... my deck lid will not stay up without assistance. i thought that i had read in one of paul's books that the cal. spec. had special springs for the lid??? has anybody else ever had this problem?? if yes, can you help my out with this dilema, it's driving me nuts!! anybody's help is appreciated!!!

thanks
tom

When I first got my car back from the paint shop I noticed that my declid was very weak. I then tried to place more tention on the rods since there was more space. First of all, it took me forever to get them off. Next as I was trying to hop atleast one over I almost took my head off. When I finally did it, I noticed that the tention was too much. So after an hour or two I ended up placing it back where they initially were. I felt so dumb. Mine pops up when i turn the key but it does not stay up too long. I just fegured that that was the way they were.

Hello Tom,
I had the same problem with my gt/cs trunk lid when the car came back from the paint shop.It would not stay up,well after a couple of hours of playing with the springs I thought mabe they are on backwards.They looked exactly alike both ways but I thought what do I have to lose.I reversed them and the trunk lid stayed up no problem.Sometimes at car shows when I have the lid up, the slitest breazw will try to push it down because the air hits the spoiler,but then it comes right back up.I hope this helps you with your problem.
Joel

Hello Tom,
I had the same problem with my gt/cs trunk lid when the car came back from the paint shop.It would not stay up,well after a couple of hours of playing with the springs I thought mabe they are on backwards.They looked exactly alike both ways but I thought what do I have to lose.I reversed them and the trunk lid stayed up no problem.Sometimes at car shows when I have the lid up, the slitest breazw will try to push it down because the air hits the spoiler,but then it comes right back up.I hope this helps you with your problem.
Joel

[quote] ;D

I find this topic very interesting, actually I wish my GT/CS had this problem. On the flip side, when my deck lid is opened, it flies up and could take your head off if you are not paying attention. It is pretty obvious, that I have one extreme and you have the other. I believe that since the lid is fiberglass, Its weight is just in the middle of these spring adjustments, without a happy medium.

This board has grown alot since I have joined, so.....
Lets hear from other owners on this dilemma. Does your fiberglass decklid work correctly, or is it highly strung, or have very little tension.

Maybe some info from other Special owners can help the rest of us find a answer to this problem.

Actually my CS is perfect it rises soft and slow nothing harsh or to weak, I dunno what makes it so but maybe your springs are to loose or to tight? not sure though :-[

I find this topic very interesting, actually I wish my GT/CS had this problem. On the flip side, when my deck lid is opened, it flies up and could take your head off if you are not paying attention.

Yup, same with my HCS.

My decklid comes up with ease by itself. But you guys don't want to put too much tension on the rods, because when they fly up like that, the decklid has to suddenly stop when the hinge stops. This puts a lot of stress on the decklid. The old fiberglass on the orignal decklids has a tendency to crack easily. Once cracked, the only option is to remove the fiberglass skin from the frame, repair the cracks, then repair the seam that you had to split taking it apart.