The rear trunk pivot assembly can no longer be welded back on the car after snapping apart many times over the decades.

I just received the nifty replacements from J West, so that project looms...

But... Should I skip the springs and go to the hydraulic lifts?

Just asking for opinions... And guidance.

Oh boy, now you've gone and done it.

For me it was easy, lose the stupid wire bars. Also slot the mounts so you can lift the lid up and off. The big lids... I always use gas struts from a pick and pull place. Fun day at the park and the new lids lift nicely. If you can't figure out the ratios and stuff, you could go to camp914.com and just pay the pony. Craig has good stuff.

I installed the Jwest solution years ago and haven’t thought about them since.
IMHO installing struts looks tacky and restricts access to the trunk from the side of the car making it more difficult to get the top in. Struts eventually have to be replaced, where as the JWest hinge will be a permanent fix.

Your car though, do what you like.

The problem with the torsion bars is nobody bothers to put anti-seize on the shoulder of the pivot bolt. So they seize up, and the torsion bar makes it worse.

I am putting them back on Igor as soon as possible. The previous owner put a set of gas lifts on Elwood. They are going away and I am putting the bars back on it too. Frody has run the torsion bars for 33 years with no difficulty, just anti-seize on the shoulder bolts.