I just bought a ‘76 that needs a broom handle to hold the trunk open. Probably because the rear is a Rayco fiberglass wide body. I want to change that. So I’ve been looking at stock applications. What I’ve noticed is that some 914s have struts and some don’t. Is it a model year change? Can the strutless hinges be installed on my car? And the ones with struts… I’ve seen that some attach to actual hinge where it meets the deck and some attach behind the hinge. Help?

It’s a torsion bar housed in the engine bay - they use rollers on the hinge to index from up position to down. The shape of the roller changed over the years, I think the later one fits early cars and works better.

Camp914 and various other retailers sell kits to convert the system into a strut based one

Here is a photo of the torsion bar system from before my car had an engine. The white is the roller, and the bar below it is the torsion spring. Careful with installing and reinstalling though, they pack a punch.

Click to view attachment

Stick with the factory torsion bar springs....the shocks always wear out. However, if you want a shock setup, I am going to sell mine that I bought before changing my mind front&back.

totally agree trunk shocks weaken the lid and prevent an easy swing into the trunk of the hardtop. DON"T DO IT!!!!!

You can replace those plastic rollers with aluminum ones. I did, but I can't remember where I purchased them.

Found a photo online of the replacement rollers I got - as for metal ones they would make a pretty simple lathe project…Click to view attachment

NotLance is right.

if you don't want to lose a hand or a wrist there is a tool you can make.
i made one out of flat bar to mimic the factory tool.
had to replace a broken nylon roller on mine.
got the replacement roller from 914rubber.
a perfect repro of the original.

with the tool it is a safe procedure to install the roller.
though i had a mate help me.
he levered the torsion bar with the tool while i slipped the roller on.
torsion bars for the rear lid are ferociously strong.

somewhere here on this website there is a thread about puttling the rollers on and levering the torsion bar with a large screw driver. bit more sketchy if you ask me, but others have done it without the tool.


Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment


full list of special tools for 914

https://members.rennlist.com/914_collectibles/ToolsP.htm