DAF 55 boot problem solved

[fordgpw]

Hi all.

Just thought I'd share my solution to the twisted bootlid I had on the 1968 DAF 55. I'm not sure if this is a common problem or not but this one suffered from it and looking at its design it's hardly surprising.

The problem it has is that it has one retractable stay on the R/H side, with use, the weight of the boot lid is too much on the one corner and it has creased the boot lid, it is now misaligned and raised in the top R/H corner and actually slightly fractured the hinge. I fitted one gas strut but ended up fitting two and it is now nicely supported and raises equally 'just like a Golf'. Just need to sort the bootlid now.

The gas struts are 200nm versions, 350mm on length and are relatively cheap on Amazon. The brackets are 1.5mm aluminium at the bottom and have a slice of U section rubber between the bracket and the arch so that it sits and is supported by the arch. They are bolted to the side panels (these aren't actually welded at the bottom but seam sealed so it might need welding or an angle bracket fittinf behind, that's the reason the brackets are sat on the wheel arch). The top brackets are 2mm odd steel angle screwed to the hinges themselves, I tried a few ways but this is the best solution I found to avoid stressing the hinges further. This also has the benefit of the gas struts being completely straight when closed, so no force is on them (no risk of the boot flying open), in fact to open it you push the button and lift it slightly until the struts take over.

It might be useless information but it might be food for thought for someone suffering a similar problem.

Pics below.
2023-03-19_11-33-22 by JPU121265, on Flickr
IMG_20230319_112559_1 by JPU121265, on Flickr
IMG_20230319_112121 by JPU121265, on Flickr
IMG_20230319_111821 by JPU121265, on Flickr
IMG_20230319_111341 by JPU121265, on Flickr

[bobdisk]

I always thought Daf boot stays were "lift and click" mechanical type, like the one on my 33 and not the gas strut type. Gas struts usually want too much effort to push shut, resulting in the damage you have. What are the holes above the rh hinge on the boot lid ? Was that where the original stay was mounted?

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Early B-body cars (44 and 55) had the similar arrangement to the 33 with a "stay" on one side.

Later 44s, 55s, then 66s, had a spring loaded hinge arrangement for the boot lid, which generally worked very well. (You'd simply press the boot button and up the lid would shoot, often quite vigorously!)

Gas struts only appeared originally on Volvo 343/340s.

[fordgpw]

Mar 20, 2023 17:32:26 GMT bobdisk said:

I always thought Daf boot stays were "lift and click" mechanical type, like the one on my 33 and not the gas strut type. Gas struts usually want too much effort to push shut, resulting in the damage you have. What are the holes above the rh hinge on the boot lid ? Was that where the original stay was mounted?

View Attachment

The gas struts have only been on three days and are a fix to the problem that it had before, the crease and poor fit of the boot lid is the reason for the gas struts.

The problem was that the original retractable stay was fixed to the hinge/bootlid bolts on the R/H side, you can see a mark on the hinge where the original bracket was fitted. This has caused the bootlid to warp as the entire weight of the bootlid was being held via the front R/H corner only which, over time and use, has warped the boot.

The gas struts are to equalise the load across the boot lid and stop it tipping. 200nm is pretty much the lowest force of strut you can buy, especially in this size, and, given they act on the strongest part (the hinges), and are fitted very close to the pivot pin means the force is much softer that it would be, say, at the rear end of the bootlid, it can easily be shut with one arm.

This is just my suggestion, I thought it might help others, time will tell if it needs further modification, but it is undoubtedly better than the original system that let the boot lid drop on the opposite side and strain the boot lid as pictured.