I've done a search and haven't found any mention of anyone who has done a boot mod to fit gas struts and to get rid of the bootlid cables and stop the BANG, BANG when you accidently let go of the boot lid (I'm sure everyone has done this at some point )

Do the Rover Minis come with them? - they seem to have everything else Has anyone done this with aftermarket or an OEM-type item from another car?

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-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.

Rover minis still have cables.

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

I'm working on it, I'm sure it can be done.
Not on the to do list for a while yet though.

Replace or double up the stays with a piece of "hat elastic"
Comes in black, is cheap, light, & easy to fit.
One packet will give enough to replace it every few years too.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

I seen a pic of struts in a boot not long ago....will try and find it as I am sure there was something about a howto guide.....

wouldnt the fact that the boot opens down be an issue with gas struts? they are exceptionally strong for lifting bonnets up.. they would rocket a boot down harder then you could ever drop it!

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Potato

I guess that would happen if they weren't sized correctly (ie too big). All the struts do is extend at a specific rate when they are not "locked down" so it wouldn't matter if a door/opening opened up, down or sideways as long as they are sized matched. (ie small in the case of the Mini boot)

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-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.

To retain any strength in the set up, the geometry is a long way from ideal

What you need is a short strut with the gas let out, then it will only act as a damper. And if you have the seal at the bottom the damping will increase near the limit of extension, and do little to nothing when you are closing the boot.

The guy who rebiulds struts for us says you can remove the gas with a fine drill, have the fat end up and drill 10-20 mm from the end, tape around it to keep dust out and theres a damper

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

I wouldn't recommend drilling into a gas strut. Doesn't sound clever to me.

I would

Just tried the theory using a 1mm drill, i drilled it so the hole didn't face me and held up a rag just in case, big non event really, little hiss and some foamy oil, i think removing a tyre valve would be more dangerous
After drilling it i compressed it then while extending it i squirted in some crc, the damping gets stronger in the last 10mm, maybe some jack oil or singer oil would be better for stronger damping.
All i need is to do another and get 4 of the little ball bolts and i will fit it on mine

Edit: Just drilled another, so i videoed the drama on my crappy mobile, it will be on here a bit later tonight for anyone interested.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

Heres my crappy video showing that you can drill a strut. This one didn't spit any oil, i kept it upright longer than the first. After drilling it i compressed it, submersed the hole in trans fluid then extended it to draw in some oil, you can see the damping effect.

Easy, thanks for the idea Mearcat

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

That's awesome!
Even if the strut still had some gas in it, if it was weaker than the weight of the lid then the lid would drop down slower.

That was a weak strut, a good push with one hand could compress it so i'm guessing about 10kg exdending force, it used to be pushing up a commodore boot.
Problem : if it is inside the boot of a mini it will push the lid open, hence the need to de-gas it, a bit of vacuum might work.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.