Anyone who has whacked their head on the open MGA boot lid may wish it might be held a little higher when it is propped open. My solution to this problem was cheap, quick and simple. The prop rod normally passes through the retainer bracket on the edge of the body opening and seats on the boot floor about four inches lower. I simply installed a 3/8" bolt and a pair of hex nuts in the bracket to provide a new nest for the tip of the rod on top of the bracket. The two nuts are jammed up tight with the bolt head on the bottom and the tip of the bolt slightly below the top of the upper hex nut. The upper hex nut fits in just underneath the skeleton of the boot lid when closed.

This does have a couple of shortcomings. If I bump the rod with my elbow when accessing the luggage space the boot lid may drop on my head. I only did that a couple of times before I became conditioned to avoid bumping the rod, and generally no problem since. It might help to drill a hole in the tip end of the bolt to provide a little deeper nest for the rod.

The other problem is wind. Since the aluminum skinned lid is so light, any respectable gust of wind can lift it enough to dislodge the prop rod, which is followed by a rather unsettling thump. This too may bring a certain conditioning so you might not leave it fully open and unattended on a windy day.

On 06 April 2007 Mike Ellsmore in Victoria, Australia wrote:
"To increase the boot (trunk) opening height by about 4" (lessens the chance of banging your head) take an M8 nut and screw it on to the taper on the end of the boot prop by hand. It leaves about 3/4" of prop protruding through the locating lug. For concours you simply unscrew the nut and put in your pocket."

For those of us not into metric threads, the equivalent inch size for the hex nut is 5/16" (fine or coarse thread works as well).

On 09 March 2008 Barry Gannon in Victoria, Australia wrote:
"As the rod is tapered, you can slip a small diameter washer over the end to prevent the rod going right through the holding bracket. It can always be removed for 'concours'."

On September 14, 2012, Neil McGurk in Cumbria, UK, wrote:
"A picture of the boot stay. The rubber plug is just the right size to protect both prop and hole. This seems like a nice solution, and the plug is sold by Todd Clarke as a headlamp adjuster cover.

On October 16, 2012, Larry Wheeler in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA, wrote:
"About putting a washer on the end of the rod to keep it from going through the hole and scuffing up the boot floor, I tried it. Worked great, except the washer chipped the brand new paint on the tab. I happened to be at the hardware store when I came across what the store listed as a "bonded washer". Basically, a metal washer with a sheet of rubber pre-attached. I touched up the paint and stuck it on, no more chips! Hopefully you can make out that it's a two-ply washer with the rubber side toward the nesting tab. Just a press fit on the end, sorry I didn't note the size.

On September 18, 2019, Eric Von Wenckstern wrote:
"I installed a rubber grommet to the retainer bracket and it allows the point of the prop rod to seat itself enough to not worry me of the accidental bump. Simple, cheap, and effective"!