Re: [DML] DOOR GUIDES

[Mike Substelny <msubstel@xxxx>]

Hank Breer said:

> Service Action SA-0005 states that there were 2 door latch
> guide kits: W300003 for cars up to VIN 1100 and W300004
> for cars after. (My car, VIN 1141 needed the W300004 kit to
> add the guides that were NOT installed by the factory)
> The SA implies (but does not specifically state) that cars
> up to VIN 3000 are affected.

Good advice, but it might even be more complicated than that. My VIN 01280 also
had no door guides when I acquired it. Jerry Rine, then technical expert at the
Kapac warehouse, told me that my car was made in a transitional time, when it was
difficult to tell which door guide I needed by referencing the VIN. Jerry took
an educated guess for my car based on the VIN, but he guessed wrong.

Apparently the door design changed slightly somewhere around the time that VIN
1100 was made. Based on my discussion with Jerry, I assume that for a brief
period new and old style doors were both moving down the assembly line at the
same time.

I can verify that the older door guides will fit on the newer door design, but
not very well.

I can also verify that I have seen early cars (pre 1100 VIN) which were equipped
with fewer than 4 door guides. Perhaps there was some experimentation, or maybe
the guides were available individually instead of as kits, and some
owners/dealers tried to save some money.

There are still a few early cars out there that could benefit from door guides.
If you have one, I suggest that you seek out another DeLorean owner who is
willing to temporarily unscrew a door guide so you can hold it up to your door
and see if it would fit. Make a note of how well it fit, then jot down the code
number on the back of that guide before calling your favorite DeLorean parts
supplier.

- Mike Substelny