Martin and List - I appreciate the contributions that DMC Joe has made to the support for the DeLorean. However, if the "quote" below is true, I must disagree. I have personally changed many bolts that were bent (and broken) on cars that had been properly maintained in terms of the TAB's. My car, for instance, got a good visual check and torque check at every tech session (2 ~ 3 times per year). Mine broke 'out of the blue' at one of those tech sessions. Perhaps you and DMC Joe can review some of my thesis on the topic. You will find that the OEM TAB's are most likely yielding a little every time they are loaded up during driving. The "little yields" accumulate into a situation where the bolt actually stretches. This cycle will repeat every time the bolt is tightened, until the material reaches it's elastic limit. When the material enters the plastic range (a technical term), the bolt is in the process of failing in bending or ductile fracture. The OEM bolts will also succumb to corrosion if the yielding doesn't get them first. I will remind you that 1/3 of those responding to the poll said that they had experienced bolt bending. I cannot believee that that many cars are improperly maintained. Of course, the 1/3 that said they didn't know, and didn't care, are the ones that concern me. Ignorance is not always bliss. Toby Peterson VIN 2248 Winged1 --- In dmcnews@xxxx, Martin Gutkowski <webmaster@xxxx> wrote: > > >*Toby-tabs. Very much needed. Why didn't one or two of the vendors come up and say, Hey we're interested in your project. Maybe they did, but the DML hasn't heard of it. > > > DMC Joe did state categorically that the only time he'd known of a bolt bending or breaking was when it hadn't been kept torqued. Noticing the massive difference in the handling of my D when I torqued mine properly has lead me to think that I'll just take that 5-minute job on when I can use the 4-poster ramp at the garage (most Saturdays)