James, As far as hoods go, I know of a few 81's with flat hoods 6451 (although 6452 and 6453 (my car) have grooved hoods) 4606 (althouhg 4603 has a grooved hood) 5633 I would guess the hoods were replaced by the QAC's, or perhaps they were installed at the factory who knows... it may always be a mystery. I also know the previous owner of 7196 (one of the very last 81's) however he indicated that 7196 had a grooved hood. I believe 7199 is in the UK, I wonder if the owner is on the DML? -Chris DMC 6453 James Espey <james@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Theoretically, it should have a hood with lines and no flap. The hoods officially changed to all flat hoods 19 cars after yours, but it would be interesting to know a couple of things: - the hoods on the cars 7182-7199, what are they? - any indications of previous accident damage? It's possible that the hood was damaged at the factory and then swapped out with one of the new ones before it was shipped, or it could have been done at the QAC, too. Another DeLorean mystery. James Espey DMC (Texas) http://www.delorean.com To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/