A quick primer on spings. There are three main types, coil, leaf, and torsion. They can be made of any material that has the proper "modulas of elasticity" which is a fancy way of saying that if you bend it a certain amount it will return to it's former shape. Exceeding a limit permanently deforms it. A coil spring is usually round coils. A leaf spring is usually flat bars arranged in a stack of varying lengths and a torsion bar is usually a round bar. In applications using torsion bars the bar is a specially prepared bar with one end being anchored (kept from rotating) and the other preloaded by previous rotation and then supporting the load. In the case of the Delorean doors the rear end is anchored in a bracket over the rear window and the other end is in the hinge that rotates with the door. When you close the door you are twisting the bar that extends from the front hinge to the rear anchor. A torsion bar is among the most highly stressed of springs and contains an ENORMOUS amount of stored energy.(There is no way to know if the torsion bar is under load just by looking at it which makes it so dangerous.) Also if the surface of the bar was to be scratched stress would concentrate on the area and propagate into a stress fracture causing failure ie: it will break. Adjusting the doors consists of changing the preload of the torsion bar. Even with the doors open there is STILL an considerable amount of energy preloaded into the torsion bar. David Teitelbaum vin 10757 --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx, "Thomas B" <tjb229@xxxx> wrote: > I am a little embarrassed to ask this: How does the torsion bar work > in the door of the Delorean anyway? > > Thanks, > > Tom (tjb229@xxxx)