Re: Door guides

["Joe Thome" <joethome@xxxx>]

Mike,

Interesting information about the importance of door guides.

Would a DeLorean with a VIN 06467 manufactured in November, 1981, likely
have those door guides? Can anyone explain how can I check to see if my car
has them? Does anyone have pictures of what they look like?

Many thanks for the help.

Joe Thome
VIN 06467


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Substelny" <msubstel@xxxx>
To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 9:33 AM
Subject: Re: [DML] Trapped in a DeLorean?


> When I first got my DeLorean I was trapped inside many times, and it had
NOTHING
> to do with the lock mechanism. It had to do with the fact that my doors
often
> closed out of alignment, making them jammed. They appeared to be closed
> normally, but the latches were nowhere near the locking pins. Instead,
the body
> of the door was mashed between the front and rear locking pins.
>
> When this happens it is very difficult to get out. Disconnecting the
battery
> does no good. The door handles and lock rockers have no effect. Only
brute
> force (or possibly a fast drive on a bumpy road) will get the door open.
This
> may take many strong men. At the same time, a door closed in this manner
might
> spring open at any moment, usually when you are cruising at 70 mph on the
> freeway. This is a very frightening experience!
>
> The original design of the gullwing doors was such that all DeLorean doors
would
> jam shut in this manner. It was very dangerous.
>
> This was an awful problem for DMC. They solved it, though, when they
invented
> the door guides. All later DeLorean had door guides installed at the
factory.
> Earlier DeLoreans (like mine) can be easily retrofitted with proper door
guides.
>
> Because I had so many frightening experiences with my guideless doors, I
look
> for door guides on the cars at DeLorean events. I am happy to report that
today
> almost all DeLoreans have been fitted with proper door guides, but there
are
> still a few without them.
>
> I did not appreciate it at the time, but when my DeLorean had no door
guides it
> was a death trap. Now that I have door guides my doors are safe and
reliable.
>
> If you are not sure whether your doors have guides or not, call your DMC
parts
> supplier or show up at any event with other DeLoreans and inspect their
door
> latch areas.
>
> - Mike Substelny
> VIN 01280, 8 years
>
>
>
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