What have you done to your DeLorean today?

[DeLorean03]

Getting closer ...


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[Josh]

Adjusting the doors after putting them on. Not a fun time!

[Josh]

Getting closer ...


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This scares me...

[Jonathan]

Also on the way home, I experienced strangeness stomping on the gas from a stop, and an idle speed which got lower and lower and lower...

Did you get this addressed already, Farrar?

The part you described as "strangeness stomping on the gas from a stop" sounds to me like the adjustable linkage going between the throttle spool and the lever arm on the butterfly valves needs to be shortened/lengthened. Something along these lines happened to me on my car and it was at least partly related to the linkage having too much slack in it. It's not the easiest thing in the world to adjust, but not too terribly difficult. If you can get away with doing a full 360 degree length adjustment (by dialing in/out the one end a complete revolution) you can avoid getting in further and disconnecting both ends. Being able to adjust both ends though is likely the better way to go to get it right.

[DeLorean03]

This scares me...

I keep forgetting everyone else doesn't already know..... the previous owner had already damaged the vinyl siding before I ever got my car. A blessing because it makes this job way easier, but a curse in terms of visual qualities.

[Jonathan]

Wasn't convinced this needed it's own thread, although maybe in some sort of "useful tips and tricks" one...

A while back I was amazed at how good cobalt drill bits were. Something else came to mind recently that is far more simple:

A good flashlight.

May seem obvious, but I have been amazed at what you can notice on your own car when you have good lighting. The flashlight I got using not long ago is nothing fancy, it's just one of those LED pocket sized ones. But boy is it bright. And the light is more of that white type of light and not the dull yellow typical stuff from your lights in the ceiling of the garage.

For knowing most everything on my car after 6 years, it is amazing what you can see for the first time when you have good lighting. Even areas like peering into little cracks between the trim and stainless, or down the A/C vents, or behind and up and under the dash, or into the rear vents on the back quarters.

Just wanted to mention that because bumbling around in poor lighting makes things so much tougher than they need to be on these cars. And if we get frustrated enough drilling out rusty fittings, it sure isn't any easier if you can't see what you're doing

[Patrick C]

I re-attached my stainless T-Panel, and made a strong attempt to realign my passenger door. The driver side is absolutely PERFECT and has been since I aligned my doors this winter. I can close it with a pinky finger and it stays closed and does not leak. The passenger side has always needed a little more effort and my passengers often aren't strong enough to close it on the first try.

So, I used the previously discussed door alignment method. I removed the striker pin, loosened the hinges, made sure the door was shutting well, then I slowly tightened the hinges, making sure the door still was shutting well. I ended up grinding out the infill panel around the rear striker so that the striker pin could sit back further (commonplace on all later DeLoreans) and ended up grinding down the tip of the striker pin and chamfering the edges. I also ground down a little bit of the stainless door guides.

When snugging down the striker pins, they tend to move up, down, left, or right. This will have you cursing like me.

The KEY THING to remember when adjusting the striker pins is that every fraction of an inch will throw things off. I used Warren Wallingford's method after wasting hours of my time. Warren's method involves tightening down the pins almost all the way, then smacking them with a hammer to slowly nudge them into to correct location. Once you are there, then snug the striker down the rest of the way. Trust me, this makes things much easier!

To make a long story short, after many years I can now close my passenger door with one finger. It isn't quite as perfect as the driver side, but I think it is as good as it will ever get! Here is video proof!

[Jonathan]

Here is video proof!

Nice! Looks pretty effortless (...put some clothes on!! lol)

[Patrick C]

Nice! Looks pretty effortless (...put some clothes on!! lol)

Haha! I was taking breaks from adjusting doors to go sit on the beach and jetski. Tough life!

[Josh]

I re-attached my stainless T-Panel, and made a strong attempt to realign my passenger door. The driver side is absolutely PERFECT and has been since I aligned my doors this winter. I can close it with a pinky finger and it stays closed and does not leak. The passenger side has always needed a little more effort and my passengers often aren't strong enough to close it on the first try.

So, I used the previously discussed door alignment method. I removed the striker pin, loosened the hinges, made sure the door was shutting well, then I slowly tightened the hinges, making sure the door still was shutting well. I ended up grinding out the infill panel around the rear striker so that the striker pin could sit back further (commonplace on all later DeLoreans) and ended up grinding down the tip of the striker pin and chamfering the edges. I also ground down a little bit of the stainless door guides.

When snugging down the striker pins, they tend to move up, down, left, or right. This will have you cursing like me.

The KEY THING to remember when adjusting the striker pins is that every fraction of an inch will throw things off. I used Warren Wallingford's method after wasting hours of my time. Warren's method involves tightening down the pins almost all the way, then smacking them with a hammer to slowly nudge them into to correct location. Once you are there, then snug the striker down the rest of the way. Trust me, this makes things much easier!

To make a long story short, after many years I can now close my passenger door with one finger. It isn't quite as perfect as the driver side, but I think it is as good as it will ever get! Here is video proof!

So if i drive to your house will you fix my doors? hahaha. I am going to keep picking away at mine. The problem with mine is there are many more variables in play. The door shells have been swapped so I am tinkering with lock and latch adjustments. Also, the hinge bolts need to be tweaked as well. The exterior door handle cable is causing issues as well.