Bloody gas flap hood

[Delta DeLorean]

I live near a 5 km bridge which I had to cross both ways yesterday. Since the fuel gauge is not that accurate I thought I fuel up before I go. At the fuel station I open the gas flap end when I turn the fuel cap I cut my index finger on the bottom edge of the gas flap. And it was a very deep cut. Blood was running out, the only thing I could think of was a shop rag that I have laying under the handbrake. Quick put some fuel in the tank and see the rag turning red. Good thing the weather was not so great and nobody came over to talk about the car! Drove to my mom and got some bandage for my finger...
The top part of the gas flap where you lift it to open has some protection plastic around it. There is nothing on the bottom edge. Going to make something myself.
So fellow gas flap hood owners, be safe out there and be aware! Have had the car for a year and a half now and had no problems before with fueling.

[DMC-81]

Ouch! Sorry that happened to you. I have done that on different panels and it's not pleasant. I also have a gas flap hood, and come to think of it, I have never used it. I always lift the hood when fueling up for two reasons:

1) I'm afraid to damage the hood with the fuel nozzle if I drop or misdirect it etc.

2) if there is spillage, it's quicker to clean, rather than having to lift the hood anyway. I keep an old towel right there in the luggage compartment for just that purpose.

I guess I can add risk of blood spillage to my reasons. :)

I wonder if you can add a similar rubber strip to that bottom edge without it interfering with opening and closing it?

[Patrick C]

I've cut my finger badly on the flap as well. To remedy this, I removed my gas flap, cut two notches in that bottom lip, and then folded the lip over onto itself, and then re-installed the flap. That way there is no sharp metal jutting forward down there. When the flap is closed, you can not even notice. I will take some photos today.

[Jonathan]

What came to mind was another, shorter piece of the same edging strip that goes down the side and rear of the hood.

This stuff: http://store.delorean.com/p-9590-edging-strip-44long.aspx

Same idea you were thinking of Dana?

There are also the pieces that curve around the inside edges of the wheel wells. That's a slightly different type of material though, but maybe easier to work with. I recall when I replaced the rear edge strip on my hood that it was fairly ridged and not the easiest to bend into new shapes or cut.

[Patrick C]

What came to mind was another, shorter piece of the same edging strip that goes down the side and rear of the hood.

This stuff: http://store.delorean.com/p-9590-edging-strip-44long.aspx

Same idea you were thinking of Dana?

There are also the pieces that curve around the inside edges of the wheel wells. That's a slightly different type of material though, but maybe easier to work with. I recall when I replaced the rear edge strip on my hood that it was fairly ridged and not the easiest to bend into new shapes or cut.

I did that for a while, but it fell off because there wasn't enough lip for it to grab. Cutting and folding is the way to go, IMO.

[Delta DeLorean]

I did that for a while, but it fell off because there wasn't enough lip for it to grab. Cutting and folding is the way to go, IMO.

Yes, the lip is very small, I was thinking like the others too, and put something over the lip, but it may not hold.
Patrick how did you prevent damaging the top surface of the flap when folding? Maybe lay the flap on a flat surface and fold the lip with a piece of wood?

[Jonathan]

Yea, eliminating the hazard is better than trying something to safeguard against it for sure, i.e. folding it over vs the rubber strip.

You could duct tape it temporarily too like we often do with the insides of the doors if you're stuck.

[DL4567]

You could duct tape it temporarily too like we often do with the insides of the doors if you're stuck.

Yep, I've heard horror stories of the inside of the doors being deadly sharp as well. Be very careful if you're doing window motors, door locks, etc. The duct tape is a definite must if not something better.

[DMC-81]

What came to mind was another, shorter piece of the same edging strip that goes down the side and rear of the hood.

This stuff: http://store.delorean.com/p-9590-edging-strip-44long.aspx

Same idea you were thinking of Dana?

There are also the pieces that curve around the inside edges of the wheel wells. That's a slightly different type of material though, but maybe easier to work with. I recall when I replaced the rear edge strip on my hood that it was fairly ridged and not the easiest to bend into new shapes or cut.

Yes, that's what I was thinking of either using the same material or a narrower strip. Regardless, perhaps you'll need to trim the height of the strip to fit the small edge and then apply a bead of clear silicone adhesive to hold it in place. I needed to clean and reattach these rubber strips all around the hood per service bulletin ST-01-6/81 http://www.dmcnews.com/bulletins/ST-01-6.81.html when I first got my car. The adhesive is described in step 3.

Otherwise Patrick's solution is available .

[Patrick C]

Here are photos of my solution. Notched and rolled up.

[refugeefromcalif]

This thread is making wonder if I want to install the gas flap hood I bought too replace my grooved hood.

George

[DMCVegas]

Gas flaps look cool, and they certainly do add some value to the vehicle because of their desirability. Personally, however, I'm not a fan function wise. If you're at a pump that has those older accordion-style vapor recovery bellows, they're a pain to fit into the fuel inlet. You end up just lifting the bonnet.

I do love the asymmetrical look it gives to the car though. It's also subtle, but like the gullwing doors, it is something that is very DeLorean-specific. There are plenty of rear-engine vehicles with fuel tanks up front, but you either have to pop the hood to refuel, or they have a fuel door on the fender. I don't know of another production vehicle that has a gas flap on the bonnet/hood.

[Delta DeLorean]

This thread is making wonder if I want to install the gas flap hood I bought too replace my grooved hood.

George

Just put it on George for the looks. It looks way better then a plain hood.
Like others have said you don't need to use it for fueling.
I have just modified mine so I won't cut myself anymore.
I think that I have seen on there website that PJ Grady Europe in the UK makes gas flap hoods just cutting out a piece from a solid hood.

[Delta DeLorean]

Just got done with my modification of the gas flap.
It was only a 10 minute job.
Folded the sharp edge like Patrick suggested.

[Patrick C]

Just got done with my modification of the gas flap.
It was only a 10 minute job.
Folded the sharp edge like Patrick suggested.

Glad to help!

[DMC-81]

Just put it on George for the looks. It looks way better then a plain hood.
Like others have said you don't need to use it for fueling.
I have just modified mine so I won't cut myself anymore.
I think that I have seen on there website that PJ Grady Europe in the UK makes gas flap hoods just cutting out a piece from a solid hood.

Glad you got it sorted. I agree with the look of the flap. I know it is a matter of preference, but aside from my hesitation to use it's functionality, I really like it. I get lots of questions on it, normally from people that spend more than a few moments looking the car over.

When I first got the car, it was loose and sticking up a bit, but after I replaced the 2 springs and tightened the nuts it's just like new.

[todd1561]

Ouch, sorry about that. I got cut up pretty badly on the rear wheel well when washing the car. Still have the scar on my hand and that was 10 years ago!

Todd

[blueshark66]

Sliced two fingers open today on the edge of the hood while attempting to push the protective rubber stripping back in place. Oh the irony!

[Spittybug]

I need to do this to mine..... sliced my fingers in the past. Very painful.