tail section opening

jerrymcglothin · 6th October 2005, 12:23 AM

I guess I'm a worrywort but I'm wondering how to get the tail section up if it is locked down by the two cable releases from inside the cockpit and one of the cables to the locking mechanism breaks.you are then left with a locked tail section and no apparent way to unlatch the locking mechanism other than drilling out a larger hole thru the bulkhead to grab hold of the locking mechanism and unlock it.Is there another way to access it. The two bolts holding the assembly to the engine side of bulkhead have nuts on the engine side so the bolts cannot be removed from the cockpit. this comes up because the cable to one of the locking mechanisims on my car is too short and does not fully engage the lock so i have to replace or readjust the cable to get a positive lock. The entire locking assembly is a great idea as it is invisible from the exterior and does not spoil the cars lines but there is this potential for a big problem.....

JOSEPH · 7th October 2005, 01:16 AM

Hmmmm? Joseph [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Ron Earp · 7th October 2005, 06:47 AM

It is a real problem. Known on Lotus Esprits too, and mine almost did it. Buddy of mine's did do it and it was a 5 hour job to get it open by drilling through the trunk. I like good old fashion hood pins or the rotating latches like Hershal put on his RF and others have done.

Ron

roaldin · 7th October 2005, 07:16 AM

FYI.

Tim.

roaldin · 7th October 2005, 07:18 AM

The above lock is almost flat, takes a key and (I think) looks quite nice.

Tim.

Pat · 7th October 2005, 09:17 PM

Not a problem. On a CAV, take out the seats, take the two bolts off the engine access panel inside the car, open it up and voila, you're in. Then reach around the compressor or alternator (depending which latch sticks) and go to the latch and open it with some locking pliers/screwdriver. Takes about an hour.
That said, an ounce of prevention on this is far better and make sure it's all connected and tight before you close it up.

Pat · 7th October 2005, 09:21 PM

Here is what it looks like with the panel off.

jerrymcglothin · 8th October 2005, 12:35 AM

Thanks Veek makes me feel better about removing mine and readjusting thr cable length to get positive lock. Just figured out another alternativ is to weld the inner nuts to the plate so the assembly can be removed from inside the cabin by removing the bolts whereupon the tail section comes up with the latch assembly attached

Pat · 8th October 2005, 07:45 AM

Hi Jerry,
If you are going to take the latches apart anyway, you may want to replace the plastic pull handles with something one piece and metal. One of my handles came off (which is why I had to redo it). Also look at the mechanism so if you ever have to reach in and open it, you can do it by feel. Once I replaced the handle, I've never had another problem. The catch itself is pretty well made. If you have any problems at all, feel free to shoot me an e-mail. There isn't too much of my car that I haven't been into.

jerrymcglothin · 20th October 2005, 11:13 PM

Hello still working on passenger side latch. found that by reaching in thru the air vent on that side one can actually touch and move the mechanism to unlock that side. now if I can just get it to latch i'll be set. next step is to adjust the spring loaded dagger so it penetrates more and the latch can engage it. access to the driver side latch is blocked by the air conditioner condenser so will have to take out the center section to reach it if the need arises.Cheers

JOSEPH · 21st October 2005, 12:41 PM

Is it possible to reach both of them from under the car? The next time I get to the Pennzoil place I'll get under and take a look. Joseph [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Ian Clark · 24th October 2005, 10:30 PM

Hi Joeseph, You're onto something there. May be possible to fab a long piece of wire into a hook, going up from the bottom for just this kind of emergency, stored in car, hmmmm

Bob Childress · 31st October 2005, 01:29 PM

About a year ago I read Veek’s warning on the forum about his near miss experience with the rear clip latches and Tee handles on his CAV. Recently Jerry mentioned it again. I decided it was time to take a quick look and I was glad I did. When I went to inspect the driver side Tee handle, it just broke off in my hand.

I replaced both plastic Tee handles with solid aluminum units. I also made the nuts on the inside of the latches captive so if the loop on the tee handle breaks, or the latch mechanism itself fails, the latches can be unbolted from the inside of the car and the clip opened without out a big hassle. The nuts are just welded to a flat plate and the latch structure itself is sandwiched in place between the bulkhead and the flat plate. This lets the latched be moved around for correct alignment and then tightened down.

The Tee handles are 10-24 thread and from McMaster-Carr part number # 11625A12 $8.22 each. Highly recommended. Thanks again to Veek and Jerry for the heads-up.

Ian Clark · 31st October 2005, 07:35 PM

Nice piece of work Bob

Cheers

MustangJohnny · 2nd November 2005, 07:39 PM

I used to own an 81 DeLorean. (dont laugh) and the front hood opened towards front of car, operated by cable pull on drivers kick panel. This cable, like almost all other parts on car, was of poor quality. It was actually borken when I bought the car. The previous owner had rigged something to stick up out of the hood/windshield area. It looked awful. I went down to the local bicycle shop and got a brake cable, which was almost an exact replacement except the $3.00 replacement was double the strength and quality...Go figure...DeLorean using inferior parts. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

John

JOSEPH · 3rd November 2005, 06:56 PM

I have not done it yet, but I think a 3' piece of steel rod could push the spring loaded catch to the release position and pop the clip. Joseph