Over the course of building just under 9,000 cars between January 1981 and December 1982, there were three different styles of hood used on the DeLorean cars. While they are all interchangeable amongst model years and production dates, they have significant styling differences.
The first, with debossed style lines down the side and a "gas flap", were used on cars from the start of production, with VIN BD000500 up to VIN BD003200 or about 2,700 cars. On this hood, you are able to access the gas filler without opening the hood.
The first, with debossed style lines down the side and a "gas flap", were used on cars from the start of production, with VIN BD000500 up to VIN BD003200 or about 2,700 cars. On this hood, you are able to access the gas filler without opening the hood.
The second, with ONLY the debossed style lines down the side and WITHOUT a "gas flap" were used on cars from VIN BD003200 up through the end of the 1981 model year at VIN BD007199 or about 4,000 cars. On this hood, you must open the hood to access the gas filler.
The third, and final hood style, is a completely flat hood with NO style lines and NO "gas flap". These were used on cars from the start of 1982 model year production, with VIN CD010001 (there was no VIN CD010000) through the end of production at VIN DD020104 or about 2,287 cars. A self-adhesive cast aluminum emblem with the stylized "DeLorean" logo was attached in the left-hand front corner. The absence of the gas flap, like on the earlier hood above, means you must open the hood to access the gas filler.
Of these three hoods, only the last style is available as a "new original stock" part. The other two occasionally come available on the "used" market, and at the time this is written, will run between $3,000 and $6,000 depending on condition. The "gas flap" hoods tend to run near the higher end of that range.
While no documentation has yet surfaced to explain why the hood changed so often, a few engineering records exist that give the reason as "management decision", with no other details. Anecdotal stories abound about issues with stamping the stainless with regards to cracks around the corners of the gas flap causing a large number of rejected parts, but no "official" documentation has yet come to light.
While no documentation has yet surfaced to explain why the hood changed so often, a few engineering records exist that give the reason as "management decision", with no other details. Anecdotal stories abound about issues with stamping the stainless with regards to cracks around the corners of the gas flap causing a large number of rejected parts, but no "official" documentation has yet come to light.
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