There are fast lube shops where they do oil changes and a few other mechanical odds and ends. There are also auto repair shops where they can handle tune-ups, the aforementioned oil changes, alignments, and most of the other customary repairs. Where, however, do you go if you want something out of the ordinary for your car?

What if you’re tired of your car doors bumping into other cars in parking lots? What if you simply like the idea that your car doors will open up instead of out? For that kind of work, you need an auto repair shop with capabilities beyond quality auto repair of the first order. You need an auto repair shop where they’re qualified to handle absolutely any project involving your car.

Performance Unlimited is that kind of auto repair shop. Recently, they demonstrated their superior ability to go beyond auto repair and into the realm of automobile modification when they installed Lambo doors on a late model Dodge Challenger.

Modifying the hinges on a door to swing up instead of out requires precise workmanship. When completed, the doors need to close and lock appropriately. The windows need to operate as efficiently as they did before the modification (if they don’t operate smoothly before the modification, a quality auto repair shop can fix that, too.). Additionally, the doors need to seal as they did before.

“Technically, the doors still swing out,” said Denny Norton, owner of Performance Unlimited. “They need to swing out a short distance before they swing up.”

Norton said a project such of this requires removing the vehicle’s front clip – the fenders, hood, and front fascia. Then, the doors come off so they can install the hinges.

“Obviously, with the way the door hinges, you have to change the wiring, too,” he said. “We install a gas charged cylinder, like the one holding up your hood, so that the door opens smoothly and doesn’t simply fall back down.  We can adjust the tension so it doesn’t go up too fast or so that it’s not difficult to bring back down.”

When properly adjusted, the door will lift effortlessly – a one-finger operation – and will come back down just as easily. As Norton put it, the doors almost go up automatically.

Norton said a Lambo door kit doesn’t add any appreciable weight to the car. He said they also make Lambo kits for four door vehicles.

“In some cases, it makes it easier to get in and out, but it’s really the visual impact people are usually after,” he said. “The key with installing Lambo doors is that you really have to be careful about the geometry of how the door works.”

As Norton explained, when someone opens their car door, they’ll notice that the door opens a short distance before it comes to a detent – a pin that the hinge roller goes over. That operation needs to work the same way with or without Lambo doors.

For more information about Performance Unlimited, call 815-728-0343 or visit www.4performanceunlimited.com.