How do project cars get in their condition?

[Rich_NYS]

Somewhat of a spinoff from the "What do you know about your car's PO" thread...

My daughter was sitting with me as I was looking at a few different threads of newly-purchased DeLoreans and asked: "why don't people take better care of their DeLoreans?" I really had to think to come up with a good answer because most of what I see on project cars is a list of different issues, not just one or two things explained by a single event (except for the flood cars.)

When I bought my car, it had a variety of issues:

-Headlight not working
-Overheats
-Dent in fender
-Axle seal leak
-Cracked dash & binnacle
-Torn seats
-Windows didn't work
-Fuel leak
-Exhaust manifold gasket leak
-Door struts not working

Etc, etc.....


My answer was that maybe things on the car start failing, but life gets in the way and/or the owner isn't able to afford the repairs. Owners really love their cars so they keep them, but things continue to go wrong and they finally have to sell it. That's what I think has happened to create a lot of the project cars out there....what do you think?

[Citizen]

My answer was that maybe things on the car start failing, but life gets in the way ... [SNIP] ...what do you think?

This is what I think too.

I have hardly driven my car in the last few years, but no less than once per week (not because I didn't want to, family responsibilities took priority). And the car is garaged 100% of the time when not being driven. But still, I am amazed at how many things go wrong:

Clutch line needed bleeding,
Fuel pump failure,
Fuel line failure,
Drivers window came off track,
Window switch failure,
One tire developed a slow leak.

And that's just the last year or so.

But, on the other hand, even driven so little, the car starts right up, first-time, every-time, hot or cold. And it never over-heats even in brutal Texas summers. So, all things considered, I can't be too unhappy with that.

Thomas

...

[DMCVegas]

I continually wondered that with my own car for years. And then I found the answer when it happened to me.

As with the previous thread, all I know is that the PO died and the family, the son in charge of the family trust in particular, did not care for the car. I do know that it had a Volvo pulley and instant gasket instead of O-Rings on the intake manifold and heads, so it must have overheated at one point in the past. So perhaps they had trouble with it as well.

Now I learned car repair on my DeLorean. My father before he passed had commented that he wished for me to have a used car to work on to learn auto repairs so that I wouldn't be cheated by any mechanic. Years later I got the DeLorean, and my father's wishes caught up with me. Caught up with a vengeance in this case.

Between neglect after the PO died and the sloppy work of mechanics combined with their lies as to what was and wasn't actually fixed on the car, I ended up overheating the engine 8 times. 4 times because the alternator blades were bent so that they flexed outward and cut the alternator belt and stopped the pump from working. 1 time when the right hose burst because the alternator belts had cut into it. 1 time when the left water pump bypass hose split even though I was told it would be replaced. 1 time when the otterstat popped-out. 7 times. And then came the final time I replaced the water pump, bypass hoses, Y-pipe O-rings and rear hoses. Everything went fine until I discovered that the brand-new pump was already weeping. So I had the vendor ship out another. And in my rush of trying to get the new pump on, I failed to properly bleed the system the 2nd time around.

The PRV engine is a tough little engine that can stand lots of abuse. But it finally gave up the ghost with it's head gasket that blew. I was blowing out about a half-gallon of coolant every 5-6 days (I've always kept my car as a daily driver). At this point I now wound up with 4 vehicles, and decided to park the DeLorean. I saved up to replace the head gaskets, but had a job offer that took me out of state and had to spend the money on that. 6 months later, the fuel pump seized. Then between marriage, and moving cross-country 3 MORE times, I just didn't have the time for it. My repair efforts had to be focused on the other vehicles to keep them running.

Once you park a vehicle, ANY vehicle, it all starts to go to hell. In this case it started with the fuel pump seizing. Then because I didn't drive it, the fuel system gummed up. The low milage tires are rotten. Who knows what kind of rust is in the engine now. Luckily it's still in the desert as we speak, but if it were here, who knows what the chassis would have ended up like. Then you've got seals that go out. Rubber that rots. And things build up.

Now that's not to say that it's all a "use it or loose it proposition". Yes, lots of damage has long since occurred. Somethings may not have needed replacement if I had kept the car running, such as the fuel distributor. But other things like tires and brake pads, and fluids, etc… Those would have needed replacement eventually, sure. But rather than being spread out over years, they ALL must be done at once. And when the maintenance isn't spread out, neither is the cost. So the financial impact becomes greater over time, and then it becomes even more challenging and depressing.

I'm hoping to get it back up and running within the next two years. Unlike some people, I actually have a supportive wife too. So it's not like I have anyone to blame. She wants the car to run again. Not just because it makes me happy, but because another running vehicle is just a practical idea.

I grew up seeing cool old, derelict cars sitting in driveways and resenting the owners for not bothering to fix them up. Turns out I became *that* guy. The one with the car that doesn't do anything with it. Oh, but I will "someday".

It's depressing as all get out. But I now understand the why's and why not's of how POs let their cars become the way they are. It's different for some, but I know what it's been like and what it's done to me.

[Rich]

I continually wondered that with my own car for years. And then I found the answer when it happened to me.

Once you park a vehicle, ANY vehicle, it all starts to go to hell. In this case it started with the fuel pump seizing. Then because I didn't drive it, the fuel system gummed up. The low milage tires are rotten. Who knows what kind of rust is in the engine now. Luckily it's still in the desert as we speak, but if it were here, who knows what the chassis would have ended up like. Then you've got seals that go out. Rubber that rots. And things build up.

I grew up seeing cool old, derelict cars sitting in driveways and resenting the owners for not bothering to fix them up. Turns out I became *that* guy. The one with the car that doesn't do anything with it. Oh, but I will "someday".

+1

It can happen to any car. The fact that DeLoreans tended to be used as GT/sports cars for weekend jaunts or just for fun meant that keeping them in good repair was a bit more optional for lots of owners than it might have been with a more mainstream-use car. There are plenty of derelict Jensen-Healeys, Lancias, Bricklins, Lotuses and other such "projects" that are out there rotting away for the same reason. Another reason is that after 10-20+ years the parts supply for many off those cars goes bad. Less so for MGs, Jags, MBZ, Bimmers and Porsches.

Given the very decent DeLorean spares situation, the car's body panel interchangeability plus the availability of newly-manufactured parts (e.g., windshield, binnacle, front fascia to name a few) there is a good chance for many "project" D's to come back to life in some form. And the ones that can't are often good donors.

Good luck to Peter the new "Project" Manager in NZ. And thanks for starting this thread, Rich. It's a good question.

[Kenny_Z]

I parked my Mustang a year ago to take care of replacing the floors. I cut out the driver's floor and started to get the new one fit. Then we got the coldest winter in 20 years. Then it rained for months on end. I don't have a garage so my poor car was forced to just sit there until the weather cooperated. The tires were poor when I parked her but now they are shot. So now I have to replace the tires but I don't want to use my old rims so I have to get a set of those too. But I want to put my front discs on before I get new rims so I can be sure they will fit. But before I can put her on the jacks I have to finish my floors. To finish my floors I need the weather to stop being nice when I work and crappy on my days off. And now I have a Monte Carlo to repair thanks to a guy and a cell phone. It's no wonder my Nova has been a project car for the passed decade.

[DMCVegas]

It can happen to any car.

Precisely! ALL vehicles will have those consumable parts that will go bad, like hoses and rubber components. Normally their replacement is a gradual process, but with an abandoned car that you're trying to get back onto the road you have to replace them all at once. Deferred maintenance is just that; a one list of items that need service and replacement that instead of resolving in a gradual schedule you put off until it all comes due at once.

Different vehicles too will have varying degrees of damage though that can add up to catastrophic repairs and high restoration bills depending upon their most sensitive systems. With the DeLorean, the biggest problem will be your fuel system for example. K-Jetronic as I've oft stated is a good, reliable system. But it takes a little bit of skill and understanding to troubleshoot and work on because of the amount of components involved. Rebuilding K-Jetronic may not be the cheapest of repairs, but compare that with a Rolls Royce, Jaguar, or many other Brit cars with hydraulic systems that use Hydraulic System Mineral Oil or other unconventional fluids and/or hydraulic configurations. Jags can have their steering and rear suspension, as well as brakes on some models all combined into the same system. Then you have the accidental mechanic. Like with Rolls Royce if you pour in DOT 3 instead of the proper braking fluid, you can start to have leaks and cause more damage that could have been avoided. Or even a DeLorean when someone doesn't know the proper bleeding procedure for the cooling system...

There are many different reasons and ways that cars deteriorate and wind up as basket cases in "Project Car" condition. But I can almost guarantee you that once they hit that status they stay that way for the same reason among the owners. You don't think it could happen to you, but I promise it absolutely can.

[JRNY13]

About what year did DMCH start selling their inventory of parts?

[Dangermouse]

1996 I think

[DMCVegas]

DMCH has been in business since the mid 90's or so, but didn't acquire the KAPAC inventory they have now until 1997. Construction of DMCH's current headquarters was delayed because of weather, and didn't open until about 2002 or so if I remember correctly? Something like over 50 truckloads of parts had to be shipped down from Ohio, and then there was the whole story about how a then employee who was in a hurry to go to lunch tipped a bin over with a forklift dumping the contents. That's when the missing parts first revealed themselves.

[David T]

DMCH has been in business since the mid 90's or so, but didn't acquire the KAPAC inventory they have now until 1997. Construction of DMCH's current headquarters was delayed because of weather, and didn't open until about 2002 or so if I remember correctly? Something like over 50 truckloads of parts had to be shipped down from Ohio, and then there was the whole story about how a then employee who was in a hurry to go to lunch tipped a bin over with a forklift dumping the contents. That's when the missing parts first revealed themselves.

The way I see it a car (any car) starts getting neglected and the maintenance is not kept up. The car starts to look like sh-t. Then, one day, it won't run. The car sits and starts to deteriorate. Maybe the owner dies and no one cares about the car. Maybe the owner gets sick. Since the car still looks good (the S/S looks good forever) it always seems like it could be fixed easily and the car is worth a fortune since it is SO rare. Anyone seeing it and making offers insults the owner since they have no idea what it is really worth and they think it is worth WAY more than it really is. Eventually, one day, someone inherits it, or they have to sell the house, or maybe complaints from the town and neighbors forces them to consider selling it. THIS is when you have to be there with cash in hand since they will take almost anything to get rid of it. By this time though it is a mess. The frame is rotten, maybe a tree fell on it, windows broken, sun damage, maybe it got flooded, EVERYTHING needs to be done. It is barely more than a parts car.

[Dangermouse]

I have had a 1971 TR6 for about 18 years.

I didn't obey the old adage of buying the best one I could afford at the time. I bought the first one I saw at the cheapest price.

You move from a scenario of trying to drive it regularly every week, to trying to start it up every week and drive it every month, to start it up every month, to trying not to let it degrade any more than it already is. You need the garage space, so it gets pushed outside under a tarp. All along you just know you will find time to work on it, but time marches on, more demands from work/spouse/kids, and now the car won't start.

It's not intentional, it's not that you don't like working on it, just no time.

And then one day you die and your spouse gleefully sells it at last :flamed:

[DMCVegas]

The way I see it a car (any car) starts getting neglected and the maintenance is not kept up. The car starts to look like sh-t. Then, one day, it won't run. The car sits and starts to deteriorate. Maybe the owner dies and no one cares about the car. Maybe the owner gets sick. Since the car still looks good (the S/S looks good forever) it always seems like it could be fixed easily and the car is worth a fortune since it is SO rare. Anyone seeing it and making offers insults the owner since they have no idea what it is really worth and they think it is worth WAY more than it really is. Eventually, one day, someone inherits it, or they have to sell the house, or maybe complaints from the town and neighbors forces them to consider selling it. THIS is when you have to be there with cash in hand since they will take almost anything to get rid of it. By this time though it is a mess. The frame is rotten, maybe a tree fell on it, windows broken, sun damage, maybe it got flooded, EVERYTHING needs to be done. It is barely more than a parts car.

That certainly is a path that the vehicle goes down most of the time, yes. But the "why" like the thread stated is different for each person. Sometimes it's a selfish, harpy wife that forbids the husband from working on the car. Sometimes it's a matter of getting sick or even having reduced income that prevents you from working on the car. Now yes, problems will snowball if you're not careful and repairs will add up and compound together for a higher repair bill. That's a huge obstacle for sure. But the next thing to consider is why once someone has encountered a difficulty, why the problem continues and gets worse. Sometimes yes, the obstacle is a nagging spouse for many. Granted now that's a whole other story as to what kind of marital problems they have if they're in that kind of situation, but the obstacle remains the same. Other times you just get old. You can't bend over a hood as easily, or wriggle on your back under a car. Perhaps yes, you have other obligations that you must first spend time and money on as you prioritize your life.

But the problem always remains the same: Shame and depression. You lie to yourself and promise that someday you'll get that car up and running again. And we're not talking about hoarders here with tons of junked project cars, but your typical person with that one special car that's rotting. In these cases owners will always look back at their glory days with that car. It might be broken down, but it's tangible and it's a part of the past that they can still touch and physically connect with. Especially if it becomes a weapon against the other spouse like one guy in Vegas that was in this very situation. But mostly it's just the past that you don't want to let go of.

I've written before about how to try and talk a person out of their car that you want to buy. Yes, some want outrageous amounts of cash because they think they're sitting on a fortune. Or perhaps they can't stomach the loss of money they've poured into the vehicle they now know isn't worth squat. Though mostly I assure you that even if you offered up enough cash to meet their asinine prices, they still wouldn't sell. Their interest is in the car. Many won't part with it, but you have to understand why the cars are in the shape that they are to align with the owner to buy the vehicle. Most of all though, it's embarrassing for most people to have their favorite car just sitting there rotting away. All of that is just a smoke screen.

People never know how to approach that kind of a situation, and most are always hostile. All that does is drive the owner deeper into depression about the vehicle. Any owner, including myself, of a derelict car doesn't need your damn ridicule. You don't think that I wouldn't scold me either if the positions were reversed? Now think about how that makes me feel. You think anyone wants to sell off a car to people that are hurtful or disrespectful to them? Nope. I'd rather it rot. It's like you telling me you could treat my wife better than I can; It's insulting and makes me want to ensure you don't go anywhere near my family. You've got to have sympathy. If I'm not in a position to restore the car, maybe I'll be willing to sell to a person who I know will take good care of the car. Probably I won't, but perhaps you'll encourage me to get back out there and get my car up and running again, or at least be the first to buy it if I ever do change my mind.

[DMCMW Dave]

I also find people have a very inaccurate sense of time when measured in years. I can't count how many cars come in here that "have been off the road for 10 years" but have license plates from the early 90s. . . . ., and repair orders just as old with the mileage within a few miles of the odometer reading. And tires with 20-year-old DOT codes with the rubber nubs still in place.

[DashEight]

I also find people have a very inaccurate sense of time when measured in years.

Last year I started a "Yearly Mileage Report" in Excel for my cars. In 2013, I had only put miles on 2 out of 7 cars. Even my scooter didn't turn a single mile. I was blown away how fast time moves. It was crazy to look at a years worth of time and see that. Since then I have made sure all cars are being taken out and driven. It kicked me in the ass to get the DeLorean up and I drove it for the first time ever last Wednesday night. It has been off the road since 93 and I have owned it about 2.5 years. I still have a few things to do to it, but look forward to adding it to the rotation. I am now trading out my cars between my shop and my home up in Seattle every few weeks so when I get a chance, I stash the daily driver and take the "pleasure car" to run around the city in. Here's a picture of 1374's first time out under its own power since 1993. You can see the guages, license plate, and headliners are not it yet:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j200/AE86Silver/20140903_203133_zpsff92af44.jpg (http://s80.photobucket.com/user/AE86Silver/media/20140903_203133_zpsff92af44.jpg.html)

[Rich_NYS]

A lot of great replies, and good food for thought.

I agree that cars are held onto as a tangible reminder of glory days & better times and usually with good intentions. When I relate the thought process to other ("regular")vehicles I've had, I think of times when there was always a single event that was a deciding factor of whether or not to repair (i.e. head gasket, transmission...etc.)

It intrigued me to see cars with so many different issues at once, the posts here helps shed light on that for sure. I agree a deteriorating car can happen to anyone due to life "happening" but I'll definitely be doing my best to maintain perspective to hedge against falling into that category.

I keep a spreadsheet that is a prioritzed "to-do" list as well as a running total of my repair costs.

[SIMid]

My project seems to fall into this neglected catagory.

It's a 79 Lancia Beta Spider (or Zagato in the US).

Had it for over 8 years now and inherited from my father as he had it since new.

When I shipped it from overseas to Australia, she was running, but a little worse for wear. To get it registered, she has to be engineered for the road. The assessment was a list that ran across 2 A4 pages!! But the main issue was rust. Cannot have any rust showing. And this car was half swiss cheese and half body filler. So I needed a panel beater to basically strip, cut and weld where needed. Hunted around for a panel beater who works close by, but was added to his waiting list. So having had the car for 1 year, then placed onto his waiting list for 3 years. During that time, the car was started weekly and driven up and down the court to get things in motion. Warms up and then I shut her off. A/C blew cold. Used a jerry can to get fuel home to top up the tank. The car then was relegated to the outside as I needed the garage space, so under a tarp she went. This became a headache having to always unwrap the car to only run it for 20 minutes and rewrap her again. Got to point she started to be neglected due to my laziness. Finally the call came and the car was picked up. Battery was flat and A/C has lost charge now. Tyres needed to be pumped. But with a new battery, she starts first time and gets driven on a flat bed. Rain has penetrated through the rear canvas roof so another part had failed.

Now it's another 3+ years and the panel beater has not touched it. Sits in the workshop with an inch of dust caked on. Obviously she has not been started during this time. So I am expecting a major headache to get her running again. Will need to get the fuel tank cleaned (or to just buy another tank), clear the fuel lines, clean the Webber Carb, rebuild the engine and install a new clutch and battery. I also have a new radiator stored away somewhere as the current one may be toast. Got other spares I have collected throughout the years which will be part of the rebuild. Oh, she will also need her seats recovered.

Reason why he has not touched it and all the other cars in his workshop was that he became very ill and physically could not work on the cars.

She was looking a little sad when I got her and was very sad looking when I saw her earlier this year stored away. At least she is in the dry elements and out of the sun during the past 3+ years.

Hoping to have her back home next year as I got a call saying that he will start working on her in the coming months. He's finishing off an Audi Quattro with front end damage. This he has had before mine.

[Dangermouse]

My project seems to fall into this neglected catagory.

It's a 79 Lancia Beta Spider (or Zagato in the US).

Had it for over 8 years now and inherited from my father as he had it since new.



I wonder how many more of us have neglected projects apart from/as well as the D?

[Rich_NYS]

You need the garage space, so it gets pushed outside under a tarp.



The car then was relegated to the outside as I needed the garage space, so under a tarp she went.


I didn't think of it at first, but I know what a tarp can do to a car so I think this could explain when multiple issues happen at once. So actually, there's the "one single event" that I didn't think even about.

[DMCMW Dave]

Car covers are a real problem with long-storage cars. Two things - the cover can actually start holding moisture/fallout and cause corrosion of the stainless. We just fixed one here with pits all over it from some chemical that got on the cover when the car was stored for years.

The other thing is that a covered car in a garage appears "indestructible" to the casual observer. It turns into a storage bench to the eye. So other stuff in the garage gets piled on it, denting and scratching the stainless and cracking the louver. I see more cars are damaged by crap falling from garage shelves than from accidents.

[Mark D]

This thread is really interesting, thanks to everyone who's contributed so far. The only experience I have with cars degrading into project car status is my Grandpa's 61 Chevy Impala SS. He bought the car new and it was his pride and joy for many years. It's bright red with red interior and at the time my grandma bought a matching 61 in white. The white car was totaled in an accident sometime in the 70's but the red SS was always well kept and driven only on special occasions.

As my grandpa got older though work on the farm became more important than tinkering with the 61 Chevy. The car started seeing extended time parked under a big green army blanket in the garage... I remember it sitting there for most of my childhood. Every once in a while when I came for a visit I'd peek underneath to see the bright red paint below. As Dave commented, a covered car seems invincible to a certain degree compared to exposed sheet metal and glass. Grandma would drive in the garage every day and swing the door wide open using the side of the 61 as a bump stop. Eventually a big piece of styrofoam got attached to the side of the car to prevent damage, but not before the stainless trim was reduced to looking like crumpled aluminum foil. Mice got in the car and destroyed portions of the interior. Moisture took its toll on the body and frame and rust started happening. My Grandpa's health started to fail as he got older, but nothing on earth would ever get him to sell his prized Chevy. To him it was still the same pristine car he drove in his younger days and the years of deterioration were invisible through his nostalgic eyes. In his final years he spent some time in an assisted living center but would still make frequent visits back home to have someone drive him around his land and his farm, and to look at his car still parked in the same spot in the garage.

My grandpa passed away about 10 years ago and my uncle was willed the car. It moved for the first time in probably 15 years and since then he's fixed up a few things and got the motor running again. It still mostly still sits in the same spot though and could use a lot more work. I'm not sure what the future holds for it, but it'll probably always stay in the family.

[SIMid]

I didn't think of it at first, but I know what a tarp can do to a car so I think this could explain when multiple issues happen at once. So actually, there's the "one single event" that I didn't think even about.

She had to be covered from the rain and heat of the sun. I actually had a car cover and a tarp on top as the cover was meant to be water proof, which it wasn't. But as Dave said, it could do other damage which it probably did. But then, it would had been even worse being 100% exposed. She will need a respray anyway, so any scratches and rub marks weren't my concern.

[SIMid]

This thread is really interesting, thanks to everyone who's contributed so far. The only experience I have with cars degrading into project car status is my Grandpa's 61 Chevy Impala SS. He bought the car new and it was his pride and joy for many years. It's bright red with red interior and at the time my grandma bought a matching 61 in white. The white car was totaled in an accident sometime in the 70's but the red SS was always well kept and driven only on special occasions.

As my grandpa got older though work on the farm became more important than tinkering with the 61 Chevy. The car started seeing extended time parked under a big green army blanket in the garage... I remember it sitting there for most of my childhood. Every once in a while when I came for a visit I'd peek underneath to see the bright red paint below. As Dave commented, a covered car seems invincible to a certain degree compared to exposed sheet metal and glass. Grandma would drive in the garage every day and swing the door wide open using the side of the 61 as a bump stop. Eventually a big piece of styrofoam got attached to the side of the car to prevent damage, but not before the stainless trim was reduced to looking like crumpled aluminum foil. Mice got in the car and destroyed portions of the interior. Moisture took its toll on the body and frame and rust started happening. My Grandpa's health started to fail as he got older, but nothing on earth would ever get him to sell his prized Chevy. To him it was still the same pristine car he drove in his younger days and the years of deterioration were invisible through his nostalgic eyes. In his final years he spent some time in an assisted living center but would still make frequent visits back home to have someone drive him around his land and his farm, and to look at his car still parked in the same spot in the garage.

My grandpa passed away about 10 years ago and my uncle was willed the car. It moved for the first time in probably 15 years and since then he's fixed up a few things and got the motor running again. It still mostly still sits in the same spot though and could use a lot more work. I'm not sure what the future holds for it, but it'll probably always stay in the family.

Seems like these stories are the reasons why the next generation end up with a car to which, do you keep or sell?

My father has not passed away, but became too old to physically drive the Lancia. So it was handed down to me.

I'm torn to keep it or scrap it as it's really in a bad state. But having grown up with it, having some hair raising moments in it and the kicker was getting taught how to drive shift for the first time when I was 12 sitting on some yellow pages, I have to keep it.

Value wise, it's worth nothing as it is. Restored to it's former glory, she could get $15+K here (worth nothing in the US having seen them on Ebay). But the costs to restore, I'm looking at $12-18K (striped to metal, reweld all holes and then resprayed). Then the engine needs to be rebuilt, so another $2K there. So it will be for passion than investment.

It's like the other threads for buying a neglected D, do you invest or count your loses and move along. When there's emotion linked with the car, it then becomes extremely difficult to let go. I also weigh in the factor that the Zagato is a rare car (9390 were built) and possibly will be worth some $$$ in years to come as my guess, less than a quarter have survived due to rust.

[Rich_NYS]

But having grown up with it, having some hair raising moments in it and the kicker was getting taught how to drive shift for the first time when I was 12 sitting on some yellow pages, I have to keep it.

That's a great memory....my goal is to ultimately have a 5-speed and have my kids be able to say they learned to drive a stick shift in a DeLorean.

[Squall67584]

I bought my 64 Impala SS a few years ago now (back when this forum went down, which was a reason I went with an old American car instead of getting a DeLorean... online support was a factor at the time) and I've probably put 100 miles on it at most. When I got it, it needed new springs and shocks since the front would lift up and the rear would sink until it would sit for a few minutes and level back out. During the first year I had it I lost my job, and by the time I got a new one, I had to pay for my wedding. After that, I got to work on it replacing a few things since I was there, but stopped once summer hit. It's too damned hot and humid to spend my off days working in the garage in the Houston area, especially since I'm a few miles away from the water. I've actually spent a few hundred bucks trying to air condition the garage, or at least make it bearable.

Other than the heat, I've had to purchase certain tools to do certain things, and am now having to learn to weld to fix a busted body mount, all of which take time away from getting it road worthy again. Oh well, such is life. At least the wife is supportive and is in to cars too, just not the Delorean, but she'll come around one I get one.

[SIMid]

That's a great memory....my goal is to ultimately have a 5-speed and have my kids be able to say they learned to drive a stick shift in a DeLorean.

:thumbup: Do it Rich! What better way for them to brag that they were taught how to drive in a Delorean!!

If I end up having kids, I hope to teach them in the Lancia as well, and hand it down (in better shape).

That's if we still have petrol by then.

[Farrar]

Once you park a vehicle, ANY vehicle, it all starts to go to hell. ... Some things may not have needed replacement if I had kept the car running ... But rather than being spread out over years, they ALL must be done at once. And when the maintenance isn't spread out, neither is the cost. So the financial impact becomes greater over time, and then it becomes even more challenging and depressing.

I'm hoping to get it back up and running within the next two years. Unlike some people, I actually have a supportive wife too. So it's not like I have anyone to blame. She wants the car to run again. Not just because it makes me happy, but because another running vehicle is just a practical idea.

I grew up seeing cool old, derelict cars sitting in driveways and resenting the owners for not bothering to fix them up. Turns out I became *that* guy. The one with the car that doesn't do anything with it. Oh, but I will "someday".

It's depressing as all get out. But I now understand the why's and why not's of how POs let their cars become the way they are. It's different for some, but I know what it's been like and what it's done to me.

^^^ Very well put, this. ^^^

I bought my car in 2007. Until a couple of years ago I drove the crap out of it. But when it starts having problems that keep it off the road, and in the meantime life gets in the way (work, school, marriage, family, health), before I know it I walk into the garage and I have a car leaking fluids, and with new electrical problems, and more rust on the frame and exhaust. And that's in addition to what stopped me from driving in the first place. Plus all of the maintenance items that I should have done, and would have done, had I been driving the car for the last year.

2014 is my car's first zero-mile year. I hope it will be the last, but it probably won't. My parents are in failing health, which means I am traveling to visit them so that I can spend time with them before it's too late. I'm getting married in the spring, and I am under a big push to finish school so that I can draw a higher salary as we start our family. None of these things is cheap, and I have surrendered many nights and weekends to things non-DeLorean. But I think I have my priorities straight. The car will still be there for me in a few years. Mom and Dad likely won't. And I'm not getting any younger, either - taking care of myself also takes more time and effort than it used to.

I am looking at a two- to three-year plan of getting the car back on the road. It may be more. And my bride-to-be isn't pushing me to sell the car, which is in my favor. A lot of ads for old cars include things like "the wife says it has to go"...

Yeah, I can look at a neglected car and I can feel sad about it. But I can also say that after the last couple of years I can understand a lot better how that happens.