Gas Flap Project D That Runs

[Shep]

Hey guys! I've been looking at DeLoreans, and I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I've searched high and low and only found one candidate, but it's in North Carolina, and I'd like to find something a bit closer (Cleveland/Akron Ohio area, by the way, specifics in the sidebar on the left). What I'm looking for doesn't seem terribly unreasonable all things considered.

Here's the requirements:
- Gas flap hood (which only came with black interiors IIRC)
- Must be able to go on a test drive.
- Somewhere in the $11K to $19K range outlined here (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?371-Please-read-before-posting-%E2%80%9CI-want-a-cheap-DeLorean%E2%80%9D-or-%E2%80%9CProject-Car-Wanted%E2%80%9D-threads) (also the price range I'm looking for).
- Auto/Stick doesn't matter, and I don't have a preference either way.
- Optional: needs cosmetic work done (taillights, seats, windows, etc.)

The rest of this post is just further explaining the above, not adding more requirements or anything. Feel free to skip it if so desired.

It MUST be in running condition, but not necessarily good running condition. Preferably I would be able to drive it home, but I can make do if it only makes it to a nearby parking lot and I call a tow truck. I'd only feel comfortable if I can experience how the D handles so I can get a good idea of what kind of work it needs done, if any.

I think the reason I'm finding so few D's out there that meet the above qualifications is that pretty much every D I've seen is either one in terrible condition or one in daily driver showcar condition. The thing is, I'd actually prefer one that needs work done. Sort of a running project D, if you will (hence the title). If anyone's seen the Wheeler Dealers episode with the DeLorean in it, that's what I'm looking for: faded taillights, broken windows, worn out seats, things of that nature that don't affect drivability but will still let me get more familiar with it by fixing. That being said, I certainly don't mind one that doesn't need any of this kind of work.

I originally limited myself to the Northeast Ohio area, but quite frankly, this is just a preference now all things considered. I'd be willing to travel, but if it's more than a weekend drive, I'll be doing quite a bit of correspondence first. I'd prefer not to have to fly down only to find out it's not what I'm looking for (although I'd really prefer not to have to fly down at all, but I will if they're as sparse as the ads make them seem). Just to clarify, yes, I do have the funds secured for the price range above, and I can pay by cash or check. I've read some sellers wait in line at the bank with the buyer, and doing that is fine by me.

So does anyone have any D's like this or know someone who does? Or perhaps you've seen one I missed? I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

[David_NYS]

I know of a few Deloreans in that price range. I was in the market for one for a while, and I recently bought mine about a month ago. I will PM you with what I have. One of them has a gas flap hood. :reading:

EDIT: Always be careful! :thumbup:

[Kukem]

Wow, you've summed up exactly(minus the hood preference) the type of car I have been looking for for about 2 years. Everytime I find one, I discover something majorly wrong with it though. The last one I was going to purchase had frame damage that was covered up. Looks like you may have a lead though. I believe they are out there and I agree with you that having a running project car is probably one of the best ways to learn about the car because you can enjoy it and learn about it as you go. Good luck!

[eagle-co94]

Have you considered a car without a gas flap hood and then adding one later? That might open up a few options for you.

[Dangermouse]

I would suggest driving a good daily driver first, so that you know what to expect when driving the project car.

Even a good one doesn't always drive like a modern car, which is of course part of the charm.

[Shep]

I will PM you with what I have. One of them has a gas flap hood. :reading:

EDIT: Always be careful! :thumbup:Thanks for the advice and for the possibilities! :D


Have you considered a car without a gas flap hood and then adding one later? That might open up a few options for you.For now I'll look for ones with a gas flap, but if I have trouble finding anything after a certain amount of time, I'll probably consider that route. Something about those very early D's appeals to me.


I would suggest driving a good daily driver first, so that you know what to expect when driving the project car.

Even a good one doesn't always drive like a modern car, which is of course part of the charm.These I will be considering. By "project", I mean D's with cosmetic problems, not necessarily mechanical ones, so it being mechanically sound enough to be a daily driver doesn't rule it out by any means.

[Dangermouse]

My point is that in your original post you stated that you want to drive your prospective car to check its handling and get an idea of work to be done.

As not many people have driven a rear engined car without power steering, it will handle differently to your usual car. How will you know if it handles normally ( for a D) without something to compare it to?

[Delorean Industries]

Delorean Performance Industries happens to be located just 10 miles away from you. Give us a call at 330 573 4129 or email at [email protected]

We have a variety of cars on consignment and plenty of leads on other possibilities in the area for sale by owner who have contacted us.








Hey guys! I've been looking at DeLoreans, and I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I've searched high and low and only found one candidate, but it's in North Carolina, and I'd like to find something a bit closer (Cleveland/Akron Ohio area, by the way, specifics in the sidebar on the left). What I'm looking for doesn't seem terribly unreasonable all things considered.

Here's the requirements:
- Gas flap hood (which only came with black interiors IIRC)
- Must be able to go on a test drive.
- Somewhere in the $11K to $19K range outlined here (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?371-Please-read-before-posting-%E2%80%9CI-want-a-cheap-DeLorean%E2%80%9D-or-%E2%80%9CProject-Car-Wanted%E2%80%9D-threads) (also the price range I'm looking for).
- Auto/Stick doesn't matter, and I don't have a preference either way.
- Optional: needs cosmetic work done (taillights, seats, windows, etc.)

The rest of this post is just further explaining the above, not adding more requirements or anything. Feel free to skip it if so desired.

It MUST be in running condition, but not necessarily good running condition. Preferably I would be able to drive it home, but I can make do if it only makes it to a nearby parking lot and I call a tow truck. I'd only feel comfortable if I can experience how the D handles so I can get a good idea of what kind of work it needs done, if any.

I think the reason I'm finding so few D's out there that meet the above qualifications is that pretty much every D I've seen is either one in terrible condition or one in daily driver showcar condition. The thing is, I'd actually prefer one that needs work done. Sort of a running project D, if you will (hence the title). If anyone's seen the Wheeler Dealers episode with the DeLorean in it, that's what I'm looking for: faded taillights, broken windows, worn out seats, things of that nature that don't affect drivability but will still let me get more familiar with it by fixing. That being said, I certainly don't mind one that doesn't need any of this kind of work.

I originally limited myself to the Northeast Ohio area, but quite frankly, this is just a preference now all things considered. I'd be willing to travel, but if it's more than a weekend drive, I'll be doing quite a bit of correspondence first. I'd prefer not to have to fly down only to find out it's not what I'm looking for (although I'd really prefer not to have to fly down at all, but I will if they're as sparse as the ads make them seem). Just to clarify, yes, I do have the funds secured for the price range above, and I can pay by cash or check. I've read some sellers wait in line at the bank with the buyer, and doing that is fine by me.

So does anyone have any D's like this or know someone who does? Or perhaps you've seen one I missed? I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

[Shep]

My point is that in your original post you stated that you want to drive your prospective car to check its handling and get an idea of work to be done.

As not many people have driven a rear engined car without power steering, it will handle differently to your usual car. How will you know if it handles normally ( for a D) without something to compare it to?OH! I see what you're saying now, I misunderstood you before. My apologies. I guess I meant more along the lines of a worn out clutch (if stick), engine misfiring, loud exhaust, squeaky suspension, worn out brakes, things like that that can indicate problems. Not necessarily things like cornering and weight distribution. I probably would've taken those into account as well though if you hadn't said something, so thanks! I'll keep that in mind. :D



Delorean Performance Industries happens to be located just 10 miles away from you. Give us a call at 330 573 4129 or email at [email protected]

We have a variety of cars on consignment and plenty of leads on other possibilities in the area for sale by owner who have contacted us.Oh wow, I didn't realize how close you guys were. I'll send you guys an email. Thanks for the help! :D

[Shep]

I just want to let everyone know, I found the DeLorean I'm looking for! VIN 559 (thread here (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?3783-81-Automatic-Vin-0559-ONLY-4641-MILES!!)) has less than 5K miles, runs great, but still has some cosmetic issues that I can work on. Plus it has a gas flap, is within price range, and is very original! Everything I'm looking for, all at once! :giddy: I emailed the seller about an hour after he made the thread, and after a lot of back and forth, decided to buy it.


So thus ends my search for a DeLorean. Now to start a new chapter of ownership!

[Kukem]

Hey, congrats on the new purchase! Can't wait to see some pics of it.

[dvonk]

badass. congrats on the new D! :headbang:

[SIMid]

badass. congrats on the new D! :headbang:

+1! :cool1:

[David_NYS]

Congratuations!

[Ron]

Hey, congrats on the new purchase! Can't wait to see some pics of it.
+1

[Shep]

Thanks everyone! I do have some pictures the seller sent me of it in his garage. They're quite large (18MB total), so I can't post them all in one post, but I'd be more than happy to post a few that you guys want to see. :smile: I've got shots of the exterior, interior, engine compartment (with yellow coolant bottle even), undercarriage, suspension, pedals, and three problem areas. What are you guys interested in?

[Ron]

What are you guys interested in?All of the above...:wiggle:

[Dangermouse]

What a silly question :)

+1 on Ron's answer.

[dvonk]

+2! :bigclap:

[Shep]

What a silly question :)Haha, still learning the ropes I guess :hihi2: Let's go with all of the above then!

Front (with the gas flap):
10040

Left front fender:
10036

Rear end:
10042

Interior (blurry due to low light conditions):
10037

Engine compartment:
10038

RF wheel:
10039

LF wheel:
10044

LR wheel:
10043

RR wheel:
10045

Pedals:
10041

Undercarriage:
10046

Well I'll be, I can attach a lot more than I originally thought. I might have the wheels reversed, but I'm guessing those are horns I'm looking at on the front.

[jawn101]

Looks good! Your carpet is covering your floor vents on the drivers side (tuck it under), and make sure that's just surface rust on your LCAs before you go driving it too hard :) Really nice car, congrats!

[dvonk]

love the gas flap hood! :biggrin:

congratulations!

[Shep]

Thanks guys!


Looks good! Your carpet is covering your floor vents on the drivers side (tuck it under), and make sure that's just surface rust on your LCAs before you go driving it too hard :) Really nice car, congrats!Yeah, that lower control arm has me a bit concerned, but I won't know the condition until it's delivered on my doorstep. I can't see where the floor vents are in any of the pictures... where is it supposed to be? Just want to make sure I can get at it quickly.

[jawn101]

Thanks guys!

Yeah, that lower control arm has me a bit concerned, but I won't know the condition until it's delivered on my doorstep. I can't see where the floor vents are in any of the pictures... where is it supposed to be? Just want to make sure I can get at it quickly.

Just on the top of the center tunnel behind the HVAC control stack. The little flap of carpet sticking up above the fiberglass tunnel is supposed to tuck underneath the vent, it's a 2 second tool-free job and you'll see/feel it as soon as you look.

[Shep]

Just on the top of the center tunnel behind the HVAC control stack. The little flap of carpet sticking up above the fiberglass tunnel is supposed to tuck underneath the vent, it's a 2 second tool-free job and you'll see/feel it as soon as you look.
Um... where's that? :confused0: Is it on the left side by the exterior, or the right side by the center console, or on the front somewhere?

[Chris Burns]

Haha, still learning the ropes I guess :hihi2: Let's go with all of the above then!

Front (with the gas flap):
10040

Left front fender:
10036

Rear end:
10042

Interior (blurry due to low light conditions):
10037

Engine compartment:
10038

RF wheel:
10039

LF wheel:
10044

LR wheel:
10043

RR wheel:
10045

Pedals:
10041

Undercarriage:
10046

Well I'll be, I can attach a lot more than I originally thought. I might have the wheels reversed, but I'm guessing those are horns I'm looking at on the front.

What a cool early Delorean you have there! That suspension looks like it needs some attention. WOW is that inside clean!!

[jawn101]

Um... where's that? :confused0: Is it on the left side by the exterior, or the right side by the center console, or on the front somewhere?

In te footwell, drivers side. Trust me you'll see it when the car arrives! Not a big deal :)

[Shep]

Just thought I'd post a little update: earlier today, VIN 559 was loaded on the truck and is making its way here! There were a few problems getting it on the truck, but no damage as far as I'm aware. New damage, at least; there's some wear and tear that I knew about prior to purchase. We'll see what it's like when it gets here. Estimates are Saturday the 12th. Can't wait! :D

[dvonk]

earlier today, VIN 559 was loaded on the truck and is making its way here!

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j147/gkid1983/napoleon-dynamite.jpg

:biggrin:

[SamHill]

EMDF, sorry if this has been asked already, but what documentation is coming with the car? Have you been told of any unique history? There is bound to be some with that VIN.

[Shep]

EMDF, sorry if this has been asked already, but what documentation is coming with the car? Have you been told of any unique history? There is bound to be some with that VIN.You're the first to ask this, actually! :wink:

The owner lives about a half hour away from me (just moved from Las Vegas, hence the DeLorean's previous location), so he's going to bring over paperwork he said was the size of a phone book on the history, mechanical work, notes, things he's done, etc. I'm not quite sure exactly what all is included, or what it outlines in terms of the history, but I have read in various lists (such as this one (http://www.dmcnews.com/faq/img/news/n_vinlst.pdf), which is quite comprehensive, although VIN 559 is incorrectly listed as stick on that one) that VIN 559 was a company car leased by Chestnut Fleet Rental. No idea on what company got it, but considering it only has 4,641 miles on it, I'm guessing it was an "errand" car more than a daily driver, only being used when the other cars were unavailable and/or broken down for one reason or another.

I did get this in an email about three and a half hours ago from the owner's friend (who was storing the car for him while he moved):

I discovered that the VIN is much more than a novelty. Apparently, the 500's are pre-assembly line and have unique qualities rendering each one 'one-of-a-kind'. A gentleman that had seen this car some years ago recalled things about rounded cutouts and the hood design being special to this car.

I'll be sure to scan everything I have on VIN 559 when I receive it, and take plenty of pictures and documentation of it. Very little is known about VIN 559 to the rest of the DeLorean community, considering it's sort of been in hiding all these years. I'm a bit anal-retentive about documenting damn near everything I do on all my cars. Every single modification, major mechanical work, things of that nature always get dozens of pictures outlining the process. That way, if I have any questions about what I did or how I did it, I can just refer back to the pictures, and 9 times out of 10 the answer's right there. I still have 200 or so of my first car before I junked it. And hey, it keeps my memory of that work fresh every time I see those pictures again. Gotta love digital cameras! :smile:

[SamHill]

There are hundreds of differences. Being on the first shipment to the US, your car was made when the Irish workforce was still learning and new changes were being implemented. (Local D club members that visit you could point these out.)

Plus, around this time, D's were built for Legend Industries, for testing requirements, or meant for DMC executives or celebrities. You could find anything. Look forward to hearing more about your car's history.

Get that documentation he said he would bring! His kids will throw it out on the rubbish heap!

[Shep]

Get that documentation he said he would bring! His kids will throw it out on the rubbish heap!Oh most definitely, I'll get it! :smile: The only problem is where to upload the resulting PDF. It's gonna be huge, and the only web server I have access to really doesn't like me to upload that kind of stuff... (but maybe they won't notice :shhh: ) Then again, it might be better to categorize it into smaller PDF's and only post what will actually be of any use to someone who doesn't own the car, since I'm sure a lot of it is service records and such.

[Dangermouse]

If you try and scan the whole thing, the scanner will probably spilt it into manageable chunks (or at least ours does).

May be better to pre-sort and scan into individual files/document. Be easier to find some detail later also.

Then you could post the "best-of" here.

Alternatively, store it on Dropbox/similar and post just the link

[Shep]

If you try and scan the whole thing, the scanner will probably spilt it into manageable chunks (or at least ours does).

May be better to pre-sort and scan into individual files/document. Be easier to find some detail later also.

Then you could post the "best-of" here.

Alternatively, store it on Dropbox/similar and post just the linkI'll probably split them into equal intervals and use PDFTK (http://www.pdflabs.com/tools/pdftk-the-pdf-toolkit/) afterwards to merge/split/rearrange the PDF's into separate categories after the fact. Or I might wind up splitting them into predefined categories and scanning those if they're not too unmanageable. Honestly, I won't be 100% sure on how I'm doing it until I get it and go through everything.

I have heard of Dropbox, but never bothered to check it out until you mentioned it. Seems nice; no wonder everyone's using it. Kinda like instant SVN for non-coders. I set up an account there and a folder for DMCTalk. I'll play around with it in the next few days and get some of what I have up there before long (tomorrow evening's the weekly car show I'll "premiere" VIN 559 at later in the year! :biggrin: )

[Shep]

Holy shenanigans, it arrived today!!! :giddy: Hot damn that was fast! I uploaded the pictures to Dropbox as Dangermouse suggested, link here (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8ihqoytwehhv2z0/OrCMdISUd3).

As you can see in Delivery01.JPG, the window is stuck down. Motor works, but it's not catching. Originally there was something covering the window, held on by painter's tape. Unfortunately, the painter's tape doesn't have good tensile strength, and ripped along the window. I have no idea what was covering the window originally, but there was nothing there when it got here. Thankfully it was all sunshine, so nothing's wet inside. I have since covered it up myself with plastic and duct tape (pictures Delivery11.JPG and Delivery12.JPG; those bottom three pieces are attached to the inside in case anyone's wondering).

There's a few dents here and there, very hardly noticeable (in fact, I'll have to use a flashlight to figure out exactly where they are again, since I don't 100% remember). Won't be fixing those, but the antenna was ripped off in transport. Cord's still attached (thankfully), but it's not in its hole. I'm pretty sure it happened when he backed up into a low-hanging cable on my street and had to stop when it got caught a couple cars later (thank god it's all downhill). I'll fix that one myself :wrenchin:

Mileage is 4,641.6 (Delivery06.JPG), and it was listed as 4,641, spot on (which is always a bonus with such low mileage cars), and this was after I drove it from one end of my street to the other. Original radio is there (Delivery07.JPG), but I have no idea if it works since the battery died once it was in my driveway (probably left the key set to ON for too long). Felt like Marty McFly almost stuck in 1955 when I tried to start the engine and got nothing but a door ajar beep. Oil light was on bright when I first drove it, but it was very dim at that point, further indicating a low battery. I also watched the tachometer start at 0 RPM, but climb steadily all the way up to ~8,200 RPM where it sits in Delivery06.JPG. I did spot an oil change sticker on the windshield dated 10/10/07 for 4,512 miles (I think; ink's faded, but it's in Delivery10.JPG), so I'm guessing that was the mileage on that date. In Delivery13.JPG, you can see some plant life from Las Vegas. There was some on the louvers too.

(Hopefully) tomorrow, I'll give 559 a nice, soothing car wash and rinse off all the dirt and dust. Always preferred a garden hose over those car wash stations, especially considering it doesn't run. But it's home now! :biggrin:

[Dangermouse]

Nice looking car. I will check the pics better tomorrow on the PC rather than the phone.

Sounds like your window regulator mechanism is shot. Time for a new one and your first trip into the door panels ;)

[dvonk]

...I uploaded the pictures to Dropbox as Dangermouse suggested, link here (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8ihqoytwehhv2z0/OrCMdISUd3)...

nice looking D, im jealous! youre going to have plenty of fun with it, for sure! :biggrin:

[Chris Burns]

Beautiful early Delorean!!:notworthy:

Looking forward to hearing more stories about it.

[jawn101]

God, those WHEELS. So jealous. I love the dark wheels.

[Dangermouse]

Time for a new thread btw - get this great stuff out of the "For sale" section