VIN 4728 Running Resto

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Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave

One valve way out of adjustment. Or a bad camshaft/rocker arm. Or both.

When you adjusted the valves did you find anything way out?

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Yes, and I thought that I had found the issue. I do believe it improved after adjusting, so I think that it makes sense there could be an issue as you described (that was slightly improved with adjustment.)

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Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave

Inspect the cam lobes looking for anything that looks scored or excessively worn. You can also back the valve adjusters all the way out and lift the rockers off the base of the cam lobes in turn. Inspect that riding surface of the rocker arms using a dental mirror, if you find one that looks concave in the center rather than smoothly convex, you've found the culprit which typically means you need to replace the bad rocker arm(s) and the camshaft.

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This will be my next step....thanks for the tip.

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Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave

Not an insignificant job BTW. This job implies that you are removing the head unless you pull the engine out of the car. Even in that case you're about to discover that the rocker arm shaft is held in place by the head bolts, and if you were to pull the engine and remove the cam, you need the special tool to hold the cam gear in place or you have to remove the timing cover as well.

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Sounds great, I can't wait (ugh!) I see the rocker arm shaft is held by the head bolts, I can't just unbolt it and replace what is needed? (The engine is staying in the car.)

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Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave

Root cause on this is typically someone forgetting to change the oil for, oh, say, decades, OR running the car with a stuck wide open fuel distributor, flooding the oil sump with gasoline, turning the oil into about 0W0 weight. This in turn wipes a cam lobe or two. How did the insides of the engine look? If it looks gunked up that's the oil change issue, if it's remarkably clean then it's the fuel dilution theory.

If you find a bad cam, since that car is carbureted, I'd bet money that's what happened before they did the carb conversion.
Check all the rocker arms.

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The engine looked a bit gunked up, but also had been flooded prior to me changing the oil, so I think it was running the 0W0 weight you mentioned (I'm guessing there was ~1 quart of fuel in the oil.) There was no noise when Steve was there, or in the test drive video I have from the week before I bought it. I'm guessing it was flooded and severely diluted the already crappy oil just before I got it.

I have a bad feeling it's a rocker arm/cam issue.

Thanks Dave....very much appreciated.

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Originally Posted by Rich_NYS

Removing the seats is one of my favorite "first" things to do. Something about it feels especially productive and "familiarizing" to me.

The seats are in decent condition, these pics don't show it well but there are cracks and a small tear. I'll get better pics when I post before/after shots. I'm planning to restore them for now, then probably will replace them someday(a few years from now.)

I contacted Leatherique; they have the OEM grey dye, and a repair kit for fixing cracks.

I'm also going to re-paint the adjustment bars, any suggestions on a close paint match are very much appreciated.


http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?at...id=34591&stc=1 http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?at...id=34592&stc=1 http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?at...id=34593&stc=1 http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?at...id=34594&stc=1 http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?at...id=34595&stc=1 http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?at...id=34596&stc=1 http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?at...id=34597&stc=1

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Sup Rich!

Absolutely, my share on exp is to use Krylon's Satin Black (MAXX) rattle can that can be found at Walmart. I sprayed the rails with about 5 coats with 1-2 hours per coat (a full day) on a nice sunny day. Sand them down with 220 grit and if rusted or pitted sand them down with 150 and smooth them back up-to 220 to 320 grit. Coat and recoat. Let them hang freely using metal clothes hangers. Clean with acetone and spray. Take your time with these rails and they will come out great. The rails will end up smooth and nice.

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?at...id=34636&stc=1

If you end up redoing/ reupholstering the seats and removing I have a thread on here on how to use my double Zip-Tie technique if in case you can not reuse your original witch-hat tie downs for your seat covers! - bri

Double Zip Tie seat cover technique, I found the thread I gave input on; http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?11...-cover-install

gl!

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Originally Posted by skill

Sup Rich!

Absolutely, my share on exp is to use Krylon's Satin Black (MAXX) rattle can that can be found at Walmart. I sprayed the rails with about 5 coats with 1-2 hours per coat (a full day) on a nice sunny day. Sand them down with 220 grit and if rusted or pitted sand them down with 150 and smooth them back up-to 220 to 320 grit. Coat and recoat. Let them hang freely using metal clothes hangers. Clean with acetone and spray. Take your time with these rails and they will come out great. The rails will end up smooth and nice.

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Excellent info, exactly what I'm looking for...thanks Brian!

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Originally Posted by skill

Double Zip Tie seat cover technique, I found the thread I gave input on; http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?11...-cover-install

gl!

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Looks good, when I did the seats on my first DeLorean last year I did something similar....great minds, eh? :biggrin:

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Originally Posted by Rich_NYS

Excellent info, exactly what I'm looking for...thanks Brian!



Looks good, when I did the seats on my first DeLorean last year I did something similar....great minds, eh? :biggrin:

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from the East Coast to the West Coast ~ livin' the dream!

Well, the summer is officially winding down and I've done very little with my car so far (aside from disassembly and compiling parts & tools.)

The good news is, my non-Delorean related priorities are also winding down so I expect to be dedicated to my restoration work very soon. Unfortunately, most of my free time becomes available during the cold NY winters so I'm planning to get some heat in my small garage this year so I won't be deterred when temps are below freezing.

I'm looking at this as an option: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...FVaRHwodsoMNjw

Anybody here have any experience with this type of unit? Seems like a good choice for heating a garage.

So far this weekend things have gone according to plan and I was able to work on my car:

-Took apart both seats and brought them into my basement where I'll set up on a table in a warm room. I have a Leatherique kit with everything to clean, recondition, fill cracks, and dye.

-Sprayed various nuts/bolts/studs with penetrating spray. Not much corrosion anywhere, but since I'll be removing the steering shaft, exhaust manifolds & Y-Pipe, I'm going to soak those.

-Put a wrench on the rearmost driver's side exhaust manifold nut, it actually moved without heat....maybe that's a sign of things to come.

-Began removing the coolant pipes, I'm going to take the tank out so I can thoroughly address the peeled epoxy mess & re-paint those areas of the frame. So far, the frame looks solid! Just needs to be cleaned & painted....Steve will one day be envious of this car.

-Finally drained the gas tank, yo! It wasn't as bad as I originally thought; what looked like a layer of thick, black sludge was actually not-so-thick black stuff (floating on water?) in 2-3 inches of gas. That job just got a whole lot easier! It appears that a rinse & wipe will be all that's needed to clean this tank.

Question: what do I do with 2 gallons of shitty, watery gas?


Attachment 37524 Attachment 37525

Siphon hose w/black gunk:
Attachment 37526

Attachment 37527

I only worked a few hours each day on my car, but it was a productive weekend: today I removed the gas tank to expose the areas of the frame epoxy damaged by brake fluid. All good news; the gas tank isn't filled with goop, and the frame is solid....just needs cleaning & painting.

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Originally Posted by Rich_NYS

The master brake cylinder appears to have been leaking badly; epoxy is peeled off the closing plate and surrounding frame area. So far, I'm only finding surface rust. I'm going to use an angle grinder with a flap wheel to prep, then POR-15 and topcoat with smoke grey.

Attachment 34614 Attachment 34615

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I want to drill holes in my closing plate, anybody here do this & have pics/tips to share?

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Originally Posted by Henrik

Another one of those "while you're in there": Go ahead and drop the tank too. You will find that the brake fluid has done all sorts of damage to the frame below the master brake cylinder. No big deal to fix but it takes a while. Yes, POR-15 is great for this. I used the grey one; it dries hard as glass! You obviously want to replace the master brake cylinder before you do this.

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I took my tank out recently; I'm happy to report the frame is SOLID, just needs to be cleaned & painted. I'll also be replacing the master cylinder.

Good pics in my post above.

Tonite:

-Removed the passenger side caliper.
-Removed the master brake cylinder.
-Removed the brake booster.
-Began cleaning the closing plate for painting.
-First round of Leatherique revujenator & cleaner on one of the seats finished, then another round two of rejuvenator (not inmpressed yet.)


I'm also continuing to spray the exhaust manifold nuts; I'm going to fix the exhaust leak before continuing to diagnose the tapping noise under the passenger side valve cover.


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