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Thread: At what point is a DeLorean no longer a DeLorean?

  1. #1
    One of those purists you keep hearing about. sdg3205's Avatar
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    At what point is a DeLorean no longer a DeLorean?

    You've heard the arguments for years from the pro-life vs pro-choicers, but it's always been a question I've thought about at length when it comes to the DeLorean (well, any car for that matter, but lets stick with DeLoreans here).

    Is a DeLorean only a Delorean to you if it remains today as it left the factory OR is Will.i.Am's atrocity still a DeLorean? At what point TO YOU does a DeLorean CEASE to be a DeLorean? How many parts and pieces have to disappear?

    Personally - though I think they're rad - a DeLorean is certainly much less of a DeLorean to me once the PRV is swapped out. I see the engine as the heart or soul of the car, for better or for worse, with it's inherent flaws and shortcomings AND it's positivities. If someone walked up to me and said "I'll pay you $5,000 and install a v8 in your DeLorean," I'd turn it down. It wouldn't be a DeLorean to me anymore.

    On the other hand, I could see some people argue that a v8, power steering, electric power train or modern dash/interior is simply a better realization of JZD's dream and therefore - naturally - a DeLorean.

    I'm curious where people fall along the continuum.

    When is a DeLorean, no longer a DeLorean?
    Dave

    Here, somewhere.


  2. #2
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    IMO William's car is not a delorean anymore.
    I certainly wouldn't say an engine swapped D is no longer a delorean.
    It looks like the USA guys seem to be more inclined to do complete engine swaps than the Europeans who seem to be more inclined to work with/ upgrade the PRV if they want more power.
    It could be the availability/knowledge of PRV parts in Europe
    Or
    It may be that there are way more cars in the US so there are proportionally more engine swapped cars.

  3. #3
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    Other than the Will.I.Am car, I can't think of any other car out there that wouldn't still be considered a DeLorean.

    I think of it this way, if a car with an engine swap, any engine swap, drove into a cruise night, people standing around would still be pointing and saying "hey look, it's a DeLorean!" That same thing would hold true for just about any parts changed out with new or altered or modified, no matter how drastic. Even the painted ones, or Project DeLorean sort of things, would still get the comment "it's a DeLorean." It seems you could change them as much as Rich has done with the D-Limo or D-Rex and the only way they ever get referred to are as "DeLorean" limos or "DeLorean" monster trucks.

    I've not seen the Will.I.Am car up close or in person and don't know what kind of reaction it gets when it comes out (legally or otherwise). I expect people might say something like "it's a DeLorean underneath" but they also might say "it WAS a DeLorean."

    If the Will.I.Am car is really close to no longer being a DeLorean, the only other thing I can think of that always gets the comment "it WAS a DeLorean" is the one that got smushed in a car crash.


    Sept. 81, auto, black interior

  4. #4
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    Stainless body panels
    Gullwing doors
    Rear engine

    As long as it retains all of those 3, it's still a Delorean. Change every other thing in the car, and it will only be a heavily modded Delorean. But you have to keep those 3.

    The stainless can be painted or wrapped and it's ok, as long as it's present underneath.
    Is there another more distinguishing thing about the Delorean other than the doors? This is THE distinctive feature, 10x more than the stainless, even.
    I can't even imagine how to make it a FWD car.
    5 speed, grooved hood, grey interior (Nov '81)
    QA1 coilovers, Delorean.eu LCA brackets, DPNW Poly swaybar bushings, DMCMW shock tower bar, Deloreana.com convex mirrors, DPNW Toby Tabs, DPI exhaust, C4 Corvette third brake light, PJ Grady tail light boards, Bitsyncmaster relays

  5. #5
    Senior Member mr_maxime's Avatar
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    I don't see why some people get so upset about other people's car mods. It's their car. To me it stops being a delorean around when a certain amount of what makes the car look like a delorean has been changed.

    Engine swaps don't matter at all to me considering this engine is not unique to the delorean. Engines that get used in more than one car cannot be the heart of it to me. Only the delorean has those stainless body panels, those gull wing doors and those body lines.

  6. #6
    Senior Member - Owner since 2003 Patrick C's Avatar
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    Do I still have a DeLorean???

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    Patrick C.
    VIN 1880

  7. #7
    Daily Driver ssdelorean's Avatar
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    Personally I would say looks & feel. WilI'm's car was a DeLorean and resembles a DeLorean. It kind of is but not. The word "modified" has to be used when referring to his car. i.e. Modified DeLorean and not just a DeLorean.

    The whole engine swap not being a DeLorean thought process is kinda interesting to ponder (since that is not how they came from the factory). Yes this might be hair splitting but still interesting.

    So then, would Proto 1 and the Legend cars be DeLoreans? Proto by definition is a preliminary model of something else to come. Also, Proto 1 does not have the NOS PRV6. Yes it was built under direction of the company but it did not come from the factory (it was built before the factory). And the Legend cars left the factory and were modified by Legend. Granted they have the same base powerplant but 80 or so percent of the internals are totally new/different than stock factory parts.
    Shannon Y
    www.ohiodeloreans.com
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    ---
    1st angle drive - 58,027 miles (20 years) -- original
    2nd angle drive - 48,489 miles (21 years) -- original from donor
    3rd angle drive - 26,572 miles (2 years 3 months) -- DMCH
    4th angle drive - 21,988 miles (1 year 11 months) -- DMCH
    5th angle drive - 7,137 miles (10 months 2 days) -- DMCH
    6th angle drive - OVER 113,704 miles and counting (OVER 13 yr 1 month & counting) -- new Martin Gutkowski unit
    over 245K miles

  8. #8
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    Patrick, I was thinking of making a reference to your car! Yes, definitely still a DeLorean! Out of all the cars that have mods, I've always thought yours had some of the best things done to it and in a way that the factory might have chosen to do them had they lasted longer. Very nice and very tasteful (IMO).


    Sept. 81, auto, black interior

  9. #9
    Senior Member Dangermouse's Avatar
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    As we really don't know what the chassis and drivetrain are under the IamAuto bodywork, it's hard to say. Even if it has a Chrysler powerplant as mentioned by Mr. I.Am, it's still probably registered as an 81 DeLorean. If it still has the PRV and double Y backbone chassis, is it any different from Steve Stankiewicz's ProtoDeLorean (in terms of being considered a delorean?) Fancy duds over a stock layout, the attractiveness of said duds are then just a matter of taste.
    Dermot
    VIN 2743, B/A, Frame 2227, engine 2320

    I don't always drive cars, but when I do, I prefer DeLoreans

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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan View Post
    Other than the Will.I.Am car, I can't think of any other car out there that wouldn't still be considered a DeLorean.
    Quote Originally Posted by jackb View Post
    Stainless body panels
    Gullwing doors
    +1

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