I have for sale a 1982 (Dec 1981 build) DMC-12 De Lorean with 17,300 miles on it. Asking $38,500 OBO.
I REALLY don’t want to sell this car as I’ve owned it since 2009 and have put A LOT of time, money and love into it, but with two kids and a new-er house, I just can’t afford to keep it. It’s as “turnkey” as a De Lorean can get, but since this ad is going out to DMC or potential DMC owners, you know it always needs something. Anyway, there is a huge list of things I've done to the car, but off the top of my head I'll list a few here. The verbiage is for global posting, not just for this forum, so there are some items that are explained unnecessarily (for this audience anyway). Anything listed as "new" is within the last two years while anything "brand new" is within the last 2 months:
1./ Full LED interior and exterior upgrade.
2./ PJ Grady Tail Boards with LED lights and newer tail lenses.
3./ New leather seats.
4./ New leather dash binnacle.
5./ DMC/Eibac lowering kit.
6./ Stage II Engine with Iskandrian race cam shafts.
7./ New OE Bosch Injectors.
8./ New Silicone high capacity ignition wires.
9./ New 40K volt ignition coil (which works really well).
10./ Braided stainless steel fuel lines.
12./ Newer fuel distributor.
13./ Stainless coolant expansion chamber.
14./ New doorlock modules with “Wings Aloft” kit from DMCNW(2 cntrl fobs).
15./ Brand new brake booster.
16./ Brand new reconditioned, blasted and repainted front bottom shield (brake booster leaked on it and started to rot metal, but it's beautiful now).
17./ Brand new heater valve, hoses and new dash vent (had no heat or defog now it's HOT and defog capable).
18./ Brand new A/C charge with RC-12. It's fricken freezing Mr. Biggelsworth. 36 degrees F at last vent check 2 months ago.
19./ Brand new custom built OE race decals with original DMC logo (not recessed "DMC" like from Texas) from England with some extra decals included.
20./ New custom front strut tower brace.
21./ Custom "DMC' trunk mat.
22./ Brand new OE door struts.
23./ DPI Stage 1 full stainless exhaust and headers with high flow cats. Sounds amazing.
24./ Brand new timing/engine tune. Car runs better than it ever has. Timing is estimated at 32 degrees (I set it with a friend). I say "estimated" because stock only goes up to 22 degrees and never allowed for the race cams that are in the car. We had to "power tune" the car which means adjust, drive car, adjust, drive car till it feels right. It’s just awesome now.
25./ Partial transmission rebuild and new 2nd gear roll pin (common failure).
26./ Updated hydraulic clutch (OE one was hard to use, but great for left leg strengthening).
27./ Stainless shifter ball.
28./ Brand new engine cover stainless hinge pins.
29./ Both front and rear bumpers have been repainted in the last 5 years in metallic silver to match the stainless body. The front bumper has an aluminum reinforcement strip across the top to prevent "eyebrows" from heavy sun exposure. However, if you leave the car out in the sun for weeks at a time, they will start to come back so garage the car.
30./ Brand new steering rack.
31./ Brand new steering and wheel alignment (because of the new rack).
32./ Tons of brand new stainless parts on the engine and on the car.
Issues/Idiosyncracies
1./ Vibrations in steering wheel. It's manual steering so the rack picks up all the vibrations from the road. I'm going to get a road force balance done on all 4 tires since it's never been done, but that's just to smooth everything out. Still, it's a weird feeling, but it's a De Lorean thing.
2./ From 0-30% throttle application the car is a tad rough, not because it's running bad, but because it's got race cams and they are designed to run with throttle application above 30% or 2300 RPM. You will only feel this trundling along in a parade or crappy traffic, but like I said, I’ve tuned out the true roughness and how it is now is how it will be.
3./ Heat comes from vents under the dash. This is a De Lorean thing, but because of the size of the cabin, it works well.
4./ If you slam the stick into 5th you'll grind the gear. It's not a race car, though it's obviously branded as one (sort of). If you normally place the stick into 5th the gear won't grind. I was told I needed to change the gear oil. I'm sure that is the case since I haven't touched it in 6 years.
5./ When it's really cold out, the doors won't open all the way on their own. They will open 90% of the way and you just push them up the rest. This is a De Lorean thing. The cold weather stiffens the struts. This is just how it is no matter how new or old the struts are.
6./ The title is sort of a problem. When I was in Iraq the USPS lost it. I still have the original bill of sale which shows ownership of the vehicle and in the Northeast the car is easy to register because it's older than 1994 and these states don't require a title for registration. I am working on bonding the title so I can finally get one in the state of CT (currently registered in VT). Not sure where you're from or if you even care about this, but most people like to have some kind of title. In Vermont, once I sign over ownership on the registration, it's no longer mine and becomes the purchaser's. Many states don't require a title for registration of vintage cars.
There are a host of items that were completed at the car's first round of renovations at DMC Houston to the tune of about $12,000 before I bought the car and then I added a bunch of things that cost me about $14,000. I have records of all of these items from the previous owner and myself. I recently had it at PJ Grady for some more items. Rob is VERY familiar with the car if you want to ask him questions about it.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, but like I said I have ALL maintenance records totaling about $31,000 in the last 7 years. It's a staggering number really, but it's why there is nothing left to repair, except the left valve cover which only started leaking 3 weeks ago. I will take care of this because I already have the part.
The pictures with this ad are a little older in that I have since put a different (better) exhaust system on the car and have removed and reinstalled the race stripes appropriately. Car was used in an ESPN BTTF tribute and I included some of those pics here. Will try to get underside pics ASAP. I need to emphasize that the car needs NOTHING. You put gas in it, change the oil and show it off. It's a classic car so it will need something eventually, but the "as is" aspect of this car is it needs nothing and shines beautifully.
That’s all I can think of right now. All maintenance records will be included with the car. I will post more updated pictures soon. I’m open for questions. Car is in Westbrook, CT. (703) 362-4766 is my cell.
Did you fabricate it yourself?
Originally Posted by kenny
