Need advice. I just inherited a 1981 Delorean with 1,248 miles. Been in dry storage

[David T]

Just a guess here but if it is for Canada and they want the car certified as to interference, it is meant to mean the car won't emit "noise" (interference) with anyone elses's car radios. That would be the purpose of the caps all over the car, the resistor spark plugs, and the shielded distributor to coil wire.

[hillbillysims]

Well guys, its been a long time since I started this post on the delorean I inherited. I FINALLY got, hauled it home and got the title all changed over to my name I was wrong, it didnt have 1,248 miles. It had about 3,900 miles.. which is still great. It's truly a time capsule. It had never been outside to see the light of day since 1983. Sat in totally dry, dark storage all those years until I picked it up. The bad part is I havent had time to really get to work on it yet. I've just cleaned it up real good, fixed the door lifts and very minor things. I've not had time to clean the fuel system out or do any of the pre-checklist items leading up to a 1st start-up attempt. But I am beyond happy to have my grandpa's car and determined to get it rolling. I wish there was a good delorean mechanic near chattanooga that could help me out as I work about 75-80hrs a week.

Here are some pics. Original tires and all.
Delorean1.jpg
Delorean2.jpg
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Delorean6.jpg

[mhanch]

Looks great! my dad had mine since 1992 and also stored it well - they did use it just a bit - putting about 5000 miles on it between 92 and '19. Congrats on a great car!

[DMC-Ron]

Anthony,
Congratulations on a great looking time capsule. Your car is remarkably similar to mine. My car had just over 3000 when purchased from the estate of the original owner. I was lucky in that the car was at least started and driven a short distance periodically. Even so, there were a lot of things that needed to be addressed. Most of the brake calipers were corroded and the brake / clutch system needed to be flushed, master cylinders replaced etc. Obviously, the original tires needed to be changed even though the tread looked brand new. People told me to keep the original tires, which I've done taking the best found advice from the tire websites for storage. The car has never had a drop of ethanol gas so luckily, the fuel system was pristine. It always starts immediately and runs well. The original dwell adjustment seal is still in place. But here’s the rub, inheriting a car like this is a double edged sword. On the one hand it’s a privilege to have such an original example. But the dilemma is whether to continue to preserve the car, or make it a driver. So far, I’ve split the difference, opting to fix and apply reversible upgrades which allow me to safely drive the car. But I do so judiciously.

Best of luck and congratulations.
Ron

[Michael]

I absolutely love the fact that you want to do right by the car and your grandfather. Most would just want to flip it and to be honest that's not a bad thing either since the one who wants the car the most will eventually end up with it...It's just refreshing to see that someone gets the car who respects the marque and happens to be in the family. Makes for a great story.

Beautiful car and I am in upper East TN (Kingsport to be exact). I'm not close but feel free to PM me and maybe I can help with any issues that may arise.

[Helirich]

Good news! I'm sure you will enjoy the car.

Courious about the delay. Was it all probate and lawyers?

[mhanch]

Anthony,
Congratulations on a great looking time capsule. Your car is remarkably similar to mine. My car had just over 3000 when purchased from the estate of the original owner. I was lucky in that the car was at least started and driven a short distance periodically. Even so, there were a lot of things that needed to be addressed. Most of the brake calipers were corroded and the brake / clutch system needed to be flushed, master cylinders replaced etc. Obviously, the original tires needed to be changed even though the tread looked brand new. People told me to keep the original tires, which I've done taking the best found advice from the tire websites for storage. The car has never had a drop of ethanol gas so luckily, the fuel system was pristine. It always starts immediately and runs well. The original dwell adjustment seal is still in place. But here’s the rub, inheriting a car like this is a double edged sword. On the one hand it’s a privilege to have such an original example. But the dilemma is whether to continue to preserve the car, or make it a driver. So far, I’ve split the difference, opting to fix and apply reversible upgrades which allow me to safely drive the car. But I do so judiciously.

Best of luck and congratulations.
Ron

+1 to Ron's approach. Mine is also mostly original but i'm doing what it takes to keep it a driver. I'm higher miles however at close to 52k. (46k of which was before 1992 - first owner drove a lot but took great care of it)

[TTait]

Now that you have it - a few rules to help keep you out of trouble...

Do not try to start the car yet - as I think you know you must clean out the fuel tank perfectly and flush the lines before you even think of trying. see http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?63...light=Chemtool

Be very careful when you try a fresh battery - you might want to pull all the fuses first and put them back in one at a time. Probably pull the battery back out an put it on a trickle charger when you are done- its going to be a while before its running anyway.

Do not lock the doors and close them with the batter installed - the lock controller will often fail and keep your locks closed so you cannot unlock them until the battery is disconnected, and the battery is inside the car - in the meantime your solenoid is burning up.

Keep a close eye on the door locks and latches in general - make sure the latches aren't already closed when you go to close the door, and that they will open again smoothly.

Your door struts are useless, and the doors are HEAVY. Be careful. While the vendors sell high quality door struts you can get a $20 set of door struts on Amazon that ill probably last you at least a year until you can get higher quality ones and you can generally get some next day.

Avoid latching your hood and engine cover so that you will rely on the cable releases - if the cables break you will be quite unhappy. Its easy to run a cheap backup hood release cable.

Do not drive on those tires when you get it running. You can sell them to someone here for a coucours car - but don't dare trust them for actual driving.

Check for wiring, cables and hoses that may be near or touching the suspension, steering, and particularly the exhaust system. Once you do get it running you don't want to melt anything.

Check the wiper blades carefully before cycling the wipers - the blades may be badly deteriorated by age or metal may be touching the glass - do not scratch your windshield. Similarly inspect around the drop glass before you try to lower it.

Read up on the angle drive - its probably either failed or about to fail - not sure if you can try to lube a factory original one but its best to look into it before the car hits the road.

Don't trust the wheel bearings for any more than a slow drive around the block until you know what condition they are in. I had a friend who lost a car to a fire due to overheated bearings.


Its easy to get excited - but just go slow and careful like a mechanical-archeologist and you will actually get to driving and enjoying the car a lot faster than if you don't rush and break things.