DaraSue and 10907's excellent adventure

[Lwanmtr]

Could be that seal on the top of the door is bad? But then again, maybe them gremlins made the puddle..

You didnt get a pic of Darth Vader? shame.....

Electrical gremlins can be the most difficult to catch..specially if its not consistant.

[DaraSue]

Wiggle the Red by-pass resistor module in the aft relay bank. I've never heard of one failing, but anything is possible.

The other possibility is a bad A/C illumination relay. (Weak energizing coil or burned contact). You could try swapping relays (use the relay to the Right of the White module) to see if you get a change in results.

Of course, today it didn't do it. Although I would have vastly preferred this particular gremlin to what I got, which was two more recurrences of the "dummy lights come on and relay clicks but nothing else happens" gremlin, arrrgh. Both times it took about 6-7 tries to start, but then the other 3 times I started up, everything was fine. I called Mike and he said if the relay is clicking it shouldn't be anything in the steering column causing it. he suggested checking the connections on the underside of the relay holder but I didn't feel anything obviously amiss and it was getting late by then. I took it out to check if the update was done a while back and didn't see anything blatantly wrong then, either. Arrrgh.

Could be that seal on the top of the door is bad? But then again, maybe them gremlins made the puddle..

You didnt get a pic of Darth Vader? shame.....

Electrical gremlins can be the most difficult to catch..specially if its not consistant.

It might be the seal, I do remember noticing it looked a little warped. I'd tried trimming the excess headliner fabric after the monsoon in Omaha the last time and I hadn't seen it leak since but maybe I just hadn't been in heavy enough rain. I bought a tarp at Wal-Mart because it was supposed to pour tomorrow but my uncle's MG is back in the shop (shocking!) so they let me park in their garage. I ended up doing about an hour of mathematical finagling and junk-rearranging to clear enough space for it and then another half an hour trying to actually get it in there from their outside parking space. I ended up with some paint on the plastic but no other significant damage. Apparently these cars are sturdier than their reputation. Still, probably should have just used the tarp.

I only had to go about a hundred miles today so not a lot to report. I was visiting my mom's cousin in the Poconos and her car rusted out so I took her on some errands. She was pretty entertained by all the people coming up to take pictures of the car. She waited in it while I was in Walmart and she said a guy was taking pictures and gave her a thumbs-up. I told her I bet nobody else in her retirement home ever got to ride in a DeLorean

There was a parking lot by her place with a bunch of old cars in it. I had to stop for a photo op (although I left the engine running since it was right after back-to-back startup gremlins. IMG_20170504_142842.jpg

I think I took a wrong turn somewhere... IMG_20170504_154407.jpg

Finally got where I'm going... IMG_20170504_183446.jpg

The weather is supposed to be crummy the next few days so I'll probably give the car a rest. I briefly considered running up to Grady's but in East coast traffic it's a 4+ hour drive and it would probably function perfectly while they were looking at it, so I guess I'll keep crossing my fingers that it always eventually starts.

[DaraSue]

Took a ride down to visit a friend in Baltimore on Sunday, then up to visit another friend in Jersey on Monday. Not a lot of pictures because too much traffic and construction, but on my way to the turnpike I stopped to get some pix at an abandoned tavern whose decline I've been observing over the last few years.

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My one friend's husband has an Alfa Romeo that we had to get some shots with...
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Got a decent sunset shot...
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One of the toll plazas specified "oversized and unusual vehicles use lane 12". I dutifully pulled into the appropriate lane. Different toll plaza, the guy in the booth was like "wow, I've never seen one of these before!" In the booths where you have to take the ticket, I can't quite reach it through the window so I always have to open the door. I hope I at least entertained the cars behind me.

Yesterday it was making this metallic scraping sound at idle which I'd noticed occasionally before except it was doing it more consistently and at higher speeds/rpm than I'd heard it at before. I was thinking I should possibly try to run up to Tom's garage in central NJ but I did some troubleshooting this morning with the help of Mike and Jason at Midwest and finally figured out that it was a bolt that had come out of the heat shield and was making it rattle. The bolt was completely gone and I couldn't find a replacement at the auto parts store so I got some stainless locking ties and threaded one through the hole. It wouldn't cinch tight but one of my uncle's neighbors was passing by to gawk and he helped me twist it on there like a metal twist tie. I had to take the car out for a test drive anyway so I let him ride along, which made his day. If only my ignition gremlin were this easy to track down, LOL...

Oh, another thing, when I was stopped at the abandoned tavern it rained more than I expected and I figured out that the leak wasn't actually coming from the door, it was up by the windshield. Something else to have MW check out on the way back...

[Lwanmtr]

Hehe...unusual vehicle....hope they didnt charge you more...lol

Nice pics...I'd have expected that fiat to be smaller...hehe.

Always carry duct tape for when bolts fall off....just a thought..lol

[DaraSue]

Hehe...unusual vehicle....hope they didnt charge you more...lol

Nice pics...I'd have expected that fiat to be smaller...hehe.

Always carry duct tape for when bolts fall off....just a thought..lol

Haha, I've got some in the trunk but was afraid it would melt from the exhaust. Might need to use it on my windshield leak though, lol.

Today my uncle needed their car so I took my aunt out to run some errands. Nothing too exciting, just cruised down main street in my crappy home town.

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Saw this old Corvair on the way home: IMG_20170511_172706.jpg

It was for sale, a steal at $4300. If anybody wants it, tell me by tomorrow and I'll go back and get you the number.

There was a clock repair place called "Back in Time", maybe I should have offered to rent them my car for an ad, haha...

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The weather is supposed to be crappy this weekend, crossing my fingers that I get enough of a break in the rain to drive home...

[Lwanmtr]

Lol....yeah you shoulda offered to let them have a pic....

[DaraSue]

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Made a fuel stop, then got back on the road again.

Seriously though, I stopped to get some pix on the way to my cousin's house in Reading PA. I couldn't resist that photo op. I was originally going to head home last night after her bridal shower but southeast PA was getting drenched yesterday and in addition to my leaky roof I didn't feel great about driving on back roads with a lot of standing water. It turned out to be a good choice (except for when I cracked my head getting into the van while carpooling to the shower) b/c it was much better weather today, and while I was showing the car to my relatives it had another recurrence of the ignition gremlin and with the help of my mechanically-inclined uncle and cousins I think we might have narrowed it down to the wiring by the starter. There's another one of those blue scotch-locks in there so I'm going to see if either DPI or MW had time to solder it on the way back. It's in a place I could probably get to so if I don't have it done along the way I might take a stab at it myself when I get home.

Other than that, a mostly uneventful drive through Western PA.

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Finally stopped for the night near Akron, planning on going over to DPI tomorrow to get some bolts for my exhaust shield. There was another one missing today and one of my license plate screws was loose too so I hope whatever keeps shaking these things loose isn't going to make anything important fall out.

Pretty exhausted tonight, hopefully it's just from driving and not a sign that I have a concussion. But it was nice to get back on the open road. The east coast's narrow roads and heavy traffic made for a lot of white-knuckle driving. At least now that I've shown my car to all my family and friends within a 3-hour drive of Philly I can pretty much call this trip a success even if I have to finish it on a flatbed, lol.

While I was chilling in my room I heard some guys outside looking at my car so I went out and talked to them for about 20 minutes. They were all super excited and had never seen one in person. The one-vehicle car show continues its nationwide tour tomorrow...

[Lwanmtr]

Something a lil disturbing and very 80's about the pic with the car and the nuke....hehe.

You mean you havent gotten the obligatory door-based concussion yet? Mine continually likes to bite my head with the exposed grab handle mount bracket..hehe.

[DaraSue]

Something a lil disturbing and very 80's about the pic with the car and the nuke....hehe.

You mean you havent gotten the obligatory door-based concussion yet? Mine continually likes to bite my head with the exposed grab handle mount bracket..hehe.

Haha, I've only bumped my head on the door once, and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as this. Being short probably helps, LOL.

Didn't get around to posting my write-up last night because I was hanging out with some friends and chitchatting about DeLorean stuff until the wee hours.

I stopped by DPI yesterday morning to get replacement bolts for my heat shield on the way out of Akron, and while I was there he changed out my starter which was barely hanging on and the likely culprit of my random ignition gremlin.
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I hung out to watch them work on it and Josh's assistant brought me a mat to sit on because I was the first customer who'd ever laid down on the floor to look under the car while they were working on it. It was definitely an informative lesson about how starters should be installed (and how they shouldn't be).

After my car had started up about 10 times successfully I continued on into the Chicago area, mostly uneventful.

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Pro tip: if you're in Indiana and think you might need to pee sometime in the next hundred miles, stop at the next rest stop you find because it might be a while before you find another one that's open and not trucks-only.

Due to the lack of rest stops I unintentionally drove what might have been the most miles I've done in one shot, about 230 between stopping for gas about 90 miles west of Akron and the IN/IL border. Finally found a rest stop, whew! That stop was notable for the rarity of a pair of women approaching me to take pix of the car. One of them insisted I pose with it and said her son would probably be in love with me, lol.

I was catching a whiff of gas fumes in the cabin again as I was heading west. I stopped for gas (while I was waiting for my friends' son to meet me at the travel plaza and lead me to their house, because apparently Google thinks I should be able to pull off the freeway into their backyard) I noticed a couple drops spritzed out when I took the cap off so I'm hoping it's just that I didn't have it on tight enough or something. Weirdly it seemed more noticeable when the sun was out. Probably going to run up to MW and have them check it just in case.

Had a few looky-loos at the gas station, one guy was following me to take pictures as I went to meet my buddy in the parking area. He was driving his D too and he said that guy's jaw hit the floor when he saw both of us together. Always fun to make somebody's day like that.

Caravanning with another D was a new experience for me too, I'd never just watched one drive IRL before and it was so cool.

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Pictures of a DeLorean taken from another DeLorean with a sunset in the background are pretty much the most epic thing ever.

I think I brought some residual bad luck with me though because when we went out to dinner my buddy's car sprung a fuel leak. Fortunately it wasn't bad enough to need a tow truck but I felt like I should apologize for jinxing him.

Being a passenger in a D is an experience I haven't had often so it was fun to just chill and enjoy the ride

[Lwanmtr]

Hehe...yeah get a map and chart out rest areas on your route...I got into the habit of generally stopping at any along the way when I been taking trips, wether I needed to or not..if nothing else just to get out n walk a little since most are usually 60-90 miles between them.

Yeah when a friend of mine was here (before I had mine) it was a lil trippy looking when I watched him pulling out to leave..somehow different than a normal car...but then these aint normal...hehe.

Musta been fun caravaning and watching his right blinker on all the time (hehe...looks like its on in your pic).

Figure out what the gas smell was?