Interesting Delorean to be auctioned off.

[Domi]

I thought it was the fourth gold plated DMC, VIN1542 when I saw the ad, but no.
Wonder where is it now (1542)

[Iznodmad]

I'm not so sure I believe that temp guage. Probably just an air bubble in the coolant system giving a false high reading. If they really get that high, they are usually puking fluid underneath and some steam is rolling out at that point. I would definitely expect an obvious loss of coolant with original hoses, hose clamps, etc. This car is clearly a "lost/unknown/found again" privately done 24K gold plated car. That poor engine cover is about to pop with the weight of the louvers also being held by the very weak engine cover stay bracket.

[Rich]

About this car being - or not being - gold plated.

There is visual data suggesting this is a painted DeLorean.

First, the photos don't seem to show the 'pop', the saturated gold color seen on authentic gold-plated DeLoreans.

Maybe that's just the lighting or the photography so consider this:
In photo 10 zoom in on the inboard upper edge of the door between the hinges. It looks like unpainted stainless there along the roof seal - and I don't mean the shiny stainless seal retainer sheet, I mean where the stainless inner door panel is visible above the roof seal sheet and below the headliner.

In that same area look at the inner door section about 2/3 of the way back from the front hinge, the area that sticks out beyond the door headliner panel where the door wiring harness is. And at the forward inward corner of the door where the headliner is radiused. Unpainted stainless, no? Looks like they did color the rear inward corner section where the headliner is radiused. Either that or the lighting/shadows are playing tricks there.

Other data or hints people can share? The best answer before the auction will be at the auction site if anybody has time and a sharp eye. One area to check if there is still curiosity would be the fender flanges under the black rubber strips over the upper fender mount bolts along both sides of the trunk. Did they paint the fender flanges under there? Did they paint the normally-hidden bolt heads on that part of the fender?

[DMCVegas]

Good catch. Although I don't believe that it is paint.

It's very common for dealerships to electroplate brightwork and other trim pieces with gold to create faux "luxury packages". Which by the looks of it here, that most likely what was done to this car.




Just, instead of plating some badges, they plated over ALL of the body panels themselves! So who knows how thick the gold is underneath. Which is why on the areas that are not easy to access, bare stainless steel is still visible.

You could probably sand the gold off with a burnishing tool, although who knows how deep you'd need to go in order to get an even layer of stainless underneath. At the same time, who knows how suseptible to damage the gold would be if the gold layer is too thin.

The best thing here for the buyer would be to wrap the car in clear vinyl to protect the panels. That is IF the coating is 100% even, which we wouldn't know unless the vehicle was inspected in person. If not, yeah, sanding the gold off is the way to go.

[DaraSue]

The first time I was at MW getting my car, they had one there that had been wrapped or plasti-dipped gold. I don't remember it being as shiny as this one looks in some of the pics, but then I didn't see it in outside light. The pic Rich posted above looks kind of similar to it. You could see the grain of the stainless through the fake gold, as I recall.

[Andrew]

I went and looked at the gold DeLorean earlier today. While the car had a certificate in the glove box indicating that the car is indeed 24k gold plated, the plating appears sub par at best. Numerous spots were missed in the door jambs, espicially on the passenger side. Furthermore the plating doesnt appear to be evenly applied and has tarnished in many areas.

According to certificate in the glove box, the car was used for promotional purposes and was never registered. The promotional use explains the wear on the driver's seat and the carpet on the door sill. The mileage is probably legit and from what i can tell the angle drive is connected.

The NCT's look good for their age, and both the brake and clutch pedals feel somewhat decent.

I took a number of pictures and will try to post them soon.

I cant even venture a guess on the value of this one.

[Dangermouse]

Who is the certificate from?

[Andrew]

Who is the certificate from?

The certificate is on statonary from Cooper Classics Ltd. It's unsigned and undated.

[Chris Burns]

Bidding closed at 31k!!

[Chris Burns]

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds...2/1995068.html