Binnacles

[dmcjohn]

Looks great Stevie, looking forward to getting mine too! Well done.

[Mark D]

I keep thinking that right now the guys at DMCH who worked on (and failed at) reproducing their own binnacles are either:

1. breathing a sigh of relief to have this monkey off their back

2. kicking eachother in the nuts for the missed opportunity

[DeLorean03]

PM sent.

[dmcnorway]

I keep thinking that right now the guys at DMCH who worked on (and failed at) reproducing their own binnacles are either:

1. breathing a sigh of relief to have this monkey off their back

2. kicking eachother in the nuts for the missed opportunity

Well, the way I see - we're in this together!

Ok, so DMC Houston has spent a lot of time on this, and probably has spend money already on development of the binnacles, but again, they have re-produced many good parts, and one part that surely must cost a lot of $$$ is for example the steering rack. I don't think anyone should feel any "joy" because DMC Houston now "misses" the opportunity on the binnacles. They have the world's largest supply of DeLorean parts and have good customer service. We need them, they need us.

What I would like to see more of though, is a co-operation of DMC Houston and DMC enthusiasts who obviously know their stuff. That way, we can get more reproductions out in the market much sooner than if we had to rely on only one supplier. In this case you have the new binnacles from Ireland, David McKeen has all the updated electronic gizmos you can think of really - tested and proven. Late Cliff Schmucker, wasn't he the one that brought us the newly made upper and lower steering canopy?

Of course DMC Houston should buy bulk of the new glassfibre binnacles for resale, and rather spend the money (that was to be used on developing new binnacles) on other parts that cry for reproduction. I have the feeling that some of the parts are steadily becoming obsolete now, one example is the inside panels covering the rear speakers. We as owners need to secure a steady stream of parts for our unique cars, otherwise not only parts will be obsolete, but also the cars eventually... Let's stay together!

Stian Birkeland
Norway

[Jimmyvonviggle]

One thing I find amazing with DeLorean owners is the amount of people with some impressive skills. From fabrication, electronics or just artistic ability. I wonder how many other car brands attract this diversity of people, or is it people in the car hobby in general.

[GS450-Junkie]

I keep thinking that right now the guys at DMCH who worked on (and failed at) reproducing their own binnacles are either:

1. breathing a sigh of relief to have this monkey off their back

2. kicking eachother in the nuts for the missed opportunity

On the other hand.... I'm glad DMCH has taken the approach that they have. Everyone is screaming for binnacles, and yes they have had some problems.... but I'm happy they are EXTENSIVELY testing their products before releasing them to the public. Do you realize the consequences of releasing an inferior product to the DMC community if they just threw it on the market without extensive heat and sun tests, etc.?? They don't reproduce something to necessarily just make money on it...they also do it to fill a huge void in the parts world for these cars. Yeah, I'm sure they benefit from it in the end too, but they should. And at this point, it's probably more out of stubbornness because they won't let it beat them until it's figured out. I'm willing to bet if they would chime in and tell you how much time and money they have invested in binnacle reproduction you would be shocked. I seem to remember discussing this with Stephen at the DMCMW open house a few years back and it was something crazy like $50,000-$100,000 already invested in binnacle production AT THAT TIME. That won't include costs incurred in the past few years. Even if they come out this summer....they'll never make that back, not in a million years. How many will they sell? A couple hundred? At likely $200-300 each?

They didn't want fiberglass, they wanted something more original. A ton of owners would want something more original. And fiberglass is fine...don't get me wrong. It's a fantastic option, and many of us are taking advantage of it at this time. But it doesn't work for them. Back to the testing on their part... If they threw parts together just to beat the next vendor nobody would take them or their parts seriously. How would I know if it's worth buying if most or even some of their repro stuff was absolutely horrible? If you disagree with me on this...check around on Talk and do a new dashboard discussion search. Everyone wanted one...then screamed FOUL ! Flimsy ! CHEAP ! DISAPPOINTMENT ! Would you want the same in a binnacle? I wouldn't. What would be the point? Maybe the new dashboard has driven them to better and more thorough testing on other projects...aka longer wait times. Obviously if they are not out yet, they are having problems. Must be warping issues, etc.

I wasn't going to say anything, because it's not my business and it's also the wrong thread but I have heard of a new 3 pc. design coming as of 2014. Coming out in 2014? Going into planning as of 2014? Not sure. Doesn't matter to me. I didn't pry...it is what it is. I'm thinking the 2013 must have not worked out for them...but I'm sure it'll all get figured out in the end. There is no "Binnacle Watch 2014" or some other giant clicker on the website or national news acting as a countdown for an unveiling...so honestly I don't care about DMCH binnacles. I was hopeful...many years ago like most of you. I'm not spending much time waiting and wondering anymore. It's kinda like Christmas as a kid. If you just stay busy and not worry about it...it seems to get here faster. And who knows...maybe these fiberglass binnacles will be all I ever need to make myself and my car happy. Maybe DMCH will put out an even more fantastic binnacle this year, or next year, or whenever. Maybe I'll buy both.
I certainly can't blame them for trying, and trying to get it right.

[Patrick C]

Also keep in mind that Stevie's fiberglass binnacles are hand made. We're talking about hand-laid fiberglass, sanding, texturizing, etc. This is something that DMCH likely cannot do to sell them in the quantity they want at the price they want. Stevie making them for 20-30 of us here is much different than DMCH ordering 200-300 of them from a large scale manufacturer.

[GS450-Junkie]

Also keep in mind that Stevie's fiberglass binnacles are hand made. We're talking about hand-laid fiberglass, sanding, texturizing, etc. This is something that DMCH likely cannot do to sell them in the quantity they want at the price they want. Stevie making them for 20-30 of us here is much different than DMCH ordering 200-300 of them from a large scale manufacturer.

True that !!

[DMCMW Dave]

And Stevie admits he's not making much on them. Tough business plan long term.

[Bruce Johnson]

pm sent