Auction for VIN 973 - Wichita KS - Monday 3/4/2019 6PM CST

[TIMETRK-KS]

Hello everyone,

I thought this had better be shared with the DeLorean community as VIN 973 is up for auction in Wichita, KS on Monday, March 4th at 6 PM CST. I have been following this car for the last 3-4 years from my first sighting. The owner of the dealership where it sits told me it was wrapped up in a previous owner's estate and had been locked up in probate for years. However, it now appears that the car is finally up for auction. I would love to bring this one home but I do not have the funds or garage space at the moment to tackle such a monumental project. I had considered parting it out but then figured that was against my DeLorean ethics and if not mine someone should get a crack at this project. This car is in really bad shape, however to the right individual this might be your entry into DeLorean ownership on the lower end to begin a restoration process. Please note this will be a labor of love, a lot of time and many thousands of dollars.

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I wished I had taken pics of the undercarriage and frame on one of my visits but I can say the frame is probably the better part of the car aside from the straight body panels and grooved gas flap hood. I would consider this car for a frame off or frame on intact restoration. I believe it has not seen much Kansas winter driving with road salt problems. I believe the poor thing has been left outside to the Kansas elements for quite some time. However the nose must have been pointed south as the rear tail light housings are not faded. A surprise considering the rest of the car!

Also having been a previous owner for VIN 961 I am familiar with early VIN DeLoreans. Looking at the VIN plate it appears this one was pulled off the production line and had troubleshooting issues or might have had some company use (speculation)? The VIN plate should be stamped APRIL 81 but instead has 12 4 81 for a stamped date. It does have the windshield inlaid antenna, early black interior and early automatic shifter, oddly routed engine coolant hose (which I hated when changing driver side spark plugs!) but has later style silver wheels and center caps. I think this car has some history for someone who wants to pursue it.

Here's the link for the auction: https://www.mccurdyauction.com/listi...999574&action=

As of 2/28/2019 at 9:30 AM CST auction is sitting at $3,250.00!!!

Good Luck bidding! Hope this one finds a good home! If you need some help loading it up give me a call. Bring a truck, trailer and a winch to get it off the lot. For the right reimbursement I might be willing to help or arrange transport for the central and mid-western states.

Matt Metzinger
Arkansas City, KS

Currently own and rebuilding DMC Logan T-40 Tow Tractor D2T40-0094
VIN 10191 / Rebuild assistant 2010
VIN 961 / May 2002 - Sept 2009

[bfloyd]

Looking at that VIN plate... does it show the build date as April 12, 1981 or December 4, 1981? I'm used to seeing MM/DD/YY on everything, but I know some places list them as DD/MM/YY.

[JETS 81 DMC]

Looking at that VIN plate... does it show the build date as April 12, 1981 or December 4, 1981? I'm used to seeing MM/DD/YY on everything, but I know some places list them as DD/MM/YY.

That VIN would be April. December VINs would be above 6000 numbers and also the later VIN plates only have the
month and year. I am not sure when the plates were changed to show just the month and year.

[TIMETRK-KS]

Yes, pardon me. When we always use MM DD YYYY here for date notation how quick I forget that across the pond they may have used DD MM YYYY notation. I believe this would note 12th day of April 81. Makes more sense now.

[louielouie2000]

One of the things that immediately jumped out at me was the driver's side rear striker pin appears to be sheared off. That's almost certainly due to this being a 3 digit VIN car with those infamous prototype-tooling doors. Add new doors to the budget, on top of everything else. Gotta love that vintage radar detector mounted under the dash to the left of the steering wheel; I see vintage cruise control equipment in the engine compartment, too. I didn't even notice the thin grey stripe initially... the elements have almost completely reclaimed it. It's always interesting to see cars in this state!

Anybody else notice the second DeLorean in the background?

[TIMETRK-KS]

Yes, there is a 2nd DeLorean in the background. On my last visit dealer told me it is a car in for repairs and is not for sale. Good eye!

I don't believe the bolt is sheared off but the best photo from that angle does not show much. I believe some door alignment issues might explain the fiberglass damage in the other photo.