The Road to 88mph (Total rebuild of #1537)

[lazabby]

I'm glad to see that you are bringing a Delorean back to life. I hate to see one rotting in a field somewhere.

[Team#1537]

04DEC19 to 15JAN20

Got the paint (and a ton of body-fill) off 1537's stainlesspanels! I used Rust-oleum aircraft remover to break down most of the paint, and scraped it off using plastic razor blades.

All that body-fill though... would not come off, and on top of that the stainless was covered in millions of scratches, some of them significantly deep.

So I took a very risky and unorthodox approach.
Busting out my palm sander loaded with 220 grit, I slowly and carefully sanded off the body fill (some places caked on over 1/2 an inch). Using worn out sand paper discs, I also sanded down the steel and smoothed out the scratches.

Before you string me up, just know that this was a desperate measure. A ton of the scratches were severe.

The end result left a smooth but "wavy" pattern in the stainless, which I got rid of with a bit of brushing using a 3M blending pad.20191204_082141.jpg20200115_191918.jpg20200105_114426.jpg20200103_161203.jpg20191212_231915.jpg20191211_193004.jpg20191209_200056.jpg20191207_191015.jpg20191207_175453.jpg20191206_120109.jpg20200115_191940.jpg

[EngineerGuY]

Looking forward to the adventure! Subscribed

[Nicholas R]

04DEC19 to 15JAN20

Got the paint (and a ton of body-fill) off 1537's stainlesspanels! I used Rust-oleum aircraft remover to break down most of the paint, and scraped it off using plastic razor blades.

All that body-fill though... would not come off, and on top of that the stainless was covered in millions of scratches, some of them significantly deep.

So I took a very risky and unorthodox approach.
Busting out my palm sander loaded with 220 grit, I slowly and carefully sanded off the body fill (some places caked on over 1/2 an inch). Using worn out sand paper discs, I also sanded down the steel and smoothed out the scratches.

Before you string me up, just know that this was a desperate measure. A ton of the scratches were severe.

The end result left a smooth but "wavy" pattern in the stainless, which I got rid of with a bit of brushing using a 3M blending pad.

I don't think you should get much pushback. I've actually heard this be done quite a bit in the past. Sometimes an orbital sander is the only answer. Once you get it smooth enough, you can go back with something like 60grit, either with a sanding block, flap wheel, or dynabrade wheel, and add the grain back in yourself. It's not going to be a fun or easy road for you, but it's certainly possible .

[Team#1537]

With help from a member of my Club and reviewing articles online, documentation I have on the vehicle, without a doubt it's the twin turbo rotary DeLorean

[Josh]

With help from a member of my Club and reviewing articles online, documentation I have on the vehicle, without a doubt it's the twin turbo rotary DeLorean

Wow, i wondered what happened to this car.
Are your plans to revert to stock or stick the rotary back in there?
You have done a great job with the paint removal so far.

[Josh]

any pictures of the modifications to the frame?

[Team#1537]

any pictures of the modifications to the frame?

Even the closing panel had to be cut to accommodate for engine components

[ssdelorean]

Even the closing panel had to be cut to accommodate for engine components

Wow! For as much smack talk and quality transmission parts as Jim Strickland talked back in the day making that car, I would expect better fabrication work from him. That poor car!

[Team#1537]

Been a while since I've posted on here... there's been a massive amount of work done.

All stainless panels have been completely stripped of all paint and removed, I've fully restored one so far by removing all the dents and scratches.
Interior has been totally gutted, and the body has been lifted off the chassis. All aftermarket crap has been trashed, and the chassis has been stripped 100% of all parts. The new (to this car) PRV has been joined with a lower crankcase and mounted to a stand. Many components that came off the frame are not salvageable, which is no big deal considering we're planning on getting all new upgrades from DPI.
Now to solve the issue of what to do with the chassis since we're getting a new stainless one. We're hoping we can sell it for cheap just to make a little bit of coin to use towards the project but I'm not sure if anyone would want it.