Website Idea - DeLorean Frankenstein Project

[MrChocky]

I don't claim this to be a novel idea, only to put all the ideas in one place. This isn't the kind of software I do, I'm a systems architect/embedded systems guy, but if
someone was really interested in making this, I'd be happy to help out with the details. A lot of this is the bread and butter stuff of most websites and web developers -
UI design, databases, etc, etc.

The DFP (or whatever name you want) is essentially an inventory of *all* DeLorean parts. That is, all the original parts assembled at the factory,
and all the variants thereof. Also, all the alternative parts by vendor, and all the counter parts available from the mainstream suppliers, etc, etc.

Some of the inspiration for this comes from Bricklink, which has inventory for Lego sets - the difference there is inventories are (mostly) set in
stone. Here we're dealing with parts from multiple vendors, optional parts, unavailable parts, etc.

Such a project would be a great deal of work. First, it needs a database and user interface design to deal with all this, and take
community and vendor submissions. You'll probably have to work with all the vendors to tie into their inventories some how, and you'll have
to deal with constant updates.

The ultimate (if perhaps foolish) goal would be two fold - being able to figure out 100% of the parts to build a DeLorean from scratch, and more
importantly, as a resource for enthusiasts to find replacement parts and see notes about each, etc.

I hope you have a year or two free.

[Delorean Industries]

Something like this already exists. Took more than a few years to create but we know down to the bolt the exact cost of producing a car from scratch utilizing available sources along with tooling and manufacturing of items that are currently restored and reused. Very dynamic model and I would surely assume others in the same position as us have a similar metric in place to follow this. I doubt any of us would be willing to make this public as it is proprietary.

[David T]

What you really want is a cross/over listing all of the parts that can be used from other sources. As we all know many of the parts used in the Delorean were also used in other cars. The problem is, many of the sources for these parts are either no longer in business or the inventory is depleted. With the other cars that used the same parts getting so old and the demand for the parts dropping, many of the parts are just NLA. The challenge is to find parts that can be made to fit or find companies that are willing to reproduce the parts. In most cases this is way more than any individual can handle, it takes the Delorean vendors to make it happen. They MUST do it if for no other reason then to stay in business. If they can't keep the fleet of Deloreans running then they go out of business. They also need parts to repair the cars they get in their shops. No one who goes through all of the effort to create this kind of information is going to freely share it, it is just to much work to give away. A while back one owner started a project to update and correct all of the original manuals. The more he did the more he realized just how immense the project is and it never got done. If it ever got done he wasn't going to give it away but once you sell one, anyone can copy it and now it is free. Trust the vendors to do this and support them by buying what you need from them as much as you can. Of course there are things you don't need to buy from them like tires, bulbs, battery, fluids, etc, but for parts specific to a Delorean, in many cases they are either competitive or even less expensive then a local source. If you need it in a hurry you can always get expedited shipping. Another point, the stock the vendors sell consists of parts they also use in their service work. They know it fits and works because they use it themselves. When you try to use something that looks like it would work, maybe it will and maybe it won't. When it won't, now you must take that part off and throw it away and buy another part that will work. Where is all of your savings now? For many owners they are challenged just doing the work. Trying to do the work with parts that are not correct just makes the job all that much harder. One small example. Some owners found a thermostat that looked like a good cross/over. They had a LOT of trouble bleeding all of the air out of the cooling system. The cross/over didn't have a "jiggle pin" so air could bypass the thermostat. Solved by drilling a 1/8" hole into the thermostat. The "correct" one is still available from the "D" vendors. Point is you can make substitute parts fit but you must also know how to modify them. Not everyone wants to go through that trouble. Another point. The vendors put kits together for different things like a "Master Water Pump Kit" with all of the bits you should replace in one package. Makes things much easier then trying to find each and every part and often is less expensive then piecing it together yourself. Just try to find that bleeder screw yourself.

[MrChocky]

Something like this already exists. Took more than a few years to create but we know down to the bolt the exact cost of producing a car from scratch utilizing available sources along with tooling and manufacturing of items that are currently restored and reused. Very dynamic model and I would surely assume others in the same position as us have a similar metric in place to follow this. I doubt any of us would be willing to make this public as it is proprietary.

Indeed. I would have been very surprised if you and other vendors didn't have a system which was a substantial subset of this.

Still, I think the use of such a system is clear. There are queries here every day which such a thing would at least partially answer; with the caveat that no software is a silver bullet.

There's no question that this is a huge amount of work, but I do not think it needs to be anywhere near complete to be useful. As for your proprietary information, that's
of course understandable. Nevertheless, I don't think it's an insurmountable problem. Ultimately your business is to drive parts and service to you, which is at least
partly the role of such a site. I think something could be worked out; maybe it's something we can discuss. But again, I'm not proposing to personally work on
such a system.

[Nicholas R]

Something like this already exists. Took more than a few years to create but we know down to the bolt the exact cost of producing a car from scratch utilizing available sources along with tooling and manufacturing of items that are currently restored and reused. Very dynamic model and I would surely assume others in the same position as us have a similar metric in place to follow this. I doubt any of us would be willing to make this public as it is proprietary.

Clearly something like this does not exist, as what MrChocky is referring to is something that members of the community would be willing to share.