New DeLorean Owner Here!

[Johnny C]

Hey everyone!

Proud new (and first time ever) owner of VIN 6356! I acquired it at DMC Florida with Robert at the helm and the experience was FANTASTIC (my wallet will tell you otherwise, LOL)!

The gentleman who owned it before had bought it in the mid eighties and kept it garaged for most of its life, racking up only 35K miles on it. Was up in New Hampshire and was only driven in the warmer months and on nice days. It had been increasingly difficult for him to get in and out of the car so he decided to sell it to DMC Florida - Lucky me! Needless to say, the interior and exterior of the car are quite immaculate.

The car is still over at the dealership being worked on... as it was explained to me, DMC will not hand over a car unless it has been updated to their specs and all parts needing replaced are handled. Did I get that right? LOL

In any case, I feel very much at ease that DMC is taking care of it and that it will be in great shape once I take possession of it... Here's my question: Even though they are undoubtedly doing the best work possible, in your expert opinions, are there things I should be looking out for regardless? Engine quirks? Parts to keep an eye on? Thoughts? I am not even close to being a mechanic nor do I understand anything about how engines work. I'm handy with tools and woodworking and being crafty, but that's about as far as it goes, haha.

Certainly would appreciate any tips, advice, heads up, thoughts of excitement or anything in that realm! Happy to FINALLY be a part of this community after 28 years of wanting to make this dream a reality for myself! Thanks for your replies, all!!

-Johnny C

[82DMC12]

Welcome! You'll find a lot of smart long-time owners here. I don't think you should get too worried about future repairs right now if you are confident DMCFL is selling you a car that's been truly "gone through" - and Tony is damn good. Just drive the car and as quirks pop up, come on back and post about it. There's nothing you will see that hasn't already been seen in the last 40 years.

I would recommend buying the complete 3-manual set - the Workshop manual, the parts manual, and the bulletins and recalls book. Tony will sell them all as a set to you. That will get you or your mechanic started when things inevitably need attention.

That being said, there are a number of Facebook DeLorean groups that you might want to join as well. Some people like the social media format better, but the archives of past posts and conversations here has a lot more depth than you'll find on Facebook, perhaps because some of the vendors and true experts never migrated away from here to Facebook.

ENJOY!!

[Johnny C]

Welcome! You'll find a lot of smart long-time owners here. I don't think you should get too worried about future repairs right now if you are confident DMCFL is selling you a car that's been truly "gone through" - and Tony is damn good. Just drive the car and as quirks pop up, come on back and post about it. There's nothing you will see that hasn't already been seen in the last 40 years.

I would recommend buying the complete 3-manual set - the Workshop manual, the parts manual, and the bulletins and recalls book. Tony will sell them all as a set to you. That will get you or your mechanic started when things inevitably need attention.

That being said, there are a number of Facebook DeLorean groups that you might want to join as well. Some people like the social media format better, but the archives of past posts and conversations here has a lot more depth than you'll find on Facebook, perhaps because some of the vendors and true experts never migrated away from here to Facebook.

ENJOY!!

What great info!! Thanks so much! Truly, now more than ever, there are so many great resources both online and out in the real world, that it takes a LOT of the guesswork out of trying to figure these cars out. I feel confident that there isn't anything that I will encounter that can't be figured out! Robert and I still have lots to talk about so I'm sure I'll be getting even more great info from them over at DMC. Still about a month away from getting it in my garage, but I simply can't wait!

Thanks again for the reply!

-Johnny C

[82DMC12]

You're very welcome. Where do you live / plan to keep the car? Are you in Florida?

Most of us do our own wrenching, and it's not hard, but it seems like every job requires more tools. That could be frustrating if you are not really interested in doing the wrenching anyway. If you're near DMCFL you'll be in good shape for future repairs. If you're somewhere else, there are other service centers scattered about, but on the other hand, the car isn't all that complicated and the shop manual and a phone call to a service center will get any auto tech on the right track. The fuel system is not well understood anymore because most of the old timers that actually worked on cars with mechanical fuel injection are retired by now. That's usually where things start to come off the rails. It sucks to have to pay a tech to learn how your car works before they can start to diagnose it. If you ever need repairs done by someone NOT DMC, I would always insist that they call Robert or Tony first to discuss the problem and get some advice. That will save you labor $$$ and avoid replacing parts that aren't bad.

[Johnny C]

You're very welcome. Where do you live / plan to keep the car? Are you in Florida?

Most of us do our own wrenching, and it's not hard, but it seems like every job requires more tools. That could be frustrating if you are not really interested in doing the wrenching anyway. If you're near DMCFL you'll be in good shape for future repairs. If you're somewhere else, there are other service centers scattered about, but on the other hand, the car isn't all that complicated and the shop manual and a phone call to a service center will get any auto tech on the right track. The fuel system is not well understood anymore because most of the old timers that actually worked on cars with mechanical fuel injection are retired by now. That's usually where things start to come off the rails. It sucks to have to pay a tech to learn how your car works before they can start to diagnose it. If you ever need repairs done by someone NOT DMC, I would always insist that they call Tony first to discuss the problem and get some advice. That will save you labor $$$ and avoid replacing parts that aren't bad.

I'm in good old Orlando, Florida and the DMC dealership is 20 minutes from my house, haha.... So if anything goes wrong, that's where I'll be headed. That's another reason that it made sense to pull the trigger on buying this dream car because DMC is so close. Even oil changes are gonna happen over there!

I can't imagine taking this car to a general "today mechanic"... There's a disconnect there for sure. But we'll see how it goes. The best of the best knowledgeable people are looking after my investment, so my worry on the scale is at about a 1 or a 2.

-Johnny C

[Helirich]

Welcome to the club!

It sounds like you have things figured out. I normally would tell anyone interested in this car must be machanicly inclined. The only exception is if you have a good machanic you trust or better yet, live close to one of the service centers. Enjoy your car.

[Johnny C]

Welcome to the club!

It sounds like you have things figured out. I normally would tell anyone interested in this car must be machanicly inclined. The only exception is if you have a good machanic you trust or better yet, live close to one of the service centers. Enjoy your car.

Thanks so much! I'm not sure how much I have things figured out, but I'm a damn happy guy to have scored one of these treasures of the automotive industry! I just know that I'm grateful to live so close to DMC!

-Johnny C

[Helirich]

You didn't mention if it was auto or stick. There's pluses to both. Mines a stick and it's fun to drive, but I hate life when I'm stuck in a traffic jam crawling or stop and go. They say the auto reduces power available, but I don't think it's that bad. My wife doesn't like driving this car because the clutch is hard for her to push. That may be a good thing. Lol.

All and all, I've had my car for less than a year and I'm very happy with it. I've made four long trips (700+ miles one way) and it has proven to be a nice travilling car. I've also driven the car in a apsolute down pour with standing water on the highway and it feels safe in such conditions.

The biggest thing I can say is you are not prepared for the attention. I have own several hot cars (Jaguars, Lotus, Corvettes) and modified trucks, but nothing compares to the Delorean.

[Johnny C]

You didn't mention if it was auto or stick. There's pluses to both. Mines a stick and it's fun to drive, but I hate life when I'm stuck in a traffic jam crawling or stop and go. They say the auto reduces power available, but I don't think it's that bad. My wife doesn't like driving this car because the clutch is hard for her to push. That may be a good thing. Lol.

All and all, I've had my car for less than a year and I'm very happy with it. I've made four long trips (700+ miles one way) and it has proven to be a nice travilling car. I've also driven the car in a apsolute down pour with standing water on the highway and it feels safe in such conditions.

The biggest thing I can say is you are not prepared for the attention. I have own several hot cars (Jaguars, Lotus, Corvettes) and modified trucks, but nothing compares to the Delorean.

It's a manual. I was really looking for an automatic, but when it came down to the quality of the car and Robert's mention of how autos are fewer in numbers it was an easy decision. The only thing is, I haven't driven a stick since I was 19 and I'm 44 now, lol! So there's gonna be some learning curve there for about a week, hahaha.

I'm not sure how I feel about the attention thing... I mean, I get it and I'm sure it will be cool and fun at first, but I imagine it gets old after a while? Who knows... maybe it'll be fun, I'm open to possibilities.

-Johnny C

[JBaker4981]

Welcome to the community and the obsession Johnny!

Though DMC is sorting the car out, keep in mind that these are 40 year old quirky cars. The absolute best thing that you can do is to keep the electrical system and your cooling system happy. I highly recommend doing business with Dave McKeen as his Solid State Relay upgrades are superior to any relay that any other vendor can provide. He also has a great safety wiring harness that will make your side markers blink with the turn signals (people coming your way from the side cannot see your turn signals by default).

His website is https://dm-eng.weebly.com/?fbclid=Iw...uw6Aac59ejf__I

Also shameless plug, if you are looking for a metric butt-load of documentation for our cars, check out my website's download section at https://tn-dmc.com/downloads.

I also recommend you to reach out to our local DeLorean club and meet your fellow brothers and sisters