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Thread: The story of VIN 573 or yet another restoration thread

  1. #1
    Member Don Camillo's Avatar
    Join Date:  Jun 2011

    Location:  Munich, Germany

    Posts:    44

    My VIN:    573

    The story of VIN 573 or yet another restoration thread

    Hi folks,

    I started a little report on the old “dmctalk.com”. As we all lost our threads there I start now a new one here.

    First of all, a few words about me. I am an engineer in the high-tech environment (hard- and software development). I am married and I have two daughters who love to work with me on my cars. Together we are living in Munich, Germany.

    My passion about cars started when I was a kid. One of my favorite cars at my early days was a 69-Corvette, the other one was the DeLorean.
    I spent about 1 hour at the BTTF Display at the Universal Studios in California back in 1988 to be near the DeLorean time machine. Awesome, when I touched the stainless for the first time.

    In 2002 I bought a 69-Corvette, which I restored to its original specification.



    Here you see me with my first classic beauty.

    Of course this is a DeLorean forum, but if you want to have a glance at the corvette feeling, you can check out an older video I did.



    BTW: Did you know that JZD drove a 69-corvette as well? Check this out…



    After 7 years I sold the corvette to someone just a few blocks away from me. This was not planned - it was plain luck for me. This way I get to see the car from time to time and I can even drive with it now and then.
    After one year of “classic car abstinence”, I was missing this special spirit - driving my old corvette twice a year simply wasn’t enough. So once again I started again to look for a classic car.

    As you may guess, it was now a DeLorean I was looking for. I read a lot of stuff on the web and I talked to Wolfgang Hank (http://www.deloman.de) who is a real expert and a great guy.

    I was considering to buy a DeLorean in very good condition, where no (or nearly no) work was necessary. But my wife knew me better. She suggested to buy a project car, and put a fixed amount of money for the restoration aside – restoration really is part of the fun for me.

    So I searched for a special project car and in April 2010 I found VIN 573 on ebay.com

    Here you can see the original ebay sales text from April 2010:

    This is an original 1981 Delorean with only 13,600 miles, and is #73 car produced by Delorean. The car has the gas tank door in the hood, which I believe was only produced for the first 100 cars understand that the first 100 cars were all slated as prototypes, but were later sold as the company's financial situation worsened. This car had been stored in a shed for 15 years following a deat the owners family. The car is in very good overall condition; the stainless body is original with only minor blemishes. The interior is original and what I would call decent. The seat covers are presentable but have some leather cracking that makes them too good to replace but not good enough to show. The carpet is decent also, but original, and the main headliner is good but the headliners in the doors have the fabric separating from the backing. I have replaced allot of parts and performed many updates to this car to make it very drivable and as dependable as a DeLorean can be. The updates include, but are not limited to; New clutch hydraulics, reconditioned brake system, new battery, alternator {110 amp}, tires, coolant hoses, window switches, complete tune up, fuel pump boot, filters, fuses, relays, heat shields, rebuilt HVAC control, and more. I took the car to DMC in Crystal Lake IL for some adjustments to the door latches, engine fine tuning a general inspected. The A/C was recharged last year and still works fine. The factory radio has been replaced with an aftermarket AM/FM/CD which works good. The frame and undercarriage is clean and solid {I can furnish pictures upon request}. It runs and drives well, all of the lights, gauges and accessories work except the power door locks, which I disconnected. This is a nice looking, good running car that draws more attention than any collector car I have ever owned. I will have the car offered for sale at a local car show 4/23-25 and reserve the right to remove it from ebay. If the bids are acceptable, I will remove it from the show. I am a motivated seller, as I need room for another purchase. Wisconsin residents will be responsible for sales tax, title and license.

    As the serial numbers started at 500 the car is actually number 74 not 73; and the gas flap hood was produced several thousand times, not for the first 100 cars only. But the rest of the ad proved to be accurate and true. Bob, the seller, was very supportive during and after the sale. He sent me a lot of pictures. Here are some of them:




    Bob had an impressive collection of classic cars. He got the DeLorean together with a 69-Chevy as a package deal. He then fixed up the car after it had been sitting for 15 years in a shed. From the gas tank to the brakes, everything was done properly. I had contact with Dave from DMC Midwest, who confirmed the condition of the car as he did some work on the car himself. He sent me some pictures from the VIN573 as it had been in his shop 2009.




    Few days after I had clicked the “Buy it now” button, I started to make the arrangements for the shipment to Germany.

    Bob helped me a lot and took pictures before VIN 573 went on the truck to drive the last time (at least for a while) on a US street.




    The DeLorean was driven on a truck from Wisconsin to NewYork. It was then loaded on a cargo-ship in a two-car-container. After 4 weeks on the sea it arrived at Hannover. From Hannover to Munich my VIN 573 was carried on a truck again.

    On June 10. 2010, the DeLorean arrived at our home. My family welcomed the car, and some neighbors had a look as well.




    After my own first examination of VIN 573 the car presented itself exactly as described. Technically the car was absolutely drivable, stainless panels were OK, the interior was at least complete, the engine was running fine; but because of the 15 years in the shed, the smell in the car was really, really weird - I had known about this beforehand, however.



    During that inspection a friend visited me with his 72 Corvette. My first impression was that the VIN 573 was well described and that there was plenty of work to do, especially in the interior of the car. But for the moment, the car just went for it‘s first night rest in my garage.




    Some days later I decided to drive the car a couple of times, in order to get to know it better before taking anything apart. One of our first trips was to Wolfgang (deloman.de) in Augsburg for a first professional examination.

    We established a laundry list of necessary things, and I handed the car to Wolfgang for some mechanical issues.

    Here you can see a short video from those days with VIN 573 on a German highway. As you can see, I didn’t pushed it over 88mph as the flux capacitor wasn’t installed yet



    To be continued soon with the disassembling of the interior….

    Best wishes
    Don
    Douglas Adams:
    „The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that
    when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.“

  2. #2
    Senior Member BTTF-1's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Posts:    258

    Loved the corvette and corvette video. Your princess sure had a great time making the video. Looks like the next generation of car enthusiast is on her way.

    Can't wait to see more.
    If your Delorean turns out half as nice as your corvette, It will surely be a masterpiece.


    Wunderbar. Sie ist sehr shon.

    Ed

  3. #3
    Senior Member Domi's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  France

    Posts:    2,457

    My VIN:    16951

    Club(s):   (DCO) (DOA) (DCUK)

    I'm glad to see you started another thread about your car
    Can't wait to see more about it.

  4. #4
    Member Don Camillo's Avatar
    Join Date:  Jun 2011

    Location:  Munich, Germany

    Posts:    44

    My VIN:    573

    Washing, small mechanical upgrade and first steps of disassembling:

    @Ed and Domi: Thanx for the feedback

    Before I disassembled anything on the car, I cleaned it as good as I could to really see what was under the dust and dirt.



    To make it more convenient I drove on my ramps and started with the washing. My two little daughters helped me wherever possible.



    Especially the wheels were not as easy and small hands can help a lot



    ... better now ….



    …. clean and shiny again, at least from the outside.




    After all the cleaning work Amelie decided to chill in the rear compartment.


    Shortly after both girls checked out how much space the DeLorean has to offer.

    Before I was going on the first rides, I decided to upgrade the coolant overflow tank. Normally I am a sucker for originality - but in that case security came first.



    The original coolant overflow tank from VIN 573


    In this close up you can see what 30 years did to the plastic

    To avoid a mess of coolant water all over the flow, I decided to go another route to remove the water of the old tank


    This syringe helped to remove the coolant fluid from the old tank


    Old vs. the new stainless version


    The stainless version inside. This was really a basic mechanical task and it felt good after I was done; the new tank will live for 100 years now….

    That is always the problem. As soon as you start to replace one item, you get the feeling you have to upgrade all the rest as well…

    But right now it was time to inspect the interior and look out for the source for the weird smell.
    The interesting thing on VIN 573 was, that it survived the time with only a little more than 12000 original miles on it. There were only tiny modifications on the car, like the wrong radio. Almost everything was original and never taken off the car.
    The 15 years in the shed helped to prevent the car to get more miles on and more modifications; but on the other hand, it provided a cozy environment for generations of mice.
    Bob, the previous owner, cleaned up a lot and tried to fix things were it made sense for him.
    Now, the ball was in my hands to decide which road VIN 573 should go restoration-wise.

    The following pictures give you an idea of the condition of VIN 573 in June 2010.


    Interior overview


    That once was nice leather


    Storage door without the lock


    Maybe the mice were able to crack the lock and build up a nest inside the compartment. That was one of the sources of the smell


    Relay compartment was also once a mice highway. The white stuff wasn’t Cocaine actually it was backing soda from the PO (previous owner)


    Scary cable


    The fuse terminal was already done by the PO


    Even the lock module was done by the PO


    The battery compartment showed a new battery from the PO


    The section for the Bosch electronic was also used as a mice toilette once



    Scary close up of the compartment


    This was food (and else....) left over behind the rear bumper. We are lucky that currently digital pictures aren’t able to store the smell of the image. It was now clear to me that I had to rip off everything from the car to clean it properly.

    More will follow soon….

    Best wishes
    Don
    Douglas Adams:
    „The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that
    when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.“

  5. #5
    Senior Member Jimmyvonviggle's Avatar
    Join Date:  Jun 2011

    Location:  Calgary

    Posts:    982

    My VIN:    3028

    I don't know what it is about mice and this car. I also pulled out tons of rat nests and other rat debris when I got my car. I mean if your going to make a home out of a car "why not do it with some style"?

  6. #6
    DeLorean Driver
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Reading PA

    Posts:    335

    My VIN:    2638

    Mice!!! I am going to go put some Decon baits all around my basement after seeing this. My DeLo is mouse free... but I have a horse barn within about 1/4 mile of my house and my cats are constantly catching mice outside. Maybe I just need a dedicated basement cat to catch the mice.
    Still rocking the Ducellier

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Cincinnati

    Posts:    169

    My VIN:    3589

    How did you get pictures of my car?

    Dude, exact same thing on my car. Mice nests in the cubby hole, (although I still have a key in my door), and the relay area was used for the toilet. I have some smells, but after a good vacuuming, and removing as much of the nests I could find, it's seems to be disapating...check behind the grill too...

    Mine too is a 25 year sleep rescue, with 12,888 miles on it. (vin 3589).. Good luck!

    Doogie

  8. #8
    Senior Member BTTF-1's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Posts:    258

    I can see you have a team of little helpers. My daughter isn't so motivated to help her Daddy.

    Wow! The close-ups are incredible. I can see you have a lot of major work ahead of you.


    Personally I don’t think my heart could take it.

    Ed
    Last edited by BTTF-1; 02-10-2012 at 10:23 AM.

  9. #9
    Member Don Camillo's Avatar
    Join Date:  Jun 2011

    Location:  Munich, Germany

    Posts:    44

    My VIN:    573

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmyvonviggle View Post
    ... I mean if your going to make a home out of a car "why not do it with some style"?
    Never thought it from that perspective. LOL

    I think every classic car that was forgotten for a long time can have the same problem. But the DeLoreans have a lot of small access holes to enter the inner compartment, so this makes it extremely easy to make a new home.

    And as mice can make themselves really small I found evidence of them in every little corner of the car, e.g. inside on top of the instrument cluster or behind the RH rear view mirror.

    There is only one way to get rid of all the mice-stuff -> Disassemble everything and then clean, disinfect and then refurbish everything or exchange with NOS parts. At least that was my approach.

    To be continued....

    Don
    Douglas Adams:
    „The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that
    when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.“

  10. #10
    Senior Member Domi's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  France

    Posts:    2,457

    My VIN:    16951

    Club(s):   (DCO) (DOA) (DCUK)

    I see your daughters are happy to help you clean the car.
    And now, that's the time you're sad that the DeLorean doesn't have two rear seats to give them a ride!
    I feel exactly the same with my kids!

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