Well, I have two bits of good news, and two bits of bad news. First the two bits of bad news: the engine needs a major overhaul. When the Volvo dealer worked on both the heads, they didn't put them on properly, which caused the lower cylinder seals to fail. When DPI Josh went to drain the oil, normally it has 7 qts, but instead he filled a 12 qt container and still had about 6 qts left over. Half of this was oil, and the other half was coolant. He said he was shocked it's even run at all in the past few years, and that helps explain why when I got it to run for five minutes in my driveway I needed to give it constant gas.
The second bit of bad news: I now have my first 5-figure repair bill. I bought it for $18,500, but now have about $22,000 in repair bills. Which seems horrible until the first bit of good news: dollar for dollar, that repair bill
goes directly to the value! Josh said after it's all fixed up, it'll be worth $40,000 to $45,000, which is $21,500 to $26,500 more than what I bought it for. Hot damn, I've
never had an investment go that well (401K aside, of course). Even though I had to loan money from my parents to pay for it in the first place, they said they'll give me another loan until I can pay them back, which is the second bit of good news. By the time it's done, I'll already have five more paychecks, so that'll help offset the cost on both ends.
He also said it won't be back on the road until about two and a half months from now, which, if my math is correct, will be roughly September 16th. At Cruisin' Solon, the very next night after this is Cruiser of the Year Award night, which is where all the winners of the previous nights get placed beside each other and the winner is drawn from there. Sort of a "members only" thing, except with winners from previous nights. This means I won't be premiering it there after all, and honestly, I have no idea
where to premiere it, or even how long after I get it back I'll be showing it off. By mid-September, all the good car shows are wrapping up and/or done, so it might not be until a year from now that I show it off. Unless of course, there's a DeLorean get-together somewhere around here.
But the high note of my night was my first-ever ride in a DeLorean! Yes I coasted mine down the street, and drove it around in my driveway, but I've never been in a running DeLorean on the road before! I've seen five or six of them before today, but only been inside two: mine, and Josh's. He drove me around the block. What an experience!
I was enthralled by the whole thing, taking everything in and learning while he's pointing things out. I'm glad I did too: He demonstrated braking distance, which has me really thinking of getting a brake upgrade while it's in there, with (at the very least) cross-drilled rotors to make stopping that much better. I've never been in a car that needed
that much distance to stop, and let's just say much of my route requires good braking power. I've been in my fair share of close calls from guys stopping suddenly or pulling out in front of me as recently as Friday, and if the brakes are inadequate, that won't end well.
Originally Posted by DPI JOSH
At least it gave me an excuse to have it worked on right off the bat
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Cool guy to be sure, and that shop looks great.
