VIN 11408, getting it back on the road!

[Jonathan]

That looks really great, Josh, I'm excited for you. Seems overall to be in fairly decent shape from your photos. Painted panels being something to figure out independently of the mechanical.

Try your best to stay patient and ask lots of questions.

I happen to think a stainless steel car is the best thing to go with an iron ring. You'll look good in both

[ALEXAKOS]

A smooth looking interior, a worrying black sectioned frame and a minimal problem oil leak.
But the color striping looks like a hefty job. I wonder why there are holes on the stainless steel?

That that place over the air vent, looks like it was made or prepared to make a BTTF replica where they screw the lighting and mesh lines on.


hhmmmm That could be a nasty surprise if the rest of the body has more holes.
Get ready to find a Stainess steel welding professional, cause I doubt you would want to replace all panels.

[kings1527]

I love seeing people take D's that aren't running, getting them fixed up, and then back out of the road! Good luck!

[Josh]

Thanks Guys! Yes the door jambs are painted, I will deal with those when the time comes. Good news is the car came is a spare passenger side door so only one door will need to be stripped.

That looks really great, Josh, I'm excited for you. Seems overall to be in fairly decent shape from your photos. Painted panels being something to figure out independently of the mechanical.

Try your best to stay patient and ask lots of questions.

I happen to think a stainless steel car is the best thing to go with an iron ring. You'll look good in both

Thanks! The mechanical is not a huge concern of mine as both my father and a very good friend are journeyman mechanics paired with my own (self proclaimed) high mechanical aptitude. But it will take time getting it running like it should again; I look forward to tearing it down in the coming weeks. Haha yes it will! I would love to drive this to my graduation next year, definitely a date to shoot for!

A smooth looking interior, a worrying black sectioned frame and a minimal problem oil leak.
But the color striping looks like a hefty job. I wonder why there are holes on the stainless steel?

That that place over the air vent, looks like it was made or prepared to make a BTTF replica where they screw the lighting and mesh lines on.


hhmmmm That could be a nasty surprise if the rest of the body has more holes.
Get ready to find a Stainess steel welding professional, cause I doubt you would want to replace all panels.

The black section of the frame is just undercoating. Lots of cars had it. I have checked extensively for rust, along with the PO and the frame is a non-issue. I am positively certain the oil leak is only the tip of the iceberg for the mechanical issues (car has sat for a while) but I am fully prepared for that.
As previously mentioned the holes were drilled to use a dent puller to roughly smooth out the panel (they did a poor job). Maybe after stripping the panels I might find one of the POs had someone take baseball bat to their car? Or maybe just a few unusual dents. I dont know, and it makes me very interested to strip the paint. I knew about this risk before purchasing the car. There will be several options to repairing or replacing the panels, I will just strip the car and go from there. I have the car now though and Deloreans are a little sparse up here so I am going to work with what I have!

[Josh]

Only managed to get out one day this weekend instead of two, but I got quite alot done. Got the car up in the air and started removing parts. The whole brake system is pretty bad so I am rebuilding it all. So out came the master and all the calipers. Rotors will be removed soon. Also pulled the clutch master (leaking severely) and the rear axles. Transmission will be dropped soon as well to check the clutch and rear main seal. Excuse the trunk it is quite a mess!

[Jonathan]

Hi Josh,

I'm not trying to promote some urban legend, but most of what I read suggests not using cinder blocks to prop your car up with. Not 100% sure that is what I see under your car, but it seems so. Not trying to get anyone worried, but there seems to be much written about this not being a good idea as the blocks aren't meant for this type of concentrated weight, nor is there suitable quality control on the blocks to know whether one or more of yours isn't as strong as the next.

Just a suggestion, but perhaps look at getting something else to put under there?

[Mark D]

Hi Josh,

I'm not trying to promote some urban legend, but most of what I read suggests not using cinder blocks to prop your car up with. Not 100% sure that is what I see under your car, but it seems so. Not trying to get anyone worried, but there seems to be much written about this not being a good idea as the blocks aren't meant for this type of concentrated weight, nor is there suitable quality control on the blocks to know whether one or more of yours isn't as strong as the next.

Just a suggestion, but perhaps look at getting something else to put under there?

+1

Safety first! Jack stands are cheap. I'd hate to hear about your car falling and you getting hurt. I knew a guy in high school that used cinder blocks and one of them crumbled and he was pinned under the car.

[Josh]

I am just reading this now about the cinderblocks. Had a few friends bring it up as well. I figured since the bottom of the frame is flat this would work much better than jackstands. I have 6 jackstands ready to be used, but I figured the large contact of the cinderblock would be much safer than the little end on the jack stand. I am open to opinions, someone here has had to had their car up on all fours! I am more than willing to swap the cinderblocks out safety is always #1 concern!

[dmc6960]

Yes, swap them out. Its almost humorous in your first pic because not only do you see the car on the cinder blocks, but you also see unused jack stands in the same image. Its only almost because of the real danger involved.

[David T]

The problem with cinder blocks is that they can't take point loads and they will fail catastrophically without warning. I see you have jackstands anyway so use them. The rotors may be cleanable without removing them but the rest of the brake system must be rebuilt. Replace the hoses too. When you do the tranny rebuild or replace the clutch slave cylinder and if you still have the plastic hose, replace it as well. While it is up in the air you might want to also replace the A/C hoses. Inspect the steering bushing and lube the front suspension. Since you removed the half-shafts you may want to lubricate them. Generally I do not recommend doing everything all at once. Too many things apart at the same time and many will get confused or not finish and then parts get lost.
It is also very hard on the budget all at once getting all of those parts. Inspect the radiator especially the left side for green staining. If it is the plastic tank original it should be replaced anyway along with all of the hoses.
David Teitelbaum