Hi! New DeLorean owner here.

[novadmc]

I've wanted a DeLorean since I was a kid. finally was able to Live the Dream this past week.
Picked up an 1981 manual with just over 14k miles on it.
The car was refurbished back in 2000 by DeLorean One. The previous owner bought it during its restoration process there. it made its way to the east coast 3 years ago and came into my possession this past week.

Still getting used to it (brakes/clutch/steering are much heavier than im used to in my other car (Subaru)). even so, it's a blast to drive and definitely puts a smile on my face. I'm sure as time goes on I'll have plenty of questions as I better become attuned to the car and whatever quirks it might have. but so far, it's just great go wake up and find a DeLorean finally sitting in the garage.

thanks for taking time to read my 1st post!
-novadmc

[NightFlyer]

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the forum :thumbup:

[OverlandMan]

I've wanted a DeLorean since I was a kid. finally was able to Live the Dream this past week.
Picked up an 1981 manual with just over 14k miles on it.
The car was refurbished back in 2000 by DeLorean One. The previous owner bought it during its restoration process there. it made its way to the east coast 3 years ago and came into my possession this past week.

Still getting used to it (brakes/clutch/steering are much heavier than im used to in my other car (Subaru)). even so, it's a blast to drive and definitely puts a smile on my face. I'm sure as time goes on I'll have plenty of questions as I better become attuned to the car and whatever quirks it might have. but so far, it's just great go wake up and find a DeLorean finally sitting in the garage.

thanks for taking time to read my 1st post!
-novadmc

Welcome! Post some pics when you get a chance.

[djdogbone]

Awesome! Welcome to he group.

[Kenny_Z]

Welcome! We'd love to see some photos of your car. Congratulations!

[Mike F]

Congrats and welcome!

[SIMid]

Welcome and congrats!! :)

Remember -> Demands More Cash

[Dangermouse]

run you fool, run, don't do it...........

sorry, I mean "congrats and well done on your purchase" , assuming of course "picked up" isn't a euphemism for something else.......




And in answer to your future first question - "yes, really, it's meant to be like that" :)

[Domi]

Welcome to the forum and congratulation on your purchase ;)
Like the other said, could we see some picture of your DeLorean please?

[Silverbullet]

Welcome to the club.... A Delorean is a "Sports Car" ....cause you have to BE a sport to own one....

Craig

[novadmc]

thanks for the welcomes! here are some initial shots. I really need to get it out and photographed properly but wanted to get a few pics up for you guys today. i'm still amazed how clean the car is.

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the previous owner had a Bazooka EL subwoofer installed on the deck behind the seats. eventually ill be pulling that out. the engine and bonnet shots are from the previous owner. still need to get a good shot with my camera of those areas. the car fires up with no issues.

Here are a few notes on the car now that I've had it and driven in for a few days:

Has the typical walking cold idle till it warms up (no issues firing up though).
There's a squeal (not sure if its a pulley or just the belts) at start up that goes away immediately once its running.
I THINK it has the 80 amp alternator still so that will be upgraded. the label appears to be worn so its hard for me to tell currently (anyone recommend the 140amp over the 90amp? as a replacement)
relays were upgraded back in 2000 but the blue fan fail appears to have been replaced with 2 20amp fuses (ill get a pic of that later today hopefully).
the bonnet, door and engine compartment lights were all replaced with LEDs a few years back by the previous owner.
that said, all the electronics works great.

[novadmc]

for some reason i cant edit my previous post. but anyways, here's an updated shot of the engine bay:

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additionally, i've noticed the rear louver isnt 100% flush with the T-panel. is this common/fixable-adjustable/normal? not a huge deal, just something i noticed. some pics attached for reference.

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[Ron]

:welcome:

The time to edit a post is limited. The mods will be glad to help you if need be.

[opethmike]

A few pictures of the electrical compartment would be good to see too.

Congrats! I've had mine for seven years.

[JohnZ]

Sounds like you have a nearly-flawless car! According to your VIN, you should have the old Ducellier 80 amp alternator. As far as I know, 90 amp version should be adequate. I have the Ducey myself and I'm planning to replace it one day!

The louver is easily adjustable... anyway as long as it opens smoothly you should not worry! It's just a matter of visual impact then! :) The fan fail relay has been replaced with the most common double jumper in your case, so that is fine! Bitsyncmaster has a good solid state fan fail relay for sale if you want to go top class!

I too have a squeal (more kind of a... roar) when I turn on the car or accelerate, it must be an exhaust gasket... but I can't tell you about your noise! could be some belt as you said.

Keep up the good work!!

:rock_on:

[vps3922]

Wow, that sounds great! Your car is in way better shape than my was a while ago. I had to pour a good chunk of money into it and it is almost close of being what I pictured it would be.

But driving is a breeze, like you have probably experienced already. Your car seems to have been well pampered by the previous owner.

May I ask what price range it was in? I am not asking for the exact price (it is a very private piece of information, unless you want to share it, so a range is fine). I just want to see in which area my car would be if I want to ever sell it (not that I want to anytime soon).


Anyway: congratulations. You will find a lot of help and fun on this forum and people are great!

Thank you!

Cheers!

Volker

[novadmc]

A few pictures of the electrical compartment would be good to see too.

here ya go! not the cleanest i'd imagine, but it seems to be getting the job done :)

I've also included some shots of the front undercarriage. there's some mild rusting on the RH tow hook. but it shouldn't be anything some Naval Jelly and some POR-15 cant remedy.

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[DashEight]

Hello and welcome!

[Rich_NYS]

Looks great!

Congrats & welcome....

[novadmc]

thanks all. i'm slowly making my list of things to do to the car, simply to keep it as clean as it is. over the coming months or so my punch-list will probably be (in no particular order yet):

upgrade alternator (replace belts when doing so)
recondition/replace (after further review) front sway bar
replace front sway bar bushings/mounting hardware
recondition front tow hook
fix slight eyebrow on the RH side of the fascia and install aluminum bars to prevent future eyebrows
maybe look into upgrading relays from current ones.
replace/upgrade sound system (remove subwoofer and multi-CD changer)
clean brake calipers (gonna need a few cans of brake clean for that)
de-grease engine/trans (few more cans of brake clean probably)

^ with regards to the engine/trans. I did notice typical gunk buildup from years of use on the underside. when i got the car home i noticed a few drops of oil on the garage floor.
it seemed to be dripping from the bottom of the oil pan cooling fins. I cleaned up the bottom of the engine with brake cleaner and tightened all of the oil pan bolts i could get access to (some were looser than should be). since then and driving the car, i haven't seen any oil on the floor. the car wasn't driven much lately until i took ownership, so here's hoping it was at worst the paper gaskets just being a bit dry and needing to be worked by driving.

I'm sure as i start into these items in the coming months ill have plenty of questions as working on this car is a whole different beast compared to my daily driver (in many ways the DeLorean is simpler, yet in many ways the D is more foreign to me).
And then hope i

[Rich]

I THINK it has the 80 amp alternator still so that will be upgraded. the label appears to be worn so its hard for me to tell currently (anyone recommend the 140amp over the 90amp? as a replacement)


Welcome to DeLorean ownership. Nice-looking specimen you scored there.

About the ID of your alternator. Look at these two parts diagrams, note the slight diffs in the shapes of the Motorola and the Ducellier, then take a good look at yours and you'll know what you've got there. Another hint is the wire count but that's a tad more detailed to get into.

http://store.delorean.com/c-277-3-2-0-alternator-ducellier.aspx

http://store.delorean.com/c-340-3-2-1-alternator-motorola.aspx

Our Motorola 90A has been fine for 32 years running stock loads, stock fans. Never a single problem with it.

No comment on 140A units.

[Rich]

additionally, i've noticed the rear louver isnt 100% flush with the T-panel. is this common/fixable-adjustable/normal? not a huge deal, just something i noticed. some pics attached for reference.

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Nope, that's not normal. Find a way to get that down a few mm if you can. I think the hinge brackets are slotted a bit. The ones attaching to the louver.

Strictly cosmetic but if it's simple then fix it. Not sure why D1 would have left it that way.

See if you can get it down so it's no more than 1-2mm higher than the stainless all around.

[novadmc]

Welcome to DeLorean ownership. Nice-looking specimen you scored there.

About the ID of your alternator. Look at these two parts diagrams, note the slight diffs in the shapes of the Motorola and the Ducellier, then take a good look at yours and you'll know what you've got there. Another hint is the wire count but that's a tad more detailed to get into.

http://store.delorean.com/c-277-3-2-0-alternator-ducellier.aspx

http://store.delorean.com/c-340-3-2-1-alternator-motorola.aspx

Our Motorola 90A has been fine for 32 years running stock loads, stock fans. Never a single problem with it.

No comment on 140A units.


thanks for the references. Took some pics on my way out this morning. in comparing the diagrams to the one on the car, it looks like i do indeed have the 90 amp so i'm good to go there (needs some cleaning up though).

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[Jonathan]

Welcome! Your car looks nice. Quite soon after my car (4055 and mine is 3937). Similar chronology/snowflake that is :)

A couple comments on your posts/photos:

In your fuse and relay area, compare it to this:

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This schematic and many more can be found in the resources section on the forum here.

Your fuse #5 is a red 10 Amp and the schematic calls for a yellow 20 Amp. This is the dash instruments and service counter fuse. Not likely an issue to have a smaller one in there if it isn't blowing, but wanted to mention it.

From the same schematic, your circuit breaker #19 can be clipped down into the holder just like the one beside it (#20) is. One less thing rattling around.

On your louvre photos, you have a close up of the two 13 mm nuts/bolts holding it in place. This is where your adjustment is and it is not difficult, but you will need a helper more than likely. Louvre should open over the lip of the t-panel and not under. Yours looks to be opening over, but by perhaps too much. Trying the adjustment might have you discover something else that explains why it is so. There are bound to be a few surprises waiting for you on this car, and this could be one of them. Some surprises aren't really a big deal and others can be. Yet our cars come full of them regardless. That's just part of the ownership experience.

Have fun!!

[opethmike]

I see you have the stock door lock module. (The large, square black thing in your picture). I'd recommend either unplugging it, or replacing it with an upgraded modern unit.

[novadmc]

Welcome! Your car looks nice. Quite soon after my car (4055 and mine is 3937). Similar chronology/snowflake that is :)
On your louvre photos, you have a close up of the two 13 mm nuts/bolts holding it in place. This is where your adjustment is and it is not difficult, but you will need a helper more than likely. Louvre should open over the lip of the t-panel and not under. Yours looks to be opening over, but by perhaps too much. Trying the adjustment might have you discover something else that explains why it is so. There are bound to be a few surprises waiting for you on this car, and this could be one of them. Some surprises aren't really a big deal and others can be. Yet our cars come full of them regardless. That's just part of the ownership experience.


thanks for the adjustment info. took care of that last night. much better looking now :).
it appears it was done that way as in the proper position, the bolts of the louver arm rub (And squeak) against the weather stripping on the LH rear quarter panel. fixed that by shaving off a bit of the molding and sanding it smooth (older hard molding made for easy modification. still a tiny quick squeak just as the louver latches to the engine cover, but that i can live with (so long as it doesn't squeak when driving around :) )
I love little fixes like this. quick, simple and really help with the fine details of the car.

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[NightFlyer]

took care of that last night.

Much more better - good job :thumbup:

[Domi]

Congratulation, this is much better now :)

[Nicholas R]

Man I really wish I had a frame that was that clean...

Congrats and welcome!! :thumbup: