What easy and inexpensive upgrades/mods would you suggest for a new owner?

[AgentDL]

So now that I have my new DMC-12, I'm interested to know what kinds of easy and inexpensive things one can do to help jazz up the car a little bit, assuming one has access to basic tools and otherwise pretty much zero car knowledge. I am NOT a car guy, but I'd like to personalize mine a little bit without risking messing anything up.

Thoughts? :dunno:

Thanks in advance!
~
Doug

[David T]

So now that I have my new DMC-12, I'm interested to know what kinds of easy and inexpensive things one can do to help jazz up the car a little bit, assuming one has access to basic tools and otherwise pretty much zero car knowledge. I am NOT a car guy, but I'd like to personalize mine a little bit without risking messing anything up.

Thoughts? :dunno:

Thanks in advance!
~
Doug

First you have to decide if you want to do anything that would not be reversible. For instance, putting a side stripe on can be undone and not leave any holes or other marks. Drilling a hole to install an antennae is not easily undone. There are the cosmetic things and the mechanical things. Before spending time and money on cosmetics you should always do the things that will make the car more reliable and fun to drive. Get everything working as well as you can and then work on the cosmetic (less important) stuff. Also get it as clean as you can. After that you will have a better idea what you want to do. Besides, cleaning the car is not expensive and you get to spend quality time getting know the car better.

[AugustneverEnds]

If you plan on taking your car to shows, I'd recommend LED light bulbs in the doors. You can leave them up for hours without a dead battery :hihi2:

Practical stuff: New and improved headlight switch (if you still have the original)

Anything other than the standard H4 sealed headlight beams if you will be doing much night driving

I'll think of more in a bit.....

[AgentDL]

First you have to decide if you want to do anything that would not be reversible. For instance, putting a side stripe on can be undone and not leave any holes or other marks. Drilling a hole to install an antennae is not easily undone. There are the cosmetic things and the mechanical things. Before spending time and money on cosmetics you should always do the things that will make the car more reliable and fun to drive. Get everything working as well as you can and then work on the cosmetic (less important) stuff. Also get it as clean as you can. After that you will have a better idea what you want to do. Besides, cleaning the car is not expensive and you get to spend quality time getting know the car better.

Thanks for your insight! Car was restored by DMC-FL so I don't need to worry about prioritizing major reliability stuff at this time, and just looking for the fun bits. I get what you're saying though.

[Nicholas R]

Are you located in Florida?

[whocruiser]

If you're going to actually drive it regularly, install a coolant automatic air bleeding system, especially down here in the Florida heat. The cheaper & easier simple $20 engine-only one like this

31076

from John Hervey at http://www.specialtauto.com/delorean-parts/Keep-it-cool.html like I have on VIN1150 will get the job done but this more advanced $55 kit

31077

from DMC-Northwest http://www.delorean-parts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=DPNW&Product_Code=K1012DP-A&Category_Code=9475 will also add further hardware at the radiator up front as well, for more thorough & foolproof protection than the basic kit, which can admittedly mask some small system leaks. I wouldn't own a daily driver without one of these installed ;-)

And unless you're going for Concours originality, DMCFL will almost certainly have already replaced the stock and EXTREMELY failure prone plastic coolant overflow bottle with a metal one, if not, do so immediately, as it's only a matter of time before it cracks and bursts (usually at the worst time!)

[TTait]

I'll assume the car is then in very nice condition and fairly stock. You have all new hoses, belts, filters, brakes, rubber seals, relays and fuses etc. and are not trying to upgrade an otherwise excellent stock Delorean.

Convex side view mirrors is another high priority upgrade to consider... you have to drive defensively in a Delorean and the better you can see the faster you can get out of trouble.

Available from a couple sources - but take a look at http://www.deloreancarprojects.com/index-0.html

Not a well known website that you would find in your first days of ownership, but it represents some well respected sources of nice upgrades.

Congrats!

Tom

[Rich]

Congrats on your acquisition!

I'll set aside the usual new-owner safety-reliability-driveability projects since you specifically are looking for ways to jazz up and personalize the car. Without, as you say, screwing anything up. I take that as being only reversible mods/upgrades.

Some of these already came up - I don't happen to use any of these but have seen them on some Ds. Nothing here much over $500ea.

- Upgraded headlights. Some folks think the halo look is cool. Easy to put in and then remove later. Whatever you install do make sure to aim them. And don't screw up the fascia.
- LED footwell lighting
- Window tint
- Sound system
- The ever-popular flux capacitor you can perch on the parcel tray at shows (these used to show up on eBay from time to time)
- Lambswool seat covers
- Aftermarket steering wheel
- Machined/exposed shift gate (5-sp only)
- Shifter knob
- Stainless/see-thru air intake box
- Remote locking kit
- Door launchers/poppers
- Suspension kit (OK, this will run >>$500 to do it right)

[Jonathan]

So now that I have my new DMC-12, I'm interested to know what kinds of easy and inexpensive things one can do to help jazz up the car a little bit, assuming one has access to basic tools and otherwise pretty much zero car knowledge. I am NOT a car guy, but I'd like to personalize mine a little bit without risking messing anything up.

Thoughts? :dunno:

Thanks in advance!
~
Doug


Thanks for your insight! Car was restored by DMC-FL so I don't need to worry about prioritizing major reliability stuff at this time, and just looking for the fun bits. I get what you're saying though.

- DMCH floor mats
- USB charger flux capacitor/Diamond Select FC for sitting on parcel shelf/cubby hole door FC
- disco ball/fuzzy dice/DMC Christmas ornament hanging from rearview mirror?
- sheepskin seat covers
- stainless steel DELOREAN bumper letters
- stainless steel door sill inserts (full outline or just the DMC part)
- headlight covers (Lund?)
- DeLorean hood logo (for hood or glovebox lid); Handling by Lotus emblem as well possibly for glovebox lid
- side stripes kit or luggage rack (some assembly required)
- replacement exhaust tips (may require welding to install)
- replacement chrome/shiny lug nuts
- stainless steel and DMC etched deice shield (located in engine bay above throttle spool)
- stainless steel and transparent air intake housing (some assembly required AKA not a difficult replacement, but not just a stick it on improvement)
- stainless steel coolant reservoir replacement, but this is messy and not in line with your CTQs above. Nice appearance piece though.
- LED lights in doors as already mentioned. Better for battery life at shows when doors are open and if going snazzy, the blue ones seem to look nice. You'll likely need to replace the little plastic amber/red coloured filter in addition to the bulb.
- cupholders added somewhere. There are several options and most are crap unfortunately.
- MOMO or replica steering wheel replacement with DMC logo in centre pad. Personally, I have seen a couple of these and think they look very nice. Just my opinion though.
- dead pedal addition kit
- stainless steel lower engine cover grilles replacement kit (not difficult, depending on rust)
- replacement 1981/2/3 labels kit for any of yours that aren't there or went missing. Easy and nice to have them in place and looking new. There is also a stainless steel version of the labels kit but I have not seen one in person myself to tell you much about it.
- replacement bulkhead connectors cover in back corner (passenger side) of engine bay. New and good condition plastic one or stainless steel replacement.
- ballast resistor stainless steel cover (cosmetic primarily). Not sure where this went as there was a concern with trapping heat. They did look nice though.
- DMCH fuel mixture adjustment screw plug. $8 item that looks nicer than a golf tee stuck in there.
- Seatbelt bolt hole covers located on outside of each door, underneath sill. The covers sometimes fall off and you can see the rusty bolt when you step back a bit from the car. Covers are cheap and easy to cover the end of the bolt. Those same covers fit well on top of the front shock tower bolt that is under your trunk carpet. Purely cosmetic with zero functionality. Not applicable if you have a strut tower reinforcement bar installed.

...And that's all I have to say about that. :) Have fun.

[AgentDL]

You guys are AWESOME!!! Lots of cool little projects in here. Thanks!

[David T]

You guys are AWESOME!!! Lots of cool little projects in here. Thanks!

Back-up cables to open the trunk and engine cover
Mod to turn off the console light
Blinky side markers
Rear 3rd taillight
Battery master switch

[OverlandMan]

If your fuel lines are original, I'd suggest replacing ALL of them along with the rubber at the accumulator and the tank. Worth doing the fuel filter while all the lines are off.

Avoid fire hazards and do this if you're unsure.

[AgentDL]

If your fuel lines are original, I'd suggest replacing ALL of them along with the rubber at the accumulator and the tank. Worth doing the fuel filter while all the lines are off.

Avoid fire hazards and do this if you're unsure.

Excuse my ignorance, but I find it hard to believe that replacing the fuel lines is easy to do for someone with no car knowledge and access to basic tools only (as in, I have a $15 tool set from Walmart in my utility closet). Am I wrong?

[Jonathan]

Excuse my ignorance, but I find it hard to believe that replacing the fuel lines is easy to do for someone with no car knowledge and access to basic tools only (as in, I have a $15 tool set from Walmart in my utility closet). Am I wrong?

No, you're not wrong.

From what you've described about where your interests lie and your skills or tools, I would not concern yourself with this for the time being. If your car came from DMCFL and has their workmanship and blessing, then put the fuel lines work out of your mind for now and perhaps circle back to it in a couple years.

Yes, it could be an easy job. For some, not all. It can also be a job that's easy to make mistakes and not a job you want to get your feet wet on. Literally or figuratively. Start with changing out your own air filter when the time comes and work up in complexity from there.

There are a whole host of technical improvements to the car mentioned in this thread for you, but that isn't what you asked about if I am reading things correctly. Most everything here mentioned are good ideas or improvements to the car/your car/any car, but that's another subject than the one you asked about. Like I said, if DMCFL got you on your way, you're in good shape for the time being. Address little things to begin with and work your way up. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, that's fine. Take the car back to them and have them get it done. There's no shame or harm in having someone else maintain bigger things/all things on your car for you. Everyone has a different comfort level or idea or budget on how to enjoy their ownership experience. And only you get to pick what yours is.

[Denverdelorean]

While you're fiddling with the fuel lines, just go ahead and swap in a new engine.

Joking aside. I am sure the fuel system was checked by DMCFL as part of getting the car ready for you. I am sure your car 'needs' nothing and you are just looking for fun bits to install or upgrade.

stick with interior add ons and things like stainless steel warning labels and stuff. Even the coolant bleed system is not something i would tackle if you are not comfortable with tools.

[OverlandMan]

Man you guys are kinda douchey... I said if his fuel lines are original. If the car came from a reputable DMC dealer then he's most likely ok... but you can't be too cautious here.

I'm speaking from experience as I had a small engine fire a year ago.

I was just trying to help... but yea, go ahead and get floor mats and a new stereo cause that's more important.

Good Luck!

[MML]

One simple little thing I did was repaint all the black bits like vents, rub strips, bumpers etc. It made a major difference. If your car is newly refurbished this may have been already done, though!

[AgentDL]

Man you guys are kinda douchey... I said if his fuel lines are original. If the car came from a reputable DMC dealer then he's most likely ok... but you can't be too cautious here.

I'm speaking from experience as I had a small engine fire a year ago.

I was just trying to help... but yea, go ahead and get floor mats and a new stereo cause that's more important.

Good Luck!

I appreciate your input, but it's totally off the reservation based on my abilities (zero car knowledge and no tools) and what I asked for (easy things to jazz the car up without the potential to really screw anything up). I mentioned in my second post that I bought a completely sorted car from DMC-FL and that I'm not concerned with addressing any reliability issues... Which is why this thread is strictly about the fun bits. Nobody's saying that they're "more important." Thanks though.

[Denverdelorean]

Man you guys are kinda douchey... I said if his fuel lines are original. If the car came from a reputable DMC dealer then he's most likely ok... but you can't be too cautious here.

I'm speaking from experience as I had a small engine fire a year ago.

I was just trying to help... but yea, go ahead and get floor mats and a new stereo cause that's more important.

Good Luck!


Stereo installation isn't too easy either :-)

[AgentDL]

Stereo installation isn't too easy either :-)

Oh snap! :nana2:

[refugeefromcalif]

I mentioned in my second post that I bought a completely sorted car from DMC-FL and that I'm not concerned with addressing any reliability issues...

Does this mean you bought a premium car from DMCFL with a 1 year warranty?

BTW, Welcome to DeLorean ownership and the forum! :welcome:

George

[AgentDL]

Does this mean you bought a premium car from DMCFL with a 1 year warranty?

BTW, Welcome to DeLorean ownership and the forum! :welcome:

George

Thanks George! Tony @ DMC-FL and I agreed that it wasn't necessary for me to drop an extra $5K on a "certified" car since I live close enough to flatbed the car over there if there are any issues.

[mluder]

Honestly?

I would do nothing at all for the first 6 months...
If you drive it regularly over that period of time the car will probably present you with enough things to repair. It could be nothing goes wrong and then you're free to do whatever you want. However, if something does go wrong you'll be glad you didn't wast time and money installing a third break light or dead man pedal. I know you said it's got a warranty but...

At the same time - over that 6 month period you will come up with all kinds of "I wish the car had..." ideas. As with anything - you should live with it for a bit before trying to figure out what you want to change/add/eliminate.

Congrats on becoming an owner.

[Citizen]

What easy and inexpensive upgrades/mods would you suggest for a new owner?

One thing I thought of that is easy, inexpensive, and something a new owner could do is..........[wait for it]..........join the DOD (http://www.citizenkidd.com/dmc/pages/dod.asp) !

:)

Thomas

...

[TTait]

Make sure you have an owners manual, a service manual, tech manual, wiring diagrams, and recall/update notices - most of these are available electronically on the resources section of the site.

For fun, consider getting the explode-a-view poster available from a few sources - very nice and informative. Good for teaching others about your unique new car.

[Shep]

Bumping this out of curiosity -- what mods did you decide to work on???

Blinker mod is a popular one, and is a GREAT intro to working with your car's electronic system. Get a few scotchlok connectors before you start to make things easy:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41WttNxCnmL._SY300_.jpg
Any generic will work too. I know Radioshack sells them in their electrical components section, I believe Lowe's and Home Depot do too if you know where to look. These are also incredibly useful for third taillight mods and other electrical projects. Only requires wire and pliers to use. Piece of cake! :)

[AgentDL]

Bumping this out of curiosity -- what mods did you decide to work on???
I decided that mluder's advice in this thread was the best:


I would do nothing at all for the first 6 months...
If you drive it regularly over that period of time the car will probably present you with enough things to repair. It could be nothing goes wrong and then you're free to do whatever you want. However, if something does go wrong you'll be glad you didn't wast time and money installing a third break light or dead man pedal. I know you said it's got a warranty but...

At the same time - over that 6 month period you will come up with all kinds of "I wish the car had..." ideas. As with anything - you should live with it for a bit before trying to figure out what you want to change/add/eliminate.

That being said... 6 months to see what goes wrong? Try 6 days! My parking brake cables disengaged from the yoke, so I've spent a few hours over the past few days dealing with that. Thread on that here. (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10817-Parking-brake-cable-woes)

As for non-essential non-urgent mods, the first few things on my radar are:

Install radio in the cubby to use aux jack to listen to music from my iPhone
Replace interior and door bulbs with LED's
Install door launchers


Thanks for your input on the blinker mod. :thumbup:

[MML]

Replace interior and door bulbs with LED's
[

That's a great five minute job. It drastically cuts down battery drain if you leave the doors open for extended periods of time.

[AgentDL]

That's a great five minute job. It drastically cuts down battery drain if you leave the doors open for extended periods of time.

Can you point me to any step-by-step instructions, including what to buy, etc.?

[Shep]

Can you point me to any step-by-step instructions, including what to buy, etc.?For the door lights, the directions are fairly straightforward, but here goes:

Each door light has its own housing. You can either pull it out entirely, or go the "easy" route (which is what I did). The easy route is simply finessing the black rubber around the lens enough to get the lens itself out. Start on a corner with a seam -- that way, if it tears along the seam, it's not really an issue. Once you get the lens out, the bulb can be removed by simply pulling it out -- no twisting required! Might need to rock it back and forth in the socket a bit to sort of "wiggle" it out, but I would NOT try to just pull it out in one go if it doesn't come out easily. Wiggle it back and forth, and it'll come out. Then you swap in the LED's!

As far as what to buy, it's all a matter of preference. I bought some of Tomcio's units, but he has since sold out of them. The "master guide" so to speak of DeLorean LED's is here (http://delorean2109.blogspot.com/2011/07/going-100-leds-on-your-car-is-good-idea.html), maintained by Ozzie. It's a long post, but look for "Wedge bulbs" or "door lights" in that article and you'll find it. It's got a wealth of information in it about converting your DeLorean to run on all LED's.

One very important note about LED's: not all units are the same. The "D" in "LED" stands for "Diode", which means it only lets current flow through one way. Some units (such as this one (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10602-Side-Marker-Blinker-LED-s) for the side markers) are "bi-polar", i.e. they have special circuitry in addition to the light to reverse the current direction automatically. Many do not, but fear not, all this means is that if it doesn't light up when you plug it in, just pull it out, swap it around, and try again. Run-of-the-mill LED's will only work when plugged in one way. In the case of the door lights, there is no real benefit (nor drawback either!) to having one vs. the other, but for the side markers especially, having "bi-polar" LED's means you can do the blinker mod and still have it work :)

EDIT:
Almost forgot, it never hurts to disconnect the battery PRIOR to doing any electrical work! Just so you don't blow a fuse or accidentally short something out. Might seem like a hassle, but it's worth it. For the door lights though, just disconnect one of the wires going to the opposite side of the plunger. Driver's side has two plungers, passenger side has one plunger. If you get the "right" one, the door lights will turn off, so you can just leave it disconnected for the job. Good luck!

[David T]

Bumping this out of curiosity -- what mods did you decide to work on???

Blinker mod is a popular one, and is a GREAT intro to working with your car's electronic system. Get a few scotchlok connectors before you start to make things easy:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41WttNxCnmL._SY300_.jpg
Any generic will work too. I know Radioshack sells them in their electrical components section, I believe Lowe's and Home Depot do too if you know where to look. These are also incredibly useful for third taillight mods and other electrical projects. Only requires wire and pliers to use. Piece of cake! :)

Please don't use those things. Yes, they are quick, easy and cheap. The downside, the steel blade inside rusts and causes bad connections. Any moisture and they will rot the wiring.

[mluder]

I decided that mluder's advice in this thread was the best:



That being said... 6 months to see what goes wrong? Try 6 days! My parking brake cables disengaged from the yoke, so I've spent a few hours over the past few days dealing with that. Thread on that here. (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10817-Parking-brake-cable-woes)



Welcome to DeLorean ownership... :wave2:

The other Law of Ownership you will eventually run into states that "In the process of fixing a singular item you will inevitably accidentally break or lose of at least 2 additional items."

BTW - I don't recall... Does your factory radio work? If so there's an FM Modulator that you can connect inline to the antenna lead. It works much better than the stand alone modulators because it interrupts the antenna feed and sends the radio signal directly to the radio. I have this kit and it works pretty well. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCOSCHE-FMMOD02-UNIVERSAL-FM-MODULATOR-FOR-IPOD-MP3-/360628243148?pt=US_FM_Transmitters&hash=item53f71e4acc
If your antenna is in the rear pontoon then there's an antenna coupling location in the compartment under the parcel shelf behind the driver's seat. All you need to do is provide power and ground - also locally available and you're set.

Of course this doesn't increase the power output of the factory stereo but its a cheap and easy remedy.

[Shep]

Please don't use those things. Yes, they are quick, easy and cheap. The downside, the steel blade inside rusts and causes bad connections. Any moisture and they will rot the wiring.Precisely why they make a good intro, not a good long-term solution. I have quite a few in my taillight wiring setup (before I really knew electronics), and am going through them to properly solder them in the coming days, now that I can successfully wield a soldering iron without burning a hole in my skin. :)

Although they're not all steel, are they? I'm fairly certain I have only seen a few very old ones rust on me, most of the time they're perfectly fine years later with no rust at all when broken apart (I say this on unrelated family projects, not on my DeLorean -- some dating back before I was born!). Could be mistaken though, but at least in my experience, they're a good interim solution until you have the know-how to wire it up correctly. Good call on the disclaimer though! ;)

[Nicholas R]

Please don't use those things. Yes, they are quick, easy and cheap. The downside, the steel blade inside rusts and causes bad connections. Any moisture and they will rot the wiring.

I have to admit, I agree. Also, if you don't size the size of the connectors to your wire gauge, you can end up slicing through some of the wire strands inside, or have poor contact. Truthfully, nothing beats a soldered connection with heat shrink. If I'm in a situation where I have to use connectors, it's almost always crimped and soldered spade connectors, or at worst, butt splices. For testing or temporary installations I'll use wire nuts but that's only if I know it's getting removed or made permanent in the future.

[Rich_NYS]

Can you point me to any step-by-step instructions, including what to buy, etc.?

This looks like a pretty good video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGvm3tSMCw0#t=153

I bought my LED kit from DMCMW....

[vps3922]

Hi, I can add my 5 cents to it. I exchanged all light bulbs in my car to LED (with the exception of the battery light and headlights). I followed this (http://delorean6575revisited.blogspot.ca/2013/07/upgrading-to-led-lights-and-dealing.html) and this (http://delorean2109.blogspot.ca/2011/07/going-100-leds-on-your-car-is-good-idea.html) blog.

I think that it is always a good idea to take the load of the battery of an old car and LEDs are the way to go. But this is no cheap thing if you buy all from SuperbrightLEDs (which I did). But this is not my point in this post.

I recommend to enforce your taillight sockets for your bulbs like it is described in the lower part of the first blog I mentioned. I had to pick them up on a vacation trip to the US, because they could not source these kind of screws in Canada, and it was totally worth it. You get those screws and nuts in nearly every Radio Shack or you can order them and it is a very cheap update. Old taillight sockets have sometimes loose sockets or bad connections. These little screws will take care of that and they will hold your heavier LEDs (once you decide to do this upgrade) in place very well.

Just an idea.

[88KPH]

First spend $300 on a nice socket/drive/allen-key set and torch. Only one way to learn.