Are there any parts I should consider buying during the long-term hunt for a D?

[Echoplex]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the DMC community and am on the hunt for a DeLorean. Since the time frame for finding the "right" car for me is unknown (could be years, could be tomorrow), I want to ask if you think it would be prudent to purchase any replacement parts that may be dwindling in supply in the meantime. I'm thinking of parts that are commonly replaced in good condition vehicles, not fixer-uppers. If so, what, specifically, would you recommend buying now? I don't mind spending some money during the hunt to have some parts for "insurance".

I just received Espey's guide yesterday and will spend the next week familiarizing and educating myself on common problems and replacements.

Thanks so much for you help!

PS. I searched for a similar thread, but couldn't find one. If one exists, please let me know!

[Bitsyncmaster]

Your car to be may already have some of the common parts already installed. So it's hard to say what you would want to have unless it's common maintenance like oil filters, oil, air filter, brake fluid.

[Jonathan]

Welcome and good luck on your hunt.

The short answer to your question: No, don't buy anything.

Several reasons for that and here are a few of them.

I personally would not tie up any more of my money in something I may never use than I absolutely must. There are very few regular maintenance items that are of dwindling supply and it seems difficult to accurately guess which parts are about to be the next thing that no one has any more of. Especially when you factor in you don't have your car yet, nor know what it needs. Not every car needs the same things, not missing, damaged or broken items anyway. You may buy a car that's missing the passenger kneepad. Or you may not. So you might buy one as insurance for a couple hundred dollars and then never need it because you bought a black one and ended up getting a gray interior car.

If you think you might get an automatic transmission car, then I would suggest you buy one or more of Michael's replacement auto trans filters while they are still available. They are not a big investment ($46) and you could resell those if you didn't need them.

Any parts you acquire that you don't need to use are probably going to lose you money if the day comes you go to sell them online. There is little incentive for someone to buy a part from an unknown person on eBay or the like if it is something you can still get from the Houston webstore or any of the vendors. You would need the price for that part to go up a lot for you to still offer it at less than what it is being then sold for by DMC and still make money on it.

I have not been able to guess or figure out what are the parts that would make good sense to get a few of in advance of them going NLA or getting very expensive. It amazes me really that many parts for our cars are still priced so low. A replacement pair of NOS windshield wipers are $10. 10 BUCKS! That's pretty terrific when GM wanted over $90 for a replacement pair for my Pontiac a couple years ago. Or an NOS replacement toolbag for your jack is $12. Conversely, the lower engine cover grille retaining strip kit has gone up in price a lot recently. No idea why (in advance that is... other than just there aren't that many left I guess). That kit was $70-something a few years ago and now it is $340. Go figure.

Fluids, filters (not including the auto trans one I mentioned), belts, hoses, brake pads, etc. all seem to be readily available. Or maybe the price online turns to the dreaded $0.00 tomorrow. Not sure. This happened as a surprise to me with auto trans pan gaskets (the cork ones). Not the end of the world to use another option, but I had no idea they were about to go NLA. Without "inside info" looking into the bins of parts in Houston, I can't accurately predict which part is the next one you hope not to need.

Buying insurance parts that are known to be in short supply like SS panels, torsion bars, interior pieces, etc. will get very expensive very quickly. Or you can buy replacement ignition wires, brake lines, headlight kits, window switches, oil senders and the like and then when you go to need them, you're laughing. Especially if the cost of a new one went up a bunch. But sitting with a box or two of paid for but unused parts in the garage doesn't make good economic sense. I speak from experience on that as I still have probably $2,000 USD worth of parts I don't absolutely need for my car. I may need them in the future, but for the time being, I'd rather have not bought them.

I would find it just as likely for all of us to start needing something that previously no one ever needed. Mostly because it would be an item that reached it's end of life all at the same time for us. Could be one of the ignition or idle ECUs for example. Maybe some part that is going to fail based on age alone and not usage? Like some component inside it of plastic or rubber or whatever stops staying bonded together and then everyone needs the same part at the same time. I can't predict that and don't need to. Neither do you.

What I would suggest you buy though might be the workshop manuals or other books and literature. Sounds like you already have James Espey's book, that's a good start. You can read the manuals online for free if you really want to as well. I am just saying that without knowing what parts are about to get expensive or hard to find, I would warn against buying things for the heck of it. Life has a funny way of changing plans on any of us and having some of your funds sitting in a parts box you'll never need isn't ideal.

[Echoplex]

Thanks so much for the help! Being new to the DMC universe, I wasn't sure if there was a sense of urgency for something or if people would reply "You better go grab one of xxxx now before they are gone!". I'll hold off for now, though I cannot resist getting one of the NOS Craig Radios. They seem very expensive, but I have a sub-passion for analog tape devices (hence my handle), and a fully functional stock cassette deck is absolutely important to me.

Have a great week!

[Jonathan]

Hey, good call on the Craig radio. I hadn't thought of it in terms of how you might make a future DeLorean into the one you really want. Having the old school style stereo could be just that.

There are a couple options to get Craig radios and the like repaired or even modified to add an AUX IN jack. Dave Graham on here does so. Not sure if you'd have to have your own Craig "core" to start with, but getting at least the deck now regardless of condition could be a good idea. Maybe not a bad idea to consider an original non-DIN console bracket too. If you find a car with a new era stereo in it, the original bracket would likely either have been replaced or hacked up. The originals in good shape are not seemingly hard to find, but that could change of course, like the other parts mentioned earlier.

Some other things along those lines you might consider if they would let you make the car into the right one for you would be a luggage rack perhaps, or the wide stripes decal kit. Some of those original accessories are easy to find and others are not. If you really wanted a car with wide stripes, say, that might be a good investment to get now or at least keep your eye out for one and grab it when the price is right.

Maybe some of those other cosmetic upgrades too depending on your taste. SS bumper letters or door sill inserts, for example. Engine cover grills done in stainless is another or the SS label kit. Complete guess on whether any of those items start to become hard to find, but if you want to dress your future car up a certain way, that could be something to start your parts box with.