Need some advice on what to do with 10524

[DeloreanDrew]

Over the past year or so i had been looking into buying a low end, but running project Delorean. I found one listed for sale in running shape, Vin 10524, and purchased it. Seller there did mention the frame having some rust but said it was repairable. I had the car shipped from out of state to here where i live in Texas, which in itself took two months, and get a better look at thr frame in person. 70-80% of the frame is rusted and the entire left rear has fallen away. Im just not sure what to do at this point, i definitely didn't have changing out a frame in mind... my local mechanic had suggested possibly using a tube frame to repair the rear, but the rest of the frame is in such poor shape... Any advice on swapping out a frame or possibly repairing the one still on the car?

[Lwanmtr]

Ouchie..Sounds like he either didnt know anything about the car or was bs'n' ya.

Im not an expert on frames of anything, but my thoughts would be to get a frame thats in good condition...if you start making changes like tube frame replacement, the I'd think you would have to modify more than what its worth and could cost more than just replacing.

If you got pics, im sure it would help people be able to form better thoughts, opinions, etc (plus we all like to look at pics)..

[Nicholas R]

It's hard to make an assessment without pictures, but from your description it sounds like you need a new frame; no way around it.

[DeloreanDrew]

Ouchie..Sounds like he either didnt know anything about the car or was bs'n' ya.

Im not an expert on frames of anything, but my thoughts would be to get a frame thats in good condition...if you start making changes like tube frame replacement, the I'd think you would have to modify more than what its worth and could cost more than just replacing.

If you got pics, im sure it would help people be able to form better thoughts, opinions, etc (plus we all like to look at pics)..


It's hard to make an assessment without pictures, but from your description it sounds like you need a new frame; no way around it.

My phone was dead when we had it up on the rack so i had to dig up the other pictures i had saved to my computer.

52125
this is the worst of it, the rear left hook area is completely gone

52126
opposite side isnt as bad, but still has rust

52127
center of the frame is actually fine but front isnt. massive holes in lower part, leaving only the epoxy in some parts...

So yeah, currently looking for a frame. If anyone knows where to source one please drop me a line. Im in north Texas so something close would be nice...

[David T]

As bad as it looks, it is actually repairable. If you do a frame swap it becomes a bigger job than you originally intended. You just don't move 30 + year old parts over. Hoses, rubber bushings, frozen and broken bolts will all have to be repaired or replaced. Then the parts will look bad on the nice frame so now you are stripping and painting. It will take a lot longer and cost a lot more than you figured. The frame is made out of pieces of 16 gauge mild steel. You cut the rotten sections out, cut up pieces to fit and weld them in. To do a frame swap you have to find one, pay to get it, pay shipping and then probably do some repairs on it anyway. Find a good welder locally who would do it. The materiel costs to repair your frame are insignificant. It is all labor and time. What you have is pretty typical for a car that was left outside, probably on dirt, for a long time. The front crumple zone and rear engine cradle rot away. Get a Workshop Manual and check out R:02:02-:03 for frame dimensions so the car will drive straight when you are all done. If this job is too big for you, sell the car now BEFORE you put any more money into it and go find a better one. Hard truth but better to face it now rather than 1/2 way in and you run out of money and patience.

[DeloreanDrew]

As bad as it looks, it is actually repairable. If you do a frame swap it becomes a bigger job than you originally intended. You just don't move 30 + year old parts over. Hoses, rubber bushings, frozen and broken bolts will all have to be repaired or replaced. Then the parts will look bad on the nice frame so now you are stripping and painting. It will take a lot longer and cost a lot more than you figured. The frame is made out of pieces of 16 gauge mild steel. You cut the rotten sections out, cut up pieces to fit and weld them in. To do a frame swap you have to find one, pay to get it, pay shipping and then probably do some repairs on it anyway. Find a good welder locally who would do it. The materiel costs to repair your frame are insignificant. It is all labor and time. What you have is pretty typical for a car that was left outside, probably on dirt, for a long time. The front crumple zone and rear engine cradle rot away. Get a Workshop Manual and check out R:02:02-:03 for frame dimensions so the car will drive straight when you are all done. If this job is too big for you, sell the car now BEFORE you put any more money into it and go find a better one. Hard truth but better to face it now rather than 1/2 way in and you run out of money and patience.

I currently have the car at a friend's shop, we were thinking about taking the body off to get a better idea of what would need to be replaced. I can weld and have welded stuff much worse than this, but this would definitely be an undertaking haha. He has a plasma cutter and a bunch of other toys to do the job, but he was questioning repairing it himself, though hes never worked with a Delorean before. From what we can tell, the upper parts of the frame are in good condition since theyre not exposed like the bottom parts are, but the closer you get to the bottom, the more rot there is. Im just worried about getting the frame completely rust free, I mean what about parts I cant just weld up like the spring mounts up front? I had an old mustang that we used liberal amounts of rust restorer/sealer on parts of it we knew we couldnt replace easily, would that work with a Delorean? Thanks for the input though, I had the same thoughts about swapping the frame completely, alot of work and breaking parts...

[delgato]

I took a welding class to learn the basics and just dug into it.

Like Dave said doing a frame off and getting everything taken apart is a big task. It was my plan to do that so I had that thought in my head already. Even then, it is a bigger job than I had anticipated. However, I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My frame is complete now and soon the suspension will be on. From the ground up the car will be fresh. It's a good feeling.

I made and welded over 20 different pieces of metal to my frame. Once you break it down to smaller chunks it becomes less daunting.

As Dave said the frame is made of many parts welded together of 16 gauge steel. That is easy material to get and to work with. Welding isn't too hard once you learn a bit and do it a few times. The grinding will take more time than the actual welding.

It is up to you how you want to proceed. I say get in there and get dirty. You will get to know your car intimately and become a expert in no time. Or you could get rid of this one and get another. I heard DMC is making new ones now. :biggrin: