Very early VIN DMC on eBay possibly VIN 531!!

[Chris Burns]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-DeLorean-DMC-GULL-WING-NO-RESERVE/122845014924?hash=item1c9a222b8c:g:kvYAAOSwfVhaJd0 S&vxp=mtr

[David T]

It is REALLY an early car, it is advertised as a 1979! The vin is not all there so it is impossible to know just what it is. I would be skeptical of how early it is, since it is an automatic and they were almost non-existant among the very early cars. It is also a grey interior and most of the very early cars were black. Any buyer must be prepared to spend over $20K in parts alone since it is a "sleeper" and hasn't been run in many years so every system will need to be gone over. At least it looks like it is complete and was kept indoors but the pictures are not good enough to be sure of that. It may just have been cleaned up well. BHCC is going to buy it and resell it for $30,000. Whatever it is, it is an early car, it has a gas flap and the straight tail pipes.

[Ron]

Looks like it IS 531...
54819

[Silverbullet]

I have never seen a 1979 Delorean.....A whole 2 years before they were sold....

[SamHill]

Interesting since it was supposed to have used for crash testing. And fairly driven too.

http://deloreanwiki.wikidot.com/wiki:531

[Gary]

No vin tag in the door. Stitched binnacle. Lack of striker guides in the doors. Looks legitimate. 531 Could be the very first automatic D.

Curious there are no gear selector marks on the shifter.

[DMC-81]

Wow! I hope someone who realizes what it is, and will restore it correctly buys it.

[cravings]

it's already got a BHCC sticker in the window.

[Dangermouse]

This one and 537 surfaced briefly at BHCC about 3 years ago. All that has seemed to have happened to this one is that the window surround has been painted and they've thrown away the coolant tank cap for some reason.

They were asking $12750 back then and $11750 for 537. I wonder if they were bought by the same person?



EDIT" nevermind - 537 went to England.

[Nicholas R]

It is also a grey interior and most of the very early cars were black.

Huh?? Are we looking at the same car? Those pictures certainly look like a black interior to me.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Bd0AAOSwI59aJd0R/s-l1600.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/61cAAOSwyP5aJd0R/s-l1600.jpg

[David T]

Huh?? Are we looking at the same car? Those pictures certainly look like a black interior to me.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Bd0AAOSwI59aJd0R/s-l1600.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/61cAAOSwyP5aJd0R/s-l1600.jpg

Seats are black and the carpet is grey.

[DMC-81]

It is also a grey interior and most of the very early cars were black.


Seats are black and the carpet is grey.

David, are you saying that very early cars with "black interior" came with anything other than grey carpet (like perhaps black)? My early car has dark grey carpet. I understand that on later black interior cars, the shade of the grey carpet was lightened, but I'm not aware of another color for the carpets for black interior cars.

http://support.delorean.com/kb/a10/interior-colors-carpets-and-parts.aspx

[Nicholas R]

Seats are black and the carpet is grey.

Same as my car but I still consider it a "black interior".

[Michael]

So why do people go bonkers over a early vin anyway?

[Jonathan]

Huh?? Are we looking at the same car? Those pictures certainly look like a black interior to me.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Bd0AAOSwI59aJd0R/s-l1600.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/61cAAOSwyP5aJd0R/s-l1600.jpg


David, are you saying that very early cars with "black interior" came with anything other than grey carpet (like perhaps black)? My early car has dark grey carpet. I understand that on later black interior cars, the shade of the grey carpet was lightened, but I'm not aware of another color for the carpets for black interior cars.

http://support.delorean.com/kb/a10/interior-colors-carpets-and-parts.aspx


Same as my car but I still consider it a "black interior".

It is a black interior. And the carpeting was always grey, albeit lighter in later cars. Every other trim piece in the vehicle is black and not gray, including the binnacle, centre console, door trim, etc., etc. My car is the same at VIN 3937.

I would expect that David T. didn't look at more than the first picture or two and made a mistake. And now won't admit that he was wrong. Because he's never admitted he's wrong in the history of the forum. Stubborn? Yes. Humble? Nope.

[David T]

I may not always be right but I am never wrong. Nobody is always 100% correct. The neat thing about this is there is always someone who sees errors and calls them out. It is up to the reader to figure out what is correct and what isn't. I never claimed to be 100% perfect but it's nice to know there are some who think I did. This car is unusual in that it is a very early car and is an automatic. I don't understand what excites people about the early cars either. IMHO nothing particularly special about them. They do represent a certain period in the production of the Delorean and they have some unique attributes but that's about it. As for value, unless it was owned by someone prominent, it will be worth no more and no less than any other Delorean in similar condition.

[Shep]

I was expecting a totally different VIN format, huh. Federal law beginning in 1981 mandated a standardized 17-digit format. The SCEDT prefix is a result of the DOT's decision on how to designate it, but even the 1980-made cars had a 10 to 12 digit VIN that didn't even come close to resembling the modern ones. Wonder if being a DOT car meant it got VIN'd for the trip?


So why do people go bonkers over a early vin anyway?Richer history than a mid-to-late VIN that was made and sent out the door. Example: mine was a parts car before parts cars were cool (seriously, half my crap isn't original and went onto later VIN's). Which also means my car's a hipster and I owe it a punch in the face for that ;)

[DMC-81]

I may not always be right but I am never wrong.

David, you've stated that before, and what it means that when you are called out for your errors, you try to argue silly details like you meant the gray carpet when you called a black interior car gray. Surely a DeLorean guru who is never wrong knows the fine details in the DMC article on interior colors I linked to above.

I'm sure you realize this statement directly contradicts this one:


Nobody is always 100% correct.

And this:


I never claimed to be 100% perfect but it's nice to know there are some who think I did.

People think you claimed to be 100 percent perfect because you did again in the first sentence of your post, and your behavior in arguing details instead of simply admitting your error.

So which statement is accurate?

[SamHill]

Richer history than a mid-to-late VIN that was made and sent out the door. Example: mine was a parts car before parts cars were cool (seriously, half my crap isn't original and went onto later VIN's). Which also means my car's a hipster and I owe it a punch in the face for that ;)

Your car wears a beanie and a long beard.

[Shep]

Your car wears a beanie and a long beard.Not anymore. Already shaved its "Man Bun" off after I caught it vaping. I swear she jumps every time she hears the whir of an electric motor these days.

[WHO1DMC]

Well it went for $20'100.



Dave B.

[Shep]

See now I'm trying to figure out the history behind it. I don't know if it was a crash tested car, those were 515 and 517, but 531 is said to be an "Engineering car". The eBay auction calls it an "AC car" and lists most everything as an original part. "Engineering car" means it had a special purpose, I don't know what the "AC" designation means though. From the "It was a factory AC car... obviously requires service" line (or is that guy being an idiot and saying cars with factory air conditioning automatically need service?)

Of interesting note: "Clean Ohio Title" located in Palm Springs, California? VIN is clearly wrong, the ad lists it without the SCEDT prefix, I don't know how "clean" this title really is per se as a result, but small talk.

[Michael]

Guess it was another troll bidder or middle age wimp assclown who neglected to get permission from the wife before making that last second 2 wine cooler induced bid in between bouts of cruising backpage for local massages because the ice queen cut him off.

Anyway back up for sale again.

[opethmike]

Guess it was another troll bidder or middle age wimp assclown who neglected to get permission from the wife before making that last second 2 wine cooler induced bid in between bouts of cruising backpage for local massages because the ice queen cut him off.

Anyway back up for sale again.

That is the second funniest thing I've heard today, behind getting called good looking.

[Shep]

I think someone called him out on the year, or he got impatient with the $500 required after sale bit (good luck avoiding eBay fees!) Note how it now says 1981 and the VIN is 99999999999999999 and there's an explicit mention of it being a 1979 title. Oh, and who's the oblivious swine at eBay that failed to catch the all-9 VIN?! Can I have their job? I did, after all, make what is probably the world's first and only VIN fabricator for my old insurance job Select a car, generate a VIN. Really guys, that's an easy catch, the check digit's valid, but how do you fail to check beyond that?

New info in ad:

IN THE "BUYERS GUIDE TO DELOREAN AUTOMOBILIES" THIS CAR IS LISTED AS A "COMPANY CAR" AND WAS USED FOR EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND PASSIVE RESTRAINT TESTING - BUCK PENROSE. Passive restraint training AND a guy assigned to it has me curious. Was this guy a seat belt nay-sayer? Did he ride shotgun while the driver brake-checked constantly to prove a point? I honestly don't know, anyone have details?


THERE ARE SOME WHO SUGGEST THAT THIS PARTICULAR DELOREAN, WAS LIKELY NEVER TO HAVE BEEN APPROVED FOR SALE TO THE PUBLIC."Some"? Dude literally all, that's what "contractual obligation" means. They were illegal to sell until DMC went bankrupt. Do you even know anything about your own car?


THEREFORE AS A COLLECTABLE CAR, HAVING THIS PEDIGREE, IT IS AN GREAT INVESTMENT VEHICLE.What the hell kind of bullshit logic is this?! "Collectable"? "Pedigree"?! Go home, you're drunk. Maybe if you didn't treat it like the zit on your lower back, only doing something about it when it pops as you're about to lose your virginity at the ripe young age of 73, but even then, "company car" means squat both in terms of value AND collectability. Ask me how I know -- my value stems purely from condition, low miles, and heavy documenting of the restoration.

"Legend" or "Engineering car" is worth serious dough, but again, not that serious. $20k is VERY generous for a non-runner missing a few original valuable parts (grille might not have had a logo at that point!), and that's all this really is. Legend or Engineering, you're pushing $25k on a bad day. There's some history behind it, but if you want some history for a low price, do your legwork, find one that is a QAC car like mine was, spend a few years tracking down "correct" parts and finding mysterious things inside your car, it won't disappoint. I know 559 hasn't!