Bought a Project Car - Restoration of Vin 1800

[StainlessBullet]

Hey everyone! After going a year and a half without a DeLorean and going through DeLorean withdrawals as a result, I decided it was time to sell the Viper and get another D'.

Spent a few months searching for the "right" one for me. I knew I wanted an early car and it had to be a drivable project car. A car that I could work on, restore into "my" car and also be somewhat drivable so I could still enjoy the car on the days I just don't feel like wrenching. With the help of Darren here on the forums I found exactly what I was looking for.

Meet Vin 1800. June '81 Build, Black interior, 5-speed manual, gas flap hood, dark wheels.

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60226&d=1558968013

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60228&d=1558968056

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60227&d=1558968032

Unfortunately the car has a small dent on a quarter panel

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60232&d=1558968258

Frame is solid. Small amount of surface rust near the extension. That will be taken care of very soon!
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60229&d=1558968085

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60231&d=1558968199

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60234&d=1558968315

The seats are an interesting recover. Cloth and vinyl mix. Will be getting new leather eventually.

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60235&d=1558968315

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60225&d=1558967982

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60233&d=1558968258

Missing original spare and trunk panel has been cut around new fuel pump

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60230&d=1558968199

After a quick wash job got her loaded up and headed home! Truck didn't even notice it was back there lol

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60224&d=1558967938

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60223&d=1558967906


My overall first impressions of the car is that it's going to need ALOT of work. The previous owner said he had a local shop do most of the work on the car. I do know whoever worked on this thing in the past had no clue what to do and just did things half-assed. There are literally screws drilled into different things on the car instead of installing the correct way. The seat backs for one. The DMC logo side sills for another. The panel in the trunk above the fuel pump was cut to make room for the DMCH pump. It looks like a class A hack job lol. Aftermarket alarm system. Wires everywhere. ETC ETC ETC
With all that being said.... this car has alot of potential and I'm super happy with the purchase. The previous owner was very fair on the price and gave me quite a few new parts and misc paperwork and manuals etc.

Looking foward to posting updates of my progress in the future! Boy does it feel good to be back! lol

[Quinn]

I installed that DMCH fuel pump in my car and have the same issue with the cover not fitting. I'll have to hack it up at some point. Maybe with my Dremel tool, I can make it look halfway decent. Good luck with the project, looks like a good starting point.

[StainlessBullet]

I installed that DMCH fuel pump in my car and have the same issue with the cover not fitting. I'll have to hack it up at some point. Maybe with my Dremel tool, I can make it look halfway decent. Good luck with the project, looks like a good starting point.

Thanks! Yeah the way this cover was cut looks terrible. If it has to be cut for the pump, someone could have took their time and it could have been made to look a lot better.

[Ron]

Congrats!


Yeah the way this cover was cut looks terrible. If it has to be cut for the pump, someone could have took their time and it could have been made to look a lot better.
I haven't seen one that the correct orientation and a heat gun wouldn't take care of...

[DMC-81]

Congrats!


I haven't seen one that the correct orientation and a heat gun wouldn't take care of...

Congrats Nathan! Welcome back.

Just to add to this, sometimes attaching the bottom screws to the cover and then the top ones helps, because the bottom of the spare tire well has some give to it.

[JAZ_DMC]

Very cool! I'll look forward to following along. I'm a big fan of the early cars. I just bought VIN 952 a little over a month ago.

[Mark D]

Awesome car! Looks like you've definitely got projects to work on but overall pretty solid.

I'm also interested to hear what it was like owning a Viper for a couple of years. It's on my bucket list of cars to own but I'd probably have to sell my DeLorean to get one. Was it a worthwhile purchase and did you enjoy it for the time you had it?

[Domi]

Congratulation on your purchase, and good luck for the job you'll have to do.

[Iznodmad]

Congrats Nathan! I’m glad you and Scott could work out a deal. He texted me after y’all made the deal, figured you would eventually make a thread for it here. Can’t wait to see your progress with 1800!

[Patrick C]

I do know whoever worked on this thing in the past had no clue what to do and just did things half-assed. There are literally screws drilled into different things on the car instead of installing the correct way...The DMC logo side sills for another.

VIN 1880 says hello! And believe it or not, the screws in the DMC side sills are from the Quality Assurance Center. VIN 1880 had them as well, and upon replacing them with new sills, you can see how the plastic tabs on the bottom were redesigned from the early cars so they fit better.

[StainlessBullet]

Very cool! I'll look forward to following along. I'm a big fan of the early cars. I just bought VIN 952 a little over a month ago.

Thanks! I’ve always been a fan of the early cars as well. I’ve wanted one for quite awhile! Congrats on your purchase!


Awesome car! Looks like you've definitely got projects to work on but overall pretty solid.

I'm also interested to hear what it was like owning a Viper for a couple of years. It's on my bucket list of cars to own but I'd probably have to sell my DeLorean to get one. Was it a worthwhile purchase and did you enjoy it for the time you had it?

I absolutely loved my Viper. The car had unreal performance. I’ve been in many fast cars over my lifetime but the way the Viper delivered it’s power was unbelievable. The thing was a torque monster. It got a lot of attention everywhere I went. Random people come up to you all the time, kind of like another car I know of lol (just not as bad as a DeLorean). It was a very reliable car. I put 22k miles on mine during my ownership and a lot of those miles were very hard miles as I tracked the car in several races. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have more questions about them. I might be able to help answer some.


Congratulation on your purchase, and good luck for the job you'll have to do.

Thanks! I appreciate it!


Congrats Nathan! I’m glad you and Scott could work out a deal. He texted me after y’all made the deal, figured you would eventually make a thread for it here. Can’t wait to see your progress with 1800!

Thanks! I appreciate you helping me out. It’s exactly what I was looking for. Feels good to have one again!


VIN 1880 says hello! And believe it or not, the screws in the DMC side sills are from the Quality Assurance Center. VIN 1880 had them as well, and upon replacing them with new sills, you can see how the plastic tabs on the bottom were redesigned from the early cars so they fit better.

Interesting. I never knew that. I’ve also never had this early of a car before. My earliest one before this car was 2923 and it was an Aug build. I’m noticing a lot of issues on this car that my past three did not have, mainly fit and finish issues. But that’s the joys of an early car. It’s a love hate relationship LOL

[Hill Valley PD]

VIN 1880 says hello! And believe it or not, the screws in the DMC side sills are from the Quality Assurance Center. VIN 1880 had them as well, and upon replacing them with new sills, you can see how the plastic tabs on the bottom were redesigned from the early cars so they fit better.

VIN 2282 (July '81 build) also has those screws in the side sills. I learned at DMC Convention from DMC Employee Nick Sutton (such a nice man) that by around May/June they started to get things right with the workers and build quality of the cars. Then they brought in a bunch of additional workers around July when JZD wanted to increase production. New workers that got thrown on the lines without much training. July/August were the learning curve months. By September/October the quality was back up again. Honestly, it's been nearly 40 years, so issues with the early cars have been or can be addressed now. The most important thing is condition, and it seems like your frame is good , which puts you already ahead of the curve. I used to favor the latter cars until I started looking to buy and then the earlier cars started to appeal to me. My brain said later car, but my heart said early car haha. Plus, my wife liked the all black interiors best, so there you go! I purposely searched for one with black interior, gas flap hood, windshield antenna, and lighter wheels. Mike at DMC MW happened to have that exact combo come in, and I got it. Couldn't be happier. Enjoy, and congratulations!

[StainlessBullet]

VIN 2282 (July '81 build) also has those screws in the side sills. I learned at DMC Convention from DMC Employee Nick Sutton (such a nice man) that by around May/June they started to get things right with the workers and build quality of the cars. Then they brought in a bunch of additional workers around July when JZD wanted to increase production. New workers that got thrown on the lines without much training. July/August were the learning curve months. By September/October the quality was back up again. Honestly, it's been nearly 40 years, so issues with the early cars have been or can be addressed now. The most important thing is condition, and it seems like your frame is good , which puts you already ahead of the curve. I used to favor the latter cars until I started looking to buy and then the earlier cars started to appeal to me. My brain said later car, but my heart said early car haha. Plus, my wife liked the all black interiors best, so there you go! I purposely searched for one with black interior, gas flap hood, windshield antenna, and lighter wheels. Mike at DMC MW happened to have that exact combo come in, and I got it. Couldn't be happier. Enjoy, and congratulations!

Thanks! That explains why my Oct car had a much better fit and finish than this one. My doors are aligned terribly. Passenger door bumps the T-panel while opening. Doesn't want to shut properly. Drivers door is a little better but not by much. Very noticeable gap between drivers door and LF fender (gives the appearance of the door being sunken in near the front). Lots and lots of issues. With all that being said, I'm really enjoying wrenching on this car. lol

[StainlessBullet]

Cleaned out the gas tank of any old gas. I didn't think it was too dirty surprisingly. Added new fuel with a fuel treatment. Took my first 20min drive in the car yesterday. I didn't want to drive for too long or at high speeds because the car has an exhaust leak and the tires are in terrible shape. After the drive this is what I noticed,

The Good: Overall the car drives nicely. Holds a straight-line going down the road. Has good throttle response. Temp gauge works and fans kick on at proper temp. Gas gauge works and low fuel light comes on. Ride quality is smooth.

The Bad: Speedo is erratic. One min it shows proper speed and then the next the needle is bouncing 10mph to 15mph over or under correct speed. Brakes are terrible. While under braking my steering wheel vibrates. AC doesn't work and windows don't roll down (hotter than hell right now too lol). Oil pressure gauge isn't working and had oil covered all over the sender. Radio doesn't work but it's an aftermarket so I don't really care. Passenger brake light not working. Turn signal on passenger side doesn't work.

Overall I'm impressed with how well the car did. The engine started up and ran without issues whether engine was cold or hot. Next up on my to-do list is going to be exhaust manifold gaskets. I'm going to order the kit this week and hopefully within two weeks try to install them. I'll post another update soon!

[DMC-81]

Cleaned out the gas tank of any old gas. I didn't think it was too dirty surprisingly. Added new fuel with a fuel treatment. Took my first 20min drive in the car yesterday. I didn't want to drive for too long or at high speeds because the car has an exhaust leak and the tires are in terrible shape. After the drive this is what I noticed,

The Good: Overall the car drives nicely. Holds a straight-line going down the road. Has good throttle response. Temp gauge works and fans kick on at proper temp. Gas gauge works and low fuel light comes on. Ride quality is smooth.

The Bad: Speedo is erratic. One min it shows proper speed and then the next the needle is bouncing 10mph to 15mph over or under correct speed. Brakes are terrible. While under braking my steering wheel vibrates. AC doesn't work and windows don't roll down (hotter than hell right now too lol). Oil pressure gauge isn't working and had oil covered all over the sender. Radio doesn't work but it's an aftermarket so I don't really care. Passenger brake light not working. Turn signal on passenger side doesn't work.

Overall I'm impressed with how well the car did. The engine started up and ran without issues whether engine was cold or hot. Next up on my to-do list is going to be exhaust manifold gaskets. I'm going to order the kit this week and hopefully within two weeks try to install them. I'll post another update soon!


That sounds like a good first ride. :thumbup: Here are a couple related threads if they help:

Exhaust:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?14704-Refurbishing-stock-exhaust

A/C:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?15632-Refurbing-a-Very-Early-A-C-System

Cheers,

[StainlessBullet]

That sounds like a good first ride. :thumbup: Here are a couple related threads if they help:

Exhaust:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?14704-Refurbishing-stock-exhaust

A/C:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?15632-Refurbing-a-Very-Early-A-C-System

Cheers,

Thanks for the threads! They'll come in handy for sure.

I ordered a few parts and waiting on them to get here. A few of the parts were on back order and I didn't realize it when I placed the order. Told DMCH to go ahead and ship the parts that are in stock and I'll wait on the others. I'm anxious to start working on this thing!!

[DMC-81]

Thanks for the threads! They'll come in handy for sure.

I ordered a few parts and waiting on them to get here. A few of the parts were on back order and I didn't realize it when I placed the order. Told DMCH to go ahead and ship the parts that are in stock and I'll wait on the others. I'm anxious to start working on this thing!!

You're welcome. Glad to help. :thumbup:

[Hill Valley PD]

Thanks! That explains why my Oct car had a much better fit and finish than this one. My doors are aligned terribly. Passenger door bumps the T-panel while opening. Doesn't want to shut properly. Drivers door is a little better but not by much. Very noticeable gap between drivers door and LF fender (gives the appearance of the door being sunken in near the front). Lots and lots of issues. With all that being said, I'm really enjoying wrenching on this car. lol

Those issues can be adjusted, but I am not competent to do them. DMC MW adjusted mine. Do your doors have the sticker guides installed on them? It was another Quality Assurance Center fix.

[StainlessBullet]

Do your doors have the sticker guides installed on them? It was another Quality Assurance Center fix.

I'm not sure. Do you have a picture of what they look like? I've never adjusted doors on these cars before. Out of the four cars I have owned, only one had perfectly aligned doors that shut without having to slam them or without them catching somewhere. The doors on this car need adjustment worse than any I've ever seen before. I'm afraid to even open my passenger door as it keeps catching the T-panel and is very hard to shut.

[81dmc]

Thanks for the threads! They'll come in handy for sure.

I ordered a few parts and waiting on them to get here. A few of the parts were on back order and I didn't realize it when I placed the order. Told DMCH to go ahead and ship the parts that are in stock and I'll wait on the others. I'm anxious to start working on this thing!!

You may never get some of those "back ordered" parts. Hell, after 3 years, I still haven't gotten a glove box insert...

Good luck with the car and welcome to the quirkiness of the early vins.

[StainlessBullet]

Progress has been a little slow. Managed to do a little work to the car yesterday.

Removed the exhaust manifolds so I can replace the gaskets

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60450&d=1561073064
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60448&d=1561073035

This would definitely explain the terrible exhaust leak lol

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60451&d=1561073064

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60452&d=1561073090

Off to resurface these now and give them a new coat of manifold paint

Also started disassembly to freshen up the rear end

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=60449&d=1561073035