VIN chronology differences

[mike123]

I often find myself overwhelmed by all of the variations of this car during its short production run. I thought it might be useful to collect the differences by VIN and then I could make some sort of spreadsheet or simple web form where one could look up a given VIN and see all of the stock differences of that given car.

I've compiled the list below by scanning through the DeLorean Buyer's Guide book, but I know there are a bunch more (like the door handle strap) which others might know. Please feel free to respond in the thread and I'll update this top post with all additional info. After a few weeks I'll see if I can make a handy way to look things up for any VIN input.

PS - sorry for the need to scroll way down to see the table, I am not sure why that is happening!

starting at VIN...Description
0glossy fascia finish
3600matte fascia finish
0grooved hood
10001flat hood with emblem
0gas flap with locking fuel filler cap
3199no gas flap; no locking fuel filler cap
0dark gray painted wheels, gray plastic center cap
1884silver wheels with black plastic center cap
0black door lock cylinders with different key for doors, ignition (and fuel filler cap), and storage cubby
4200silver with black outline door lock cylinder; key matches ignition and storage cubby
0windshield with integrated antenna
2712windshield with no antenna
0black interior has coarse charcoal carpet; gray interior has coarse light gray carpet
10579all interior carpet is smooth light gray
0auotmatic has plain shifter handle
4837automatic has angled shifter handle with DMC logo tag
0Craig radio, separate green LED clock
6159Craig radio with clock; no separate LED clock
10304ASI radio with clock; no separate LED clock
0leather-wrapped binnacle
700vinyl-wrapped binnacle
0coil cover has no extra strap
11763coil cover has an extra rubber strap holding it in place
080-amp Ducellier alternator
453990-amp Motorolla alternator
0original otterstat positioning
1234new otterstat positioning
0fuel sending unit miscalibrated with gauge; fuel tank never reads 'full'
5238fuel gauge can properly read 'full'

[Timeless]

My car is after 6159 and has console clock.

[Rich]

It's a nice idea. The Buyer Guide is a good start.

Assuming nobody has made a tool like you propose already here are at least two other references you might find useful:

The Millenium Concours Handbook (https://www.europartsinc.com/dmc/DeLorean_Millennium_Concours_Handbook.pdf) - includes many specific references to equipment changes. It says at least one of the changes, the 2-key to 1-key change per p.10, starts at a different VIN than your draft table says. I didn't compare your table to any of the other changes.

The Texas DeLorean Club VIN History (http://www.citizenkidd.com/dmc/pages/vin.aspx) page - has good general information about how the VINs were assigned, including the VIN ranges by month although that's not part of your main goal.

[mike123]

Timeless, is there a clock on your radio in addition to the standalone clock? The Councours manual wording makes me think there's a big chunk of VINs that have both.

Rich, thanks for that link! There is some overlap with the buyer's guide, but seems like a good amount of unique info in each. Looks like the Buyer's Guide was involved in that Councours manual.

On a side note, I chuckle that one loses points for having fuel lines that aren't original. A literal pyrrhic victory, perhaps!

EDIT: apparently I cannot update the original post with the additional Concours info, but here it is below. Will merge it all together later.

0no footrest/pedal
10001have a footrest/pedal
0door pull strap wrapped around grab handle with D-ring
5993door pull strap has its own hole in the door trim
0two-piece rear side panel bumper
6093one-piece rear side panel bumper
0metal door latch striker guide
11341plastic door latch striker guide (or metal in some cases)
0side mirrors not edge-finished
5930side mirrors are edge-finished

[Ron]

The parts manual might be another good reference for you. The right hand column notes changes by VIN.

[mike123]

Thanks Ron! I found a PDF that I could download. The parts manual isn't super specific about the descriptive differences in many of these cases, so I've noted the VIN changeover but will need to fill in the descriptions of the changes later, as I learn more or hear from others. Here's what I've added that was in the parts manual but not the buyer's guide nor the concours handbook:

0original battery bulkhead assembly
4240different battery bulkhead assembly
0original drive flange
2680different drive flange
0original speedometer cable
5179longer (?) speedometer cable
0original climate control knob panel
1964different climate control knob panel
0original door handle support brackets
5993different door handle support brackets
0original frunk hinge
1302different frunk hinge
0original headliners and visors
1792different headliners and visors

[Timeless]

Timeless, is there a clock on your radio in addition to the standalone clock? The Councours manual wording makes me think there's a big chunk of VINs that have both.
I cannot advise since the original radio was replaced with upgraded unit by DMCH and was in the car when I purchased it.

[David T]

The service bulletins also indicate some of the running changes. In your spreadsheet you should reference where you got the information for each change and if it has been validated.

[AugustneverEnds]

DeLoreans, truly stainless steel snowflakes!

[mike123]

Timeless, got it, thank you. I'll keep digging on this!


The service bulletins also indicate some of the running changes. In your spreadsheet you should reference where you got the information for each change and if it has been validated.

Thanks, I will try to find these. I see them as one-offs here and there on the web. Might eventually purchase a book of them for this purpose.

I have added the source to each line in my spreadsheet (it's just the three sources from my individual posts above, so far so good). I also randomly stumbled across this post (https://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?6717-Front-Recall-Kit&p=97655&viewfull=1#post97655) of yours which mentions the VIN where the front end recall kit started coming standard from the factory.

[Ron]

...
Thanks, I will try to find these. I see them as one-offs here and there on the web. Might eventually purchase a book of them for this purpose.
Check out https://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?6508-Service-Bulletins in the Resources section.

[mike123]

Service bulletins were great, thank you! A lot of overlap with prior resources but also added the following new items:

0no red paint on ball joint nuts? not needed?
2333red paint on ball joint nuts to confirm safety inspection
5601no red paint on ball joint nuts? not needed?
0inertia switch recalled
7200inertia switch not recalled
10001inertia switch recalled
11128inertia switch not recalled
0starter solenoid sometimes doesn't have enough voltage to be reliable
2548starter circuit update
0five engine wiring harness clips are metal
1201five engine wiring harness clips are vinyl-coated
0The installation position of the vent hose on the control pressure regulator should be inspected and corrected
2284The installation position of the vent hose on the control pressure regulator is correct from factory
0right rear bulkhead panel has no cut for wiring harness
2309a recess has been cut out of the right rear bulkhead panel to accommodate the wiring harness
0parcel shelf boards are 25mm longer; can be cut to aid in removal
230925mm has been cut from the top edge of the bulkhead parcel shelf boards to aid in removal
0original torque setting for upper and lower ball joint to steering knuckle
2474the torque setting for upper and lower ball joint to steering knuckle has been revised to 70Nm (52 ft.-lb.)
0old temperature switch retaining clip (not interchangeable with new one)
3850new temperature switch retaining clip
02.75lbs freon charge in AC unit. May cause knocking noises in starting with AC on (if so, change to 2.2lbs).
40802.2lbs freon charge in AC unit
0original baffle for fuel tank (no longer produced)
4782modified baffle for fuel tank

[Jonathan]

I put this together a while ago: https://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?12411-Another-Beverley-Hills-Car-Club-find&p=193743&viewfull=1#post193743

[mike123]

I put this together a while ago: https://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?12411-Another-Beverley-Hills-Car-Club-find&p=193743&viewfull=1#post193743

That's great! I like the idea of narrowing down a VIN based on observable features.

I have this working both for:

Enter VIN --> get it's list of features
Enter features --> get range of possibilities for VIN


...but Google Sheets is obnoxious about letting me copy the feature dropdowns into a standalone sheet that I can make available.

Will keep trying, and if all else fails, will just manually re-do that part.

[mike123]

Here is the spreadsheet which you can Make A Copy and test out:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e9adCUkov_28Ak5AAN4fNtQUjPtnYY_s0LJ9IfPjV-g/edit#gid=2042635544

I'm happy to continue to add to it and update it, but it currently encompasses everything I have been able to learn from reading.

[MrChocky]

Here is the spreadsheet which you can Make A Copy and test out:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e9adCUkov_28Ak5AAN4fNtQUjPtnYY_s0LJ9IfPjV-g/edit#gid=2042635544

I'm happy to continue to add to it and update it, but it currently encompasses everything I have been able to learn from reading.

This is pretty interesting, I've been working on something else which would be able to ingest such information and a whole lot else:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y9U_bk9RjNk-Wdi-2UUvbfHMCqtY8B2pBAcMS4Q6108/edit?usp=sharing

[mike123]

I saw that!

I don't have a car yet, nor any knowledge whatsoever about original parts or viable replacements, but happy to organize what I have in any way I can to help you or whoever takes up that effort.