Possible "Barn Find" purchase. New to delorean world. Need Advice

[laxbrah91]

I went to look at this '82 near my house near Philly. The guy was interested in me trading my '52 mgtd in great shape for his. He said the car sat for 15-20, got it for investment for some for college but he died n sat ever since. His other son replaced the fuel pump, fuel line n system. Other than that pretty much nothing else. The radio worked, vent/ airconditioning system blew,, The engine started n we moved it a few feet. No rust that I could visibly see under the body. The one window was fallen off track. Leather was a little baked but can but leather care on. The odometer read 13,800 miles. Horn worked, the buttin for the lights was pushed in the center console so I'd have to take it out. The left blinkers on the car didn't work, was thinking maybe burnt-out bulb. Oh lastly he said the old owner started the car from a crank in the back?! and it fried a fuse or something like that.Other than this the guy hadn't checked anything else. I'n my opinion it was stuff that is workable but me being new freshman to deloreans, i'm seeking help.
What are your expert opinions on this car? What should I look out for or should I proceed with this car?

[jawn101]

Pictures are everything. What's the VIN? If the fuel system wasn't completely purged and drained before storage it will need a lot. If you started it and it ran that is a good sign, but the bad news is that you may have sucked a lot of gunk in and that may cause problems later. How is the frame? Since you're in the rust belt that is very important. The "starting with a crank" story sounds a little fishy, especially considering that there's virtually no room back there to hand start this motor.

The "rule of thumb" with these cars is that you should expect to spend a thousand bucks in repairs for every year that it sat and didn't run. I think there is some room for play in that figure but it's a good starting estimate to know what you're getting in to.

[Dangermouse]

He possibly jump started (cranked) the car, which is obviously done from the rear. If the car is an auto, he may mean that he blew fuse 13 for the auto transmission governor, and may have damaged it. It's a $300 fix.

[laxbrah91]

The frame was in great shape for it just having been sat, so major dents or misalignments. No rust that I could see underneathI'll ask what was entirely done to the fuel pumps I emailed the guy for the VIN. Yeah this is an Auto trans soooo, I'll have to take a look further into that.
Anything else guys? You're helpin me out alot here

[jawn101]

Need to check out the fuel tank as well, the hoses and boot may have deteriorated from old gas. CIS doesn't like partially dissolved rubber being sucked into it.

Check the fuse box for signs of melting, you will probably find some.

[Jonathan]

Check the fuse box for signs of melting, you will probably find some.

Two things that Jonathan said above... pictures and the fuse box. The fuse box is located behind the passenger seat. So too is the battery you'll see. The battery is in the lower compartment that likely has a section of carpeting across it. The fuse box and relay area you access by removing part of the parcel shelf on the passenger side. Fold back the carpet (on the horizontal shelf), and then remove that oddly shaped triangular piece of wood (yes, your DeLorean is made of wood!!). Under it you'll see the fuse and relay area.

Take some pictures here and try to repost them. This might tell you a lot like maybe about your blinker lights not working, auto trans shift computer, cooling fans, etc. The area should look like this schematic:

8525

And here's a picture of mine (not that it is perfect, just that it'll give you an idea of what someone else's looks like):

8526

Welcome to the DeLorean World and good luck!!

[Elvis]

He possibly jump started (cranked) the car, which is obviously done from the rear. If the car is an auto, he may mean that he blew fuse 13 for the auto transmission governor, and may have damaged it. It's a $300 fix.


Are you referring to that old and very wrong theory that jump starting kills the caps in thr governor ?

[Jimmyvonviggle]

I went to look at this '82 near my house near Philly. The guy was interested in me trading my '52 mgtd in great shape for his. He said the car sat for 15-20, got it for investment for some for college but he died n sat ever since. His other son replaced the fuel pump, fuel line n system. Other than that pretty much nothing else. The radio worked, vent/ airconditioning system blew,, The engine started n we moved it a few feet. No rust that I could visibly see under the body. The one window was fallen off track. Leather was a little baked but can but leather care on. The odometer read 13,800 miles. Horn worked, the buttin for the lights was pushed in the center console so I'd have to take it out. The left blinkers on the car didn't work, was thinking maybe burnt-out bulb. Oh lastly he said the old owner started the car from a crank in the back?! and it fried a fuse or something like that.Other than this the guy hadn't checked anything else. I'n my opinion it was stuff that is workable but me being new freshman to deloreans, i'm seeking help.
What are your expert opinions on this car? What should I look out for or should I proceed with this car?

The best way to check out the car is to ask someone around your area to come check out the car with you. I'm sure several members would love to do it. Because face it who on here doesn't like to check out other DeLoreans especially barn finds.

[laxbrah91]

If you were to buy this car what would you pay? With my trade of the mg which is valued around 15-16.i know it'll be less bout how Would you negotiate with getting cash on top because of the potential problems n my mg being great cond?

[jawn101]

Still no pics, VIN, or any real details on the car... we have no way of giving you any kind of input without more information.

[laxbrah91]

Scedt26t0bd003827
I was planning on seeing the car again tomorrow. 13k miles, body in great shape but mechanically I'm not sure. Can someone give me a rough estimate for starting negotiation?

[laxbrah91]

The first thread I pretty much said all I know. The appreance of the car looks good just minor details like conditioning. Mechanical another story not sure of

[jawn101]

Scedt26t0bd003827
I was planning on seeing the car again tomorrow. 13k miles, body in great shape but mechanically I'm not sure. Can someone give me a rough estimate for starting negotiation?

That's the biggest problem with valuing these cars - the body is frequently beautiful and hides a TON of secrets underneath. The SS panels are very durable but the frame, mechanicals, body, interior...

3827 would be a September '81 build.

A fully functional, reliable daily driver that was stored properly and needs minor to no mechanical or cosmetic work is generally ballpark estimated at 25k. Then we typically say you should deduct 1k for each year it sat in storage, which in your case is 15-20 years....

So the "sight unseen" figures on that sort of leaves you with a $5k car, which I doubt is a figure the seller will agree with you on. We really need to see pictures of it before we can give you a real number. If you're going back again tomorrow, get photos of the:

- Frame (stem to stern- pics of anything you can see) - specifically looking for rust, cracks, damage, etc.
- Fiberglass body wherever possible - under the bonnet, the pontoons, etc
- Engine bay from both above and below
- Fuse/relay compartment
- Interior from all angles
- SS panels from all angles
- Fuel pump/tank if you can get at it (accessed via a removable panel under the spare tire in the bonnet)

EDIT:
Would also help to get a rundown from the seller on what does and doesn't work to his knowledge. If it hasn't run in 20 years that may not be something he just has on tap, but if he remembers it running rough or having electrical problems or the A/C not working, etc - that's helpful as well.

[DeLorean]

So any thoughts now that we actually saw it?

[jawn101]

Did you guys see it? What was the condition? Any pics?

[DeLorean]

we saw it. It had positive and negative points.

+
Frame was solid - a little rust but nothing serious.
Started, ran, drove
SS in "fair" condition
Interior in "fair" condition
electrical in "fair" condition
doors worked, though I think they were over tensioned as they came up with a bit of force
Windows worked, though the pass, unit was about to crap out (it was clicking at the top)
Facias were both pretty good, minimal eyebrowing


-
SS did have some dings in several spots. Something was up with the driver door. It may have just needed a striker adjustment, but might have been a little more than that, it was sitting a bit low and there was a bit of "funnyness" at the top. the door did not open 100% reliably either.
Mice had been in the fuse box. It was cleaned out, but still a bit questionable. There was 1 melted fuse (cooling fan) which probably needed at least a fuse extender and new fuse to be reliable.
Needed tires, and probably at least some brake work
broken headlight swicth
broken dimmer switch
broken wiper switch
ignition was questionable - key insert felt fishy.
steering bushing bad
hood release cable / handle missing
dead lock control unit
suspension recall #1 was done (sway bar stiffeners, ball joint pins) but it never had recall #2 done.
interior was fair but it was pretty "dry" - leather, steering wheel, etc was kind of crisp to the touch. regular use would probably cause cracking fast. There were also quite a few broken interior components, which will mount up in price to make right.

My estimation was basically anywhere from 10,000-16,000. Likely to feel good about the buy it should be on the low side of my estimate...

[jawn101]

Cool, well at least the OP can make an informed decision now. No pics though?

[David T]

It's all about money. You have to figure out what it is going to cost you do fix the car up and subtract that # from the value of a nice one. What is left over is what you can afford to pay for the car. A lot depends on how much you can do and how much you are going to have to pay someone else to work on the car. Always buy the best car you can afford. It always works out faster and cheaper. From the description I am guessing this particular one is worth around $10-12K. This assumes you have a "clean" Title of course.
David Teitelbaum