The restoration of 5482

[OverlandMan]

Uh-oh. Look what daddy did...

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[AirmanPika]

Uh-oh. Look what daddy did...

Dear god....you parked it in the driveway...

[OverlandMan]

Dear god....you parked it in the driveway...

No worries. She's in the garage now.

[Chris Burns]

Uh-oh. Look what daddy did...

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You have my attention.... More please! :)

[OverlandMan]

You have my attention.... More please! :)

This is the Arizona car I bought after giving up on the Dallas car. The interior is rough and the exterior will need a refresh but the frame is solid and the mechanicals seem to be in working order. She's an Oct 81 build. Automatic with grey interior.

Just got her off the trailer tonight. Here's another pic. More to come over the weekend...

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[dvonk]

congratulations! im jealous. :wink:

[OverlandMan]

congratulations! im jealous. :wink:

Thanks! I'm pretty stoked. Wanted one of these since I was a youngster ( maybe 7 or 8 ).

[Chris Burns]

As long as the frame is good, you are good to go!:)

It's tough finding one with a decent frame in the right price range. Usually the ones I have seen with a good frame are pricey. And the low price Deloreans I have come across on the Internet need far too much work! Good job man and enjoy your Delorean!!

Looking forward to more stories about it......

[ccurzio]

Congrats, and welcome to the club. ;)


It's tough finding one with a decent frame in the right price range..

Good lord, what is it with you and your crippling frame paranoia?

This is simply not true unless the "right price range" is < $10k.

[Chris Burns]

Congrats, and welcome to the club. ;)



Good lord, what is it with you and your crippling frame paranoia?

This is simply not true unless the "right price range" is < $10k.

Well after seeing one of Delorean friends replace his frame with a stainless one it has made me a little paranoid. His original frame was pretty bad. My car would not have to be perfect (the frame can have a few blemishes).

[OverlandMan]

Congrats, and welcome to the club. ;)

Thanks - been wanting to be in this club for a long time now. :raveon:

[OverlandMan]

Got my official DeLoreanTechnical Service Manual in the mail today. Started studying that. Made a list of all the electrical issues with the car (that I know of). Taking things nice and slow. Did notice that the PO had a FanZilla module installed (looked like a combination of relays, fuses, diodes, and/or capacitors.

[artisticent]

Nice man. I noticed its got that eyebrow thing whatever above the headlights. Mine does too. I saw an amazing D behind me on Los Angeles Ave in moor park on Friday around 4pm and it was beautiful. Man driving with wife in pass seat. It looked so good from the front. I can't wait to refresh my bumpers, lights etc. It sounds like you and I are close in D status. This will be fun. Mine is going to DMC in garden grove this week to finish putting on the last few things on to the motor. Let's get our cars looking and running amazing.

[OverlandMan]

Nice man. I noticed its got that eyebrow thing whatever above the headlights. Mine does too. I saw an amazing D behind me on Los Angeles Ave in moor park on Friday around 4pm and it was beautiful. Man driving with wife in pass seat. It looked so good from the front. I can't wait to refresh my bumpers, lights etc. It sounds like you and I are close in D status. This will be fun. Mine is going to DMC in garden grove this week to finish putting on the last few things on to the motor. Let's get our cars looking and running amazing.

Yep it has the eyebrows. I saw a great "How-to" article on this forum that shows how to fix this without having to spend $1k on an entire new front fascia. In addition I saw another PJ Grady article on how to properly prep & refinish the both the front and rear fascias. Did you see those?

I don't think I've seen any pics of yours yet (love to see some). Mine needs a lot of interior work, electrical work & some exterior work. But overall she seems to run & drive pretty well, although starting is hard at times when it sits for a little while.

I'm with you... my goal is to get this car to top notch condition over the next few years, while driving and enjoying it during that time.

[marvins_dad]

Congrats!:bigclap:

[OverlandMan]

Congrats!:bigclap:

Thanks man. FYI - I've been starting to hunt down and communicate with any local Dallas area D owners I can find. So far I've been able to talk to a couple, both who were very friendly. You need to start hunting for one so you can join the club!

[OverlandMan]

OK - Project #1: Fix the temperature gauge.

I noticed on the extremely brief drive home Friday that the temp gauge was not working (needle bottomed out and not registering). The PO had told me the radiator fans were not coming on either so I figured before I tackled that project, I needed a point of reference for the engine coolant temp.

I first skimmed through my shop manual but didn't really find what I was looking for there. Then I searched this forum and found this thread: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?4584-Temp-Gauge-Not-Reading-how-hard-is-sensor-to-replace&p=67015#post67015, which describes the same problem I'm having. I plan on working on this tonight, testing the sensor and gauge in the aforementioned thread.

[Domi]

Congratulation on your purchase :)

[OverlandMan]

Congratulation on your purchase :)

Thanks Domi. I'm very excited.

[DMC5180]

Regardless of the gauge not working, you must verify your fans are working. Did you run the A/C during your drive?

A quick test to see if you are getting power to the fans. (KEY ON) Turn the A/C ON. If the there is refrigerant in the system the compressor clutch should POP and the FANS will come ON. If you don't here the fans start investigating the Relay compartment. Alternately, you can make short spade terminal jumper BY-PASS wire install it in place of the Otterstat (Underside of coolant pipe) near Oil dipstick tube. This will force the fans to run with the key ON and at the very least confirm the fan circuit.

[OverlandMan]

Regardless of the gauge not working, you must verify your fans are working. Did you run the A/C during your drive?

A quick test to see if you are getting power to the fans. (KEY ON) Turn the A/C ON. If the there is refrigerant in the system the compressor clutch should POP and the FANS will come ON. If you don't here the fans start investigating the Relay compartment. Alternately, you can make short spade terminal jumper BY-PASS wire install it in place of the Otterstat (Underside of coolant pipe) near Oil dipstick tube. This will force the fans to run with the key ON and at the very least confirm the fan circuit.

Hey Dennis. Thanks for the info. Yea I studied the operation of the radiator fans in my shop manual. Once I fix the temp gauge, I will test the fans using a power probe. I have not done that yet but will soon. Its been 105+ in DFW for the past couple of days so I have to wait until 8:30 PM or later during the week to work in the garage. F-ing miserable!

When I spoke to the mechanic who had the car at his shop when I bought it, he told me the fans weren't getting power. Of course I'll double-check so I can rule them out as the problem.

[OverlandMan]

So I grounded the temp sender to test the gauge and got nothing. This would tell me that there is either an issue with the gauge itself or the wiring in between. I suspect I'll start with the wire behind the gauge. How difficult is this to get at and inspect?

[marvins_dad]

Thanks man. FYI - I've been starting to hunt down and communicate with any local Dallas area D owners I can find. So far I've been able to talk to a couple, both who were very friendly. You need to start hunting for one so you can join the club!

Yeah...needs to be the wife's idea...if you know what I mean. LOL
We were able to make the Delorean Car Show in Orlando this year for the open show day and I was able to acquaint her with my knowledge from years of drooling.
It will end up being either after I get a promotion (more$$) or after the kiddo gets older so he can sit in the front.
Until then I will be living vicariously through you guys.

[OverlandMan]

Yeah...needs to be the wife's idea...if you know what I mean. LOL
We were able to make the Delorean Car Show in Orlando this year for the open show day and I was able to acquaint her with my knowledge from years of drooling.
It will end up being either after I get a promotion (more$$) or after the kiddo gets older so he can sit in the front.
Until then I will be living vicariously through you guys.

I hear ya. Good idea to take her to that show and start planting the seed. I had to make sure I did this prior to the kid thing, or else I figured I would have been in my 60's before I could get back around to it.

Hopefully in the next few weeks I can sort out some of these little quirks and you can come check it out. Also hoping we get some nicer weather in here soon (good lord its miserable out there of late).

[marvins_dad]

I hear ya. Good idea to take her to that show and start planting the seed. I had to make sure I did this prior to the kid thing, or else I figured I would have been in my 60's before I could get back around to it.

Hopefully in the next few weeks I can sort out some of these little quirks and you can come check it out. Also hoping we get some nicer weather in here soon (good lord its miserable out there of late).

I hear ya! 106 geez... I spent the weekend restoring another 1982 icon - Baby Pac-Man machine I got a couple weeks ago. I was swimming in sweat all weekend in the garage myself.
Good call on the "prior to the kid thing" - I have a New Beetle that was a show car until my little guy came along, now it is the coolest dad car in the parking lot at the elementary school when I am picking him up. LOL
They are worth it, but a 2 seater car is worse than a 2 door car when it comes to kids.

[OverlandMan]

I hear ya! 106 geez... I spent the weekend restoring another 1982 icon - Baby Pac-Man machine I got a couple weeks ago. I was swimming in sweat all weekend in the garage myself.
Good call on the "prior to the kid thing" - I have a New Beetle that was a show car until my little guy came along, now it is the coolest dad car in the parking lot at the elementary school when I am picking him up. LOL
They are worth it, but a 2 seater car is worse than a 2 door car when it comes to kids.

Love the classic arcades like that. There is a DeLorean guy who has a website that also includes classic video game restoration. Check it out here: http://www.noroads.com/arcade/. I was impressed.

As for the 2 seater deal, yea that makes sense. Get that kiddo a little older and then you might be in business.

[marvins_dad]

Love the classic arcades like that. There is a DeLorean guy who has a website that also includes classic video game restoration. Check it out here: http://www.noroads.com/arcade/. I was impressed.

As for the 2 seater deal, yea that makes sense. Get that kiddo a little older and then you might be in business.

Cool! I guess all the best of the 80's! Here's my build... http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=244534

Again - Congrats on the new wheels!

[OverlandMan]

Cool! I guess all the best of the 80's! Here's my build... http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=244534

Awesome! Looks like you've got a decent project on your hands there! I like it.

[OverlandMan]

UPDATE: Temp Gauge

Well this turned out to be an easier fix than I thought. Mind you, my problem was the gauge was at 6 o'clock and wouldn't budge (not sure if I'd stated that yet). After searching and reading here on this forum, I saw a thread talking about taking a paper clip and fitting it into the trip reset button hole in the cluster cover (it just barely fits). Once you get it in there you can carefully work it over toward the temp gauge to touch it and slightly move it. With a turn of the key, the gauge reset and is now resting where it should be.

It's probably still worthwhile to test the sender and ensure the gauge goes to maximum when grounded. I'll do that tonight just for peace of mind but this was an easy fix and I'm glad its done (for now). I know this problem can be indicative of a gauge beginning to fail but I'll cross that bridge if the problem recurs.

Project 1 Completed

Tonight I will begin working on the radiator fan issue.

[OverlandMan]

I have moved this restoration thread over to a blog (off this site) so I can share it (pics) with non-members of this site easier. Here's the URL: http://dmctx.blogspot.com/

I'll still post major updates here.

[OverlandMan]

A local owner brought over his car and we did some work yesterday. Good times and got a couple of good pics of both cars together in my garage.

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I've been trying to keep my blog updated. Been working on the car mostly just on Saturdays over the past few weeks. Put insurance on it last week. Picked up a 1981 vintage license plate for it and hoping to get it registered in the next week or two.

[OverlandMan]

Just wrapped up my brake system rebuild. I've updated most of my recent progress here: http://dmctx.blogspot.com.

I also met up with several of the DFW owners yesterday. It appears to be a nice group of folks.

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