Delorean frame

[Nick774]

Does anybody have or know of a delorean frame for sale any condition. Im prepping the frame on 774 for cutting, patching, and welding but am curious to see whats available out there in the way of replacing the frame or even donor sections I could weld in.

-Nick774

[David T]

The frame is made up of pieces of 16 gauge mild steel sheet metal. If all you have to repair are small sections of the frame, you can cut out the bad pieces and make up new parts out of sheet metal. A pair of snips, a small brake (or some pieces of 2 X 4) and a body hammer is all you really need to make your parts. Of course you will need some way to cut the bad stuff out of the frame and a small welder to patch it back in. The last section of the Workshop Manual has all of the dimensions for the important points of the frame. The logistics of shipping a whole frame makes it impracticable unless your frame is so bad all over that it makes sense. or it is near enough to you that you can get it with a trailer. Besides, just about any frame you do find may need some work too!
David Teitelbaum

[Nick774]

Very true on the hassle of shipping a frame that may also need work. My frame has mostly front end corrosion. On the left outside of the gas tank as well as underneath and the front crumple tubes. the rear right area just in front of the wheel, same on the left. Also the right rear suspension tower where the shock connects on top is just a rusted out hole.

12234[ATTACH=CONFIG]12235[/ATTACH still need to upload more pics.

[David T]

With the body off and the gas tank out you can get to almost any part of the frame except the motor cradle. Make up little patches if you have to. I would do some measurements on the frame to make sure it is straight if you have to do a lot of patching, especially in front. The front seems to rust first, the rear next. Probably the leaky motor and transmission protect the rear of the frame a little. Cars stored indoors tend to have less rust. Next is cars stored on pavement. The worst ones are the cars that were left to die on dirt. The moisture from the dirt gets into the frame and eats it up pretty bad.

David Teitelbaum

[DMC3165]

I would've expected worse considering the amount of mileage this frame has seen. The front section probably needs to be cut off and a new front section needs to be welded in its place. From what I remember it was so badly patched to begin with I should've done it way back when But decided not to. Have you considered this?:

http://store.delorean.com/p-9257-front-frame-extension.aspx

and work your way back from there. Since the bottom of the cradle was already rotted from what i remember you'd do best buy cutting off the bottom plate. Making whatever repairs you can and then getting the appropriate sheet metal to make a new section at the bottom of the cradle.

The drivers side section near the front wheel under the brake and clutch master was a quickie body shop weld. More like a quick "cover up".

Are you planning on stripping the entire frame to bare metal? I'd be curious to see if anything was going on under the epoxy.

[Nick774]

The past couple of days i have found unbelievable "repairs" on the front end of the frame. some thin sheet metal glued into place over several spots. I do intend to strip it to a bare metal and POR-15 the entire frame. I thought about the replacement piece from houston but $1400 is kinda steep for that one piece. Im looking into finding a donor frame somwhere and harvesting some frame sections possibly.

And our car was sitting on grass for 12 years so i can see how bad the frame absorbed the moisture around it.

[David T]

I repaired a car that had the front crumple zone all rotten. Every piece of it can be hammered out and made. It is only 16 Ga sheet metal. I agree $1400 is a lot and changing it is also a lot of work. You have to be careful to get it all straight too. Repairing it a piece at a time is not as bad as it sounds if you have the time. It's also a whole lot easier with the body removed as you have already done. I would do the front end swap only if the car had a collision and it was all crumpled up. Then it would make sense. Besides, at that point insurance would be covering it!
David Teitelbaum

[Nick774]

Im playing with the idea of fabricating a new front end from scratch using the same dimensions, however also improving some of the impact integrity by adding in some inner welded supports

[David T]

It is purposely built to "crumple" upon a hard impact. Making it stronger is like putting in a bigger fuse because the "right" size keeps popping. If you decide to fabricate a whole front section it is a lot harder because you have to keep everything straight and lined up at once. Much easier to work on pieces but you know how bad your frame is and what it will take to fix it. If you do decide to make a whole section it might be wise to make a jig first off the old, rotten parts and then build the new section to the jig.
David Teitelbaum

[DMC81]

Can a good fab shop build a new frame with only an old one to go off of? If so why is it we don't see more "new" frames out there?

[Rich W]

Can a good fab shop build a new frame with only an old one to go off of? If so why is it we don't see more "new" frames out there?

Good fabrication shops are hard to find and good fabrication shops with reasonable pricing are even more difficult to find, but they are out there.

I have a fully refurbished manual transmission frame, ready for that Winter frame-off restoration you have been thinking about. PM me for details.

[David T]

Good fabrication shops are hard to find and good fabrication shops with reasonable pricing are even more difficult to find, but they are out there.

I have a fully refurbished manual transmission frame, ready for that Winter frame-off restoration you have been thinking about. PM me for details.

To build a frame one-at-a-time without a jig is very labor intensive. Read that to mean it will take a LOT of time and time translates into money. It is cheaper to repair or replace a frame then to build a whole new one. The only problem with replacing a frame is the logistics. If it is not nearby it can be very expensive to ship. Once you figure the cost of the frame and the shipping and all of the work to do the switch it may make more sense to fix the one you have.

[john 05141]

I've seen front ends being made in front of my eyes.
Jan

[Tillsy]

I've seen front ends being made in front of my eyes.
Jan

I'm amazed Josh isn't whipping up stainless frame extensions over at DPI... I'd have an order in!

[BTTF-1]

Just wondering! What ever happened to the stainless steel frames? I haven't seen a car with one or for sale on e-bay for years?

ED :headscratch::headscratch::hmm::hmm::headscratch:: headscratch::tongue2:

[Tillsy]

Just wondering! What ever happened to the stainless steel frames? I haven't seen a car with one or for sale on e-bay for years?

ED :headscratch::headscratch::hmm::hmm::headscratch:: headscratch::tongue2:

Pearce Design was the one making the PermaFrames, but that wound up a few years ago :(

They declared that they handed over the rights and specs to DMC so that they could be reproduced elsewhere, but everything from stainless frames to new builds to binnacles have been sucked into a temporal rift :(

[DMC81]

Pearce Design was the one making the PermaFrames, but that wound up a few years ago :(

They declared that they handed over the rights and specs to DMC so that they could be reproduced elsewhere, but everything from stainless frames to new builds to binnacles have been sucked into a temporal rift :(

Did the guys at Pearce Design have the specs/blueprints to build there frames or did they just start from an old frame? I agree though, I'm surprised Josh is not building frames yet.

[Rich W]

To build a frame one-at-a-time without a jig is very labor intensive. Read that to mean it will take a LOT of time and time translates into money. It is cheaper to repair or replace a frame then to build a whole new one. The only problem with replacing a frame is the logistics. If it is not nearby it can be very expensive to ship. Once you figure the cost of the frame and the shipping and all of the work to do the switch it may make more sense to fix the one you have.

Some (if not most) of the frame repairs that are done by DeLorean shops are actually done (sub-contracted) to welding shops and in most cases
(if not all) these welding shops will need to build one or more jigs to do the necessary repairs, however building a new one would be uncommon.

Building frames one-at-a-time, even with jigs, is very labor intensive. This is how Pearce Design did it for over 15 years. I should know, since
this is how the first "production" PDC SS frame was built (mine) and the first and only PDC SS Limo frame was built (also mine). It is much easier
to design and build frame jigs using a known good (or at least decent) frame, while also checking/verifying the measurements from other frames.
As more frames were built, the frame jigs were updated and upgraded, and multiple similar sections were built before final assemblies were done.

The PDC SS frames were built from laser cut stainless panels, especially when PDC fabricated the SS pieces in batches of 10 frames at a time.
The parts and the finished product looked great, but structurally similar parts could be fabricated for less, especially if made from steel, not SS.

While repairing a frame is often preferred to replacing a frame, some frame repairs can only be accomplished with either a partial or full body-off,
to get to all the frame parts needing repairs, so at that point, the body will need to be lifted up and off of the frame, to repair it, if not removed.

While shipping a frame can be a logistics issue, a frame can also be easily transported on a small flatbed trailer or in a full-size pickup bed, with
the bed door open and "flags" attached to the frame, hanging over the back end, or in a full-size cargo van, to name a few of the options.

Note: If you do most of the labor to prep and/or remove the frame yourself, you can save a substantial amount of cash.

[Josh]

Very nice write-up Rich!

Cool to hear the whole process the SS frames were assembled.

How much were they selling them for when they were available?

I can confirm the transportation of the frame. I hauled mine in a truck with a 6ft bed. This was just long enough. any shorter of a box and the frame would be tipping off the tailgate!

[kenny]

IIRC they were around $10k

[Rich W]

Very nice write-up Rich!

Cool to hear the whole process the SS frames were assembled.

How much were they selling them for when they were available?

I can confirm the transportation of the frame. I hauled mine in a truck with a 6ft bed. This was just long enough. any shorter of a box and the frame would be tipping off the tailgate!

I would need to check my records, but the stock SS frame with two improved (heim joint attached) SS trailing arms was about $11K initially,
back in 2001/2002, but I do not recall what they were priced at toward the end of production. The all new SS trailing arms were built upon
my request (and I requested an Indy 500 inspired "suspension look" design), since Bryan's prototype SS frame used OEM steel trailing arms.

Keep in mind there were several "PDC SS Extras" that were available as well, including SS lower control arms and SS upper control arms.
And Josh is correct about a 6ft bed being a minimum "safe" size bed, since I helped load a frame into the bed of a Ford Exlorer Sport Trac
and it made it all the way from the Chicago area down to DMCH in TX, however, my preference and recommendation is to use an 8ft bed.

Now, transporting the SS Stretch Limo frame was a whole other animal.

[Josh]

I would need to check my records, but the stock SS frame with two improved (heim joint attached) SS trailing arms was about $11K initially,
back in 2001/2002, but I do not recall what they were priced at toward the end of production. The all new SS trailing arms were built upon
my request (and I requested an Indy 500 inspired "suspension look" design), since Bryan's prototype SS frame used OEM steel trailing arms.

Keep in mind there were several "PDC SS Extras" that were available as well, including SS lower control arms and SS upper control arms.
And Josh is correct about a 6ft bed being a minimum "safe" size bed, since I helped load a frame into the bed of a Ford Exlorer Sport Trac
and it made it all the way from the Chicago area down to DMCH in TX, however, my preference and recommendation is to use an 8ft bed.

Now, transporting the SS Stretch Limo frame was a whole other animal.

Ok, I figured they were around the 10k mark, so not too far off. I have seen those trailing arms, quite an interesting design. I also noticed the one frame I saw a picture of had a bracket made to put the TABs in double sheer. Cool idea.

A Sport Trac!! wow. And that is quite the trip. I only went 300km with mine, and I was nervous! My buddy lent me his car hauler for the trip back, that was much nicer.