Hello...New Delorean Owner #4846

[johnyrottin]

After many years of owning Fieros (39 of them from 4cyls, 6 cyls, 3800SCs, 4.9Ls, and Corvette LT1s. I still own an Indy Pace Car Fiero, a MERA, and a chopped LT1 Fiero.) and always wanting a Delorean I decided to pull the trigger. Marty and Jake from St Louis area went and looked at one with me however it did not fit what I was looking for as it was an auto and would need a load of work. Next I looked at an 5-speed but the price was pretty high for a car that needed a pretty fair amount of work. I was amazed at how similar the interiors are on the 4 cyl Fieros to the DMC-12. Alas, I found #4846 at the Volo Auto Museum in Chicago. Her story is the original owners bought her in 1981 and owned her up until I bought her. The owners husband passed away and she decided to let the car go. #4846 is a 5 speed with grey interior and has about 14,500 on her. Ian Y (texastwister) travelled to Volo to inspect her with me to ensure I didn't make a mistake and buy a "not so good" example. She exceeded both our expectations. My first Delorean and she was basically untouched so I know I will have some growing pains to go through. Fortunately I live near St Louis so there is some very knowledgeable support nearby! We handled our first issue the day we bought her: tires with flat spots. It was like riding in a railroad car...thump, thump, thump... We then visited DMC Midwest and bought a new relay kit, new silicon hoses and clamps, and new "toby tabs" (not sure what DMC is going to call them) with new bushings. Also picked up a new angle drive with lower speedo cable, two dust caps, and a new oterstat. I bought a complete new LED setup from SUPERBRIGHTLEDs. Ian came up from Texas and lent a hand yesterday so we could get some of the work done and guide me around a bit of this new car. New dust cap and cable solved the broken speedo (stopped working about 10 miles from home on the trip from Chicago). We are switching the lights over to the LEDs today. Next will be taking care of the few small epoxy issues with POR15 and getting some rust reformer on the black suspension bits. When the winter passes and days get longer we will go with a new radiator, new fans, and replacing all the hoses. Last will be springs and shocks. Hopefully we will have this all sorted by summer. I look forward to learning about these beauties from you all. A special thank you goes out to Marty, Jake and Ian for all the education and knowledge they have helped me with passed on so far. I know this will be a long road but I am ready and eager to learn.
:lockdance:

[Bitsyncmaster]

Welcome and congrats on your "new" D. Sounds like you have things planned out and in good company to help.

[Bill6298]

Welcome and congratulations. It sounds like you are off to a very good start. It's great you've already identified some items to repair and purchased the parts. DMCMW is a great vendor to work with. I've also had great experiences with Josh at DPI and James at DMCH.

There's a great tire thread here http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?7285-2013-Matched-Set-(Non-Stock-Sized-Rears-or-Fronts)-Tires if those spots don't even out or if those date codes are not recent enough for you. I am seriously considering the Vredestein Sportrac 5s based on a lot of great reviews from the general community as well as NightFlyer. I recall there's someone else on here that made this choice. I'm still looking for non-matched OE sizes in similar tread patterns but no luck so far.

Please share some pictures and remember to take some as you're doing the various repairs.

Congratulations!

Bill

[Mike F]

Welcome to the forum and the world of DeLorean ownership!

[jackb]

Congratulations on the new D, and welcome to the forum.
I've always been a fan of Fiero's. The 88GT is on my dream car list.

[louielouie2000]

Interesting... here I've owned a couple of DeLoreans, and am finally considering taking the Fiero plunge at some point ('88 Formula is what I'd want). Sounds like you're already quite versed in DeLoreans. Knowing the quirks of these beasts is 3/4 the battle. :thumbup2: Congrats on your purchase!

[johnyrottin]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I got new Toyo tires as recommended by Dave and Julee from the dealer they use. What a difference! If you guys are interested in Fieros please feel free to get in touch with me. more than happy to help guide you through some pitfalls of these little mid engine gems. I have three right now and am looking to sell two pretty quickly. The most versatile one I have now is the LT1 Corvette equipped car. Once I figure out how to post pics I'll get some up.

[Nicholas R]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I got new Toyo tires as recommended by Dave and Julee from the dealer they use. What a difference! If you guys are interested in Fieros please feel free to get in touch with me. more than happy to help guide you through some pitfalls of these little mid engine gems. I have three right now and am looking to sell two pretty quickly. The most versatile one I have now is the LT1 Corvette equipped car. Once I figure out how to post pics I'll get some up.

Did you use one of V8 Archie's kits? I love fieros. My buddy has an 88GT that we've been talking about putting an LS1 into. He located an adapter plate for a small block Chevy so it should be pretty easy to make work with the LS. Certainly easier than putting one in the Delorean. Welcome to the forum! :thumbup:

[Lou and "Boo"]

Hello and welcome! I actually just bought an '85 Fiero GT. so now my two "project" cars are my Delorean and my Fiero. I'd love to o a 3800 supercharged conversion but that's years away I think. Right now just getting her roadworthy. You sure will get some great references and advice here. (Just don't mention a carberator) LOL

[RammJaeger]

Welcome to the group. I got mine last year and have really enjoyed owning it. One thing I'm not sure anyone mentioned, but I think is really important to keep an eye on is the rubber seal around the fuel pump. It's a real common thing to go bad on these cars. I ended up with a few gallons of gas under my car at a gas station and had to have my car towed to a shop. You don't want to be one of the guys like I've seen on here whose car catches fire and burns up.

[johnyrottin]

Yes my LT1 is a V8 Archie conversion. It is also one of his choptop conversions. He was one of the pioneers of both of those processes and does amazing work. I think the Fiero is more friendly to engine swaps than the Delorean will be due to engine/transmission configuration. I could be wrong as I am still learning about the D. Good tip of the fuel tank situation. The original Delorean dealer in Chicago was the maintainer of the car up until my purchase. It was a Cheverolet dealer. I have receipts for a new fuel pump, tank clean, and some other stuff done by them. I need to look into that aspect a bit more. Regardless, this spring/summer we will be going through the fuel system and cleaning out the "Valley" to check its condition.

[Domi]

Welcome to the forum and congratulation about your purchase, enjoy :thumbup:

[johnyrottin]

Ian dropped by to help me troubleshoot the last of the LEDs. It was weird...the RHS blinker would stay lit all the time. he surmised it to be some crude in and on the RHS bulb. Viola, twas fixed. Then we had trouble getting the high beam indicator light to come on. A little contact cleaning and some trouble shooting and viola, Ian strikes again. he has helped huge with my car so I want to give him huge props!!!

Also, here are some photos of my Fieros:

[johnyrottin]

Here are some engine pics:

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[DMC5180]

Hey Johnny,

Being Near St.louis, just a heads up there is a local Club in the area. http://www.midstatedmc.com a great group of guys to get to know.

[DMC5180]

Here are some engine pics:

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Got room for Northstar in there.

[Michael]

That blue GT is the best looking Fiero I think I have ever seen.

[johnyrottin]

Hey Johnny,

Being Near St.louis, just a heads up there is a local Club in the area. http://www.midstatedmc.com a great group of guys to get to know.

Thanks for the link and the heads up!!!

[JohnZ]

Welcome to the club! Plenty of interesting people here, you'll find yourself at home!

:)

[sapphirexae]

Welcome! Lots of great folks and tons of collective knowledge to be found here. I've had multiple DeLoreans in my life and they are sensational vehicles. You will find as your ownership goes on that most of the "facts" and beliefs out there about are cars are completely the exact opposite of how things really are. Owning this car is a real adventure, enjoy the ride (literally and figuratively)!!


BTW, Fieros huh? I have total mixed emotions about them. I hate admitting it but I really do notice and check-out a nice GT when I see one on the road. My first thought when I hear the name 'Fiero' is "wow, what a pile and an epic fail of a car". Now that I think about it, I bet that the Fiero is a lot like our DeLoreans. Misunderstood and a lot of what people think they know about them is totally wrong. Would I be correct in that guess? My two cents, the Yellow T-Top GT is awesome looking. I used to really like the Mera but since I now own a Ferrari 308 GTS........................my thoughts have dramatically changed (lol).

[pezzonovante88]

Fieros never did anything for me, but I can appreciate why people like them. I just HATE the Ferrari kit ones.

[BigBenb84]

Wow, small world. The Johnyrottin name and Fieros sounded familiar. I just went on the Pennock Fiero forum and we exchanged PMs over there when I was getting my Fiero. You were in Navarre and I was in Fort Walton. The was Feb 2012. I wound up getting an '88 GT V6. 50k original miles, super nice. I sold it last ear though. It was my daily and grew sore, 6'1" barely fits. I got the new car bug and sold it. I wish the D's V6 could sound as good as that thing did.
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[BigBenb84]

Oh, I never mentioned I had a DeLorean back then, haha. If you are ever in the area again, I'm live in Pensacola now. Your Formula Pace Car must have been the one parked on the south side of 98 just East of Walmart in Navarre?

[johnyrottin]

I bet that the Fiero is a lot like our DeLoreans. Misunderstood and a lot of what people think they know about them is totally wrong. Would I be correct in that guess? My two cents, the Yellow T-Top GT is awesome looking. I used to really like the Mera but since I now own a Ferrari 308 GTS........................my thoughts have dramatically changed (lol).

Yes, they are greatly misunderstood...and they have all caught fire!!! Of 370,168, about 147 of them had engine fires. Somehow everyone had an uncle's brother's cousin who had a friend who had a sister that was dating this guy that saw someone at the mall who knew someone that owned one and had burned to death in it. This even though the NHTSA records zero fatalities. It really surprised me how much like the Delorean the early interiors were. I love them but just can't keep them all. That yellow one was a great car with the 4.9L caddy motor. I regret getting rid of that. That is one I should have kept.

I too owned the 308 and the MERA at the same time. I enjoyed taking them to car shows and parking them next to each other. People would walk back and forth and back and forth. While I loved the 308 I hated the repair bills. I had many electrical problems over my few years of ownership...from headlights to starting. I had the timing belts serviced as well. Damn near had a heart attack from that bill! Anyway, while I loved the 308 the MERA has given me the exact opposite ownership experience. It has been easy and inexpensive to maintain. It is faster and handles better than my 308 did. The fit and finish is pretty damn good as well. The finish on the Ferrari was far superior and the tone that the exhaust made was just musical heaven. The Fiero sounds pretty good but its huge benefit is the lack of annual maintenance and repair costs.

The Delorean is a car that has always been on my "Gotta Have In My Lifetime" list. I know I have a huge amount to learn about her though. Finally got all the lights working correctly. Will start addressing things as they poop up I suppose but will definitely be reading a ton!!!!

[johnyrottin]

Now that I am back home and home life has settled a bit I got to tear in to 4846 a bit and give her some love. Huge thank you to Marty Maier for the tutelage and help. Couldn't have done it without him.

The biggest project was the brakes. Getting the original hoses out of the hex holder brackets was a nightmare. Once they were out we replaced all 4 corners with stainless braided lines and rebuilt the calipers with stainless steel pistons. One piston was really stuck fast. Some garage engineering found a way to get it out! Way ground a small notch on both sides, slide a large washer into the notches, and used a ball joint fork to turn the washer, thus turning the piston. We also replaced the brake master cylinder.

While we were under the car we inspected the complete frame. It looks amazingly clean...except one spot. The standard brake master leak had recently started so some of the epoxy had bubbled. We scraped the tank plate all down and ground off what we could then POR15 and painted every tiny spot on the frame we could find. Ace Hardware Medium Gray 17076 was a pretty spot on match for color. While were at it I hit some suspension parts with some black rust reformer to keep that under control as well. POR15 was like water and went on really thin so I did a couple coats. Wear gloves because its drippy! One tip Marty gave me on the POR15: don't open the top just poke a small hole in it and cover it with a small bit of duct tape then saran wrap. That will keep it usable for a looooong time.

We put some 90 weight gear oil in the steering rack and smoothed out the steering. Nice touch Marty!

We put in new pigtails for the front marker lights. One of them was pretty destroyed and needed replacement so we did both. I already had LEDs all the way around that Ian Y. and I did earlier.

Marty showed me how to rebuild a mode switch and the magical way a Zen master can reach into the dash and feel his way through the removal and replacement. That was a joyful task but it turns so smoothly now. That turning smoothness came from Marty's attention to detail. He hand polished the aluminum face inside the mode switch itself. That, my friends, is passion!

We installed the stainless steel three screw strips on both sides that hold the two aluminum inspection/protection plates. That one was quick and easy.

Marty and Jake had R&R'd the alternator earlier so they had already done the belts as well. AC has been serviced before they drove her up to DMCMW for the Delorean Open House and Chris Nicolson's visit. He regrained my hood and worked a small spot on it. Looks great!

Upcoming:
DMC Silicon hose set
DMC stainless hose clamps
drivers side tollbooth window retrack
DMC Toby Tabs and bushings
low draw radiator fans
DMC Eibach springs and ??? shocks
Marty's lower rear adjustable control arms
DMCMW door seals

Thanks again Marty!

[DMC-81]

Hi there,

Congrats! It looks like you made a lot of progress on the DeLorean, and that are in good hands for teachers. I'm doing similar jobs on my car, so feel free to browse the pictures in my profile, and let me know if I can help with anything.

39 Fieros! WOW. I also love that car. I guess I'm in grade one in your school!.....:worship: I did a V8 conversion (Archie) on one many years back (305 ci with a 650 cfm Holley double pumper, electric water pump). There are also a couple pictures on my profile of the before and after. That car would just squat and launch. :burnout: Fun times!

I had seen that blue chopped Fiero online a few years back. Man, that is absolutely the best Fiero I have ever seen, and it was the inspiration for my appearance choices when I did mine.

Congrats again and Cheers,

[johnyrottin]

Thanks! Yep, I love how easy the Fieros are to work on and how adaptable they are to so many engine/tranny combos. We just bought one for my daughter so that makes number 40!!! I'll have a scan through your pics and threads to see what tips I can take away. Thank you for the tip!