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Big +1 on the endorsement of the MTL Redline oil. My trans was in stellar shape and shifted/ran very nicely, and the MTL made it even better. Worth every penny!
I love that pic of your car at the construction site. What ever happened with that project anyway?
ive driven by that area again and a year later its still the same, sad.
April 11 2011
I filled the gas tank the previous day and saw fuel on garage floor under the front of the car the next, it seems it leaked out while I had the rear raised up. I discovered the fuel pump cover boot had torn, this could have been bad if I hadnt caught it sooner. a New boot from DMCH solved it quickly.
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Idle system and ign Interference Woes:
While the new Idle ECU restored my ISC system I still had a interference issue at low rpm and idle which made it very hard for the idle system to do its job. It was like some kind of radio interference between the distributor and the IGN ECU. I had previously cleaned all the electrical connections in the ignition system but that did no good. I was sure that either the distributor signal wire or impulse coil was damaged however the signal wire was NLA from DMC or Volvo and finding a good used one was very hard. Every expert I spoke with about a possible impulse coil problem dismissed it as they either work perfectly or they dont at all. It seemed again my car was determined to become the exception. The engine was now missing worse than ever and had to be fixed
CLick and open in a new tab to view video:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...MVI_3411-1.jpg
One theory was that the high voltage wires were making the static, so to try to fix this my new friend Jon came over (in his newly acquired D #2100) and helped put dielectric grease on all of the plugs and wires which isnt a easy job to get to the distributor( had to remove the fuel distributor again). Also changed out the coil to dizzy wire as is had these low quality resistor ends on it. But unfortunately it didnt help. On to the next idea!
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Your tach is moving faster than the engine RPM is changing. So I think your on the right track in that the ignition is causing a fault. Are you running the stock coil? Is your coil capacitor bad or not connected? I don't think the high tension wires would cause that problem. Think it's in the primary.
You are on the right track Dave, Now remember that post was about April '11, ive since fixed the problem, I wont spoil it for those following along. But the repair is coming up.
April 27 2011
I got a good deal on some good used Eibach shocks from a DMC owner in Canada, installed the rears today which only took 1/2 an hour, the rears have an adjustable perch for the spring so I lowered the rear down 1 cm more. One of the fronts that came were blown ( I knew this before the sale) so they would have to be rebuilt before I could mount them. The rears feel a bit stiffer than the originals but not horribly. Overall it was a good improvement.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../IMG_4207-.jpg
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April 29th
I removed the muffler for a bit of polishing and repair. The factory muffler is Stainless but it still corrodes a bit, nothing an hour with a wire bursh cant cure! I also noticed a few of the plug welds had began to crack so I took the muffler to my old shop and TIG welded them up as well
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June 26
I was back to working on the Honda z600 more than the Dmc for a while but I still made time for my DMC
I stepped up and finally shelled out the $56 for new parking brake pads, even though I only needed ONE of the 4 but now I have a reasonably working parking brake system, not enough for handbrake turns but it will hold on a hill at least.
Then I assembled my 3.0L PRV to help clean up the garage, its still going to be a while before this engine is ready to install. I had more immediate issues on the horizon as I was being forced to move out of the house I had been at for 2 years.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_4384.jpg
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July 13 2011
New engine mounts were one of the earliest things I had ever ordered for my car and finally I received them after being on back order so long. The originals had just about full collapsed, the oil pan was rubbing on the crossmember in one spot. To change out the engine mounts without pulling the engine was a real pain but I was able to do it with a floor jack and alot of cursing. My car was due for a Smog test as well so I had to reinstall my other catalytic converter, this was good as I found there was no way of removing the engine mount with the Cat in place. This whole job was by far one of my least favorite to perform.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0061.jpg
August 23 2011
All settled in my new house, its pretty nice. Has a nicer garage that has insulation and even has a sink though its a little smaller than my old garage.
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The big day came and I took the car to the smog shop after retarding the ignition back to stock specs and honing in the CO adjustment, I had a small issue getting the idle to stay in range long enough but she passed smog no problem, in fact all the emissions were below average! what a huge relief.
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You may also notice in that last pic I have installed a rear electric antennae which the later cars had and now I can actually get most radio stations! What a concept right? I think it helps the 80's look to it fullest. The antennae was a gift from my friend Jon
September 18 2011
I was determined to repair my glitchy tach signal so I decided the only thing left to try was start replacing the ignition components one by one until the problem was gone. Unable to find good used harness online or at local recycling yards my options were to pay hundreds of dollars for a new distributor from a delorean part vendor or wait until a PRV powered Volvo 260 or 760 showed up at a local junkyard. Finally one did in the Stockton, Ca Pick N pull which had 2 volvo 260's with what I needed.
The car I pulled the parts from had just under 35k Miles! That's crazy low mileage for an old Volvo.tThe car was intact and not smashed but the oil was pretty bad so maybe they never changed the oil and thats was did it in.
I grabbed the distributor, harness, ignition ECU (and a rear view mirror for my Toyota) for $95 which is about $600 less than what the DMC vendors would charge.
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I decided it would be easier to just swap out the whole distributor than to try and change out the impulse coil. I've read the volvo dizzy has a steeper advance curve that the DMC one but I cant tell the difference from the seat of my pants and I havent dynoed the car yet. I also swapped the ECUs first but this didnt change anything.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/CIMG0160.jpg
I started off with the intact engine and removed the fuel injection system and intake piping. The job was 2hrs long, i've taken these parts off too many times and hope I wont for a while longer.
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You can see the dist on the forward left of the engine buried under alot of hoses.
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DMC vs volvo. I had to swap the vacuum diaphrams as they are different but otherwise it was a simple swap. New dizzy in place.
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Finally I had a success with this long lasting issue, the tachometer was now rock solid, This allowed the Idle speed ECU to finally receive a clean signal and be able to do its job of maintaining the engine at 750rpm. Happy days! Now I don't know if the impulse coil was the problem or if it was the wire, Not really caring now that its repaired.
This thread continues to amaze! Very few people would be able to put this kind of work into a DeLorean and get it into a smooth running machine like you have.
Really nice job and a lot of pictures to explain, thanks for sharing :thumbup2:
Thanks!!!
Jan 3rd 2012
Months have fallen off the calendar before I resumed work on the car. After being out of work almost 9 months I got a new job working on Mobility Vans, Not my ideal job but it was helping pay bills. Unfortunately it was also wearing me out something fierce and was in no mood to work on my cars. By January I was no longer just content with how well the car was running so I began working on small projects to get me moving again.
About a year after finishing the passenger side I decided to refinish the driver side upper door jamb.
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Scraped, cut and brushed away the junk and old silicone up there, no rust luckily considering how bad the frame was.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0055.jpg
Masked off the stainless and applied new sealant and paint.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0059.jpg
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Jan 7 2012
I went for a 50 mile cruise yesterday south along the Sacramento River, it was nice and relaxing, however drives like that really remind you of the rattles and noises the car makes and how badly it pulls to the left.
A neat old auto shop in Walnut Grove, ca.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0023.jpg
Later that night I began the work to repair the know bad rattle. There is a seam at the base of the rear firewall that had began to split and was making a banging noise when the body twisted. I found this after alot of searching. After removing the surrounding insulation I then removed the main wiring harness bulkhead. Ive never removed this panel before and it was alot easier than I expected. Now I had the room to clean the area and grind into it with a rotary tool to remove the old glue.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0026.jpg
I even managed to not break any of the fragile old connectors
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also had a small separation on the driver side
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Got out the epoxy glues, $32 worth there, I only used 3 oz. of it and 2 strips of cloth. after a through cleaning I was time to apply the epoxy
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Action shot of me!
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After the glue was set, I also placed 3 stainless screws in the pinch seam in the engine bay to help hold it in place.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...107_205142.jpg
Jan 16 2012
I was so disgusted at how filthy the refreshed suspension had gotten since I painted it, so I stripped it down for a good cleaning. also found a torn balljoint boot so a new one was installed with new grease.
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Jan 19 2012
Received my new Braided Stainless brake lines that I hope will cure some of my squishy brake pedal problems. The old ones are original to the car I believe and were in better shape than I anticipated. Have you ever had to use a heavy duty ball joint separation tool just to remove brake lines from their brackets? What a bitch to remove!
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Suspension cleaned and new lines ready to bleed.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0061-1.jpg
Also installed proper steel spacers to center the lower shock mount in the arm, not easy to install. I'll tack weld the spacers to the shock when I can. I cut the square access hole in the arm a bit bigger to help making shock swaps easier.
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Looking better than ever.
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Perfect job :thumbup2:
January 28 2012
The brakes are better but not as firm and consistent as I wanted, but then again I still havent replaced the rear lines.
I did some much needed electrical work too. I installed a new and improved oil pressure sender. It seems the factory one isnt best suited for the gauge in the dash so it reads higher than actual, I highly doubted I was getting 80 PSI running pressure when hot. The new one is simple to install, and does read on the gauge much more smoothly and doesn't go as high which I feel is far more accurate. While in the area I cleaned up and trimmed some of the alternator and starter cables, the routing of these wires always looked poor and messy, also after 30yrs they are starting to corrode badly. I wish I had the extra funds to replace all of my wiring.
I also intend to replace all of my aging electronics with Solid state upgrades for some of the car's critical relays and modules. The first I bought is this Fan Fail Module. It tells you if one or both of the cooling fans have failed by lighting up an indicator in the center dash. Lucas electronics made one back when the car was new to do this job however it sucked so badly that it actually causes your fans to fail and them promptly not tell you about it.
For the last 25 years the fix has been to install this fused jumper kit, the new solid state one does this properly and still has fuses which the lucas one didnt.
New vs old
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So installation is simply plunging it in, however mine wasnt. Mine did nothing, the fans still worked but the fail light still came on all the time as before. I pulled the plug up and saw all the wires were cut! WTF?
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It seems the PO has crimped all the wires together which will illuminate the fail light when the fans turn on. the wires were also 2" too short so I had to solder on extensions then new spades to the relay block. Lots of fun!
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Finally that works properly. Now when one fan stops working the fail light blinks once every other second, and if both fans fail then it blinks twice a second, pretty neat kit!
February 5 2012
DYNAMAT Install
My friend Jon in Vacaville owns delorean # 2100 and we have split the cost of a 150' roll of Dynamat, well the cheaper no name stuff that I cant tell apart besides it being 5 times cheaper. 75' a piece is plenty for a delorean and over the last few days ive been installing it all. all the carpet and old moldy padding is out, and the fiberglass is cleaned. Ive done some work in my garage and I went over to Jon's to help with his too.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0012-1.jpg
looks comfy.
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2 layers on the foot wells and 2 on the rear deck and Firewall.
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I repainted the wood panels in the rear, I wanted to remove them for a good sanding and cleaning but they are seriously glued in, they would be destroyed in the process.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0020.jpg
Ive never mounted this battery door in the last 3 years, i guess ive never been confident enough in my electrics that I wont need to get to my battery really quick.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0021.jpg
There is still some more mat to install on the driver side and I also bought some high quality Jute to replace the padding, This insulation really does alot, the car's engine is near silent while cruising on the freeway and the stereo is a bit clearer.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0017.jpg
That's pretty cool, where did you get the solid state FFM?
From Dave M here on the site
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze109dmk/
Feb 23 2012
Haven't done much to the car lately, still have a ton to do but not in the mood after work.
Last weekend I had a little Delorean meet up at my place. My friend Chris sold his 16k mile '81 to a guy named Josh. He paid me to install new power window motors since the windows havent worked in 12 years. I also did a full inspection on the car to be sure its roadworthy. It had been driven only 400 miles or so in the last decade so a few things needed attention but overall it was a near perfect example of what a delorean looked like and felt like when new. It was an automatic but it still felt great, the transmission shifted very well and the engine felt terrific too.
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My friend Jon also came for Vacaville and we installed lowered springs in the front of his car which helped dramatically as his were originals that had been heated with a torch and made a real horrible ride and noise. check out the old springs!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0858.jpg
Another weekend we will do the rears and maybe shocks.
Compressing in the new ones.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0860.jpg
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Much easier with the upper arm off the car.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0862.jpg
Last Night I repaired the interior lights which mysteriously stopped working the other day, well they weren't wire properly anyhow. it seems one of the 4 diodes in teh light system had failed, luckily I bought spare a long time ago, probably for something else on the car that was broken.
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I also really wanted to get the door ajar light to work, it was never worked since I got the car, ergo it would be awesome. a door ajar light is a bit unnecessary on a delorean as its very obvious if your door is, well open. I thought i may be yet another diode which is hidden up behind the gauge cluster, so after the 20 minutes of painful twisting to get to the 7mm headed nuts I got the binnacle off and found the diode. I changed it and fiddled with every connection in the circuit until it started to work, Swapped out the LED for a regular bulb as it illuminated the logo much better. Above it is the seat belt warning light, also has never worked and i dont feel like getting it going, its a pointless light as I never drive without belts on.
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Tonight Im prepping my car for a trip to LA, Ill be coming back with something pretty cool...
Have a safe trip, and keep us update :)Quote:
Originally Posted by vwdmc16
Great tread. What type of fuel filter did you end up using? I had the same leaking issue, I tried using one from special t auto and it didnt fit at all
Only the Bosch unit with forged metal ends would seal, the part numbers like 0450 130 030 0 or something like that
March 3 2012
Back from a quick trip to central LA, visited some friends and attempted to pick up a new project( more on that later). The front tires were horribly out of balance causing the steering wheel to vibrate very badly at 65mph+, one shop said they were too out of balance to repair, probably flat spotted. The tires were only 13k miles and 3 years old but I felt I needed new ones. I traveled to my friend's shop further south and bought 2 new 195/60r14s for $190 installed. A good deal and the vibration was gone! I averaged 26- 27MPG which is a bit less than the trip in the Rental rally, I figure this to be from the near constant use of the A/C system on this trip.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0036-1.jpg
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Also on the way down I passed the 50k miles mark!
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Well here it is, my "little project". Yes its a "Delorean" go kart body. Okay not a precise replica I know, probably to avoid copyright issues or maybe they were going for a Corolla GTS look, I dont know, but when I do get it up north here alot of fiberglass work its going to transform it into a much more Delorean like shape. Also i would have to build some kind of chassis for it too. But it would be a back burner project, its roughly a 1/2 scale replica so it would still take up alot of room.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0035-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0034-1.jpg
With a bit of MS paint to show what new vinyl would do to help get the proportions right, its not so bad
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../dmc/dkart.jpg
Didnt quite fit, and I decided it wasnt work trying to strap it on and damage something else
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...gejpeg_2_2.jpg
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The Delorean really is a great GT car, Just needing cruise control to help on those 100+ miles drives, I had zero mechanical or electrical failure. Only one new and rather worrying problem was arising, 6 times the transmission popped out of 5th gear while driving, 4 times while decelerating in gear. The 5th gear detent doesnt seem to be strong enough, My transmission may need some serious work soon.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0040.jpg
I was pleased however with how little coolant I had lost over the long 2 day trip as my coolant cap has a habit of letting out coolant when I park overnight after the engine gets good and hot. Deloreans dont have coolant catch cans factory and I intend on changing this, but more about that later.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0057.jpg
Still I feel Im on borrowed time with parts of my cooling system, So Im doing a bit of an overhaul as I also have small leaks from some of the cooling hose joints, especially when its cold outside. So out came all the coolant and all the hoses.
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I discovered a few things, 1 There were some cooling joints and tubes that I had never removed and cleaned before (for some reason I had it in my mind that I had gone through and cleaned all the connections and replaced more of the old and rusting clamps) 2. It appear that the rear frame rails of my car are much more bent than I thought. I had noticed the rails were a bit askew ans rthe epoxy cracked when I bought the car. The rear is bent about 1" over to the driver side. Since only the bumper impact foam attaches to this, there isnt any real problem with its being out of place but still its not right. I wouldnt have to cut the parts off, just pull it back to the right.
Compare the angle of the great frame rail below to the one above.
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I worked on cleaning up the rear coolant pipes, these are 1.25" aluminum tube of varying lengths and shape connected to be short pieces of rubber hose. Like Ive said some still havent been removed in years and now have corroded enough to start leaks where they connect to the hoses.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0055-1.jpg
A few hours with scotch brite pads, some 220 grit sandpaper and hot water, they were looking much better.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0062.jpg
Then I though why not go a bit further and give them a little polish? followed be some clear coat to let them shine longer.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0056-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0059-1.jpg
Internally the tubes are holding up very well with just a few bits of calcium inside.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0064.jpg
One tube however is starting to eat through, im tempted to replace this even though the the hole would be under an area that is sealed by the rubber hose and clamp.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0066.jpg
Seems like you have a funny project with your kart!
I think it would be awesome to drive such a thing :)
I'm still amazed when I see the work you've done on your car, even a simple job looks awesome!
Those coolant pipe shine better than their first day!
On the other hand, just by curiosity, you also own an AMC Javelin if I'm not mistaken? Nice car too!
Thanks, I hope the go kart project even happens, And sorry to disappoint but no the Javelin was a customer's car that I build a sweet roll cage and 3rd link for a new axle in the back. ill try to find some pics.
I didn't even notice the Javelin at first. I thought he meant the Honda! It sort of looks like an AMC :)Quote:
Originally Posted by vwdmc16
Here are a few of the AMX, it was a '72 i believe. I built a full DOM cage for SCCA road racing, a 22 gallon fuel cell mount, seat mounts, coil over conversion in the rear with the 3rd link, and Willwood pedals and a custom steering column. Last I saw it it was finished and kicking ass on the track.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...r/100_3948.jpg
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Wow, amazing job done, as usual :thumbup2:
March 13 2012
The last 2 coolant pipes are now cleaned, sanded and polished, I also stripped and repainted the pipe brackets and inserted thin pieces of foam to help hold them better.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0078.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0079.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0080.jpg
I found these nice stainless clamps from Sweden that have a frosted white nylon cover which I really think looks neat and modern, So they will now assist in holding the tubes.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0056-2.jpg
I had a small area rusting where the frame widens, after alot of sanding and wire wheeling the rust is down and I coated it with some paint that I found to be a near perfect match to the original color.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0067-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0074.jpg
There is however a large area thats rusting I cant just sand away, I will have to weld in new metal here next time the engine comes out.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0058-1.jpg
On the other side of that rust is another cleaned up and painted bracket, New stainless hardware on everything I reinstalled.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0084.jpg
Speaking of hardware, this little bag of stainless nuts, bolts and washers cost a whopping $45, and i'll will need alot more in the months to come. I also discovered a 10mm wrench inside the passenger side underbody with some super rusty washers, Who knows how long this has been in there.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0065.jpg
All new stainless hose clamps should stop all my small leaks.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0063.jpg
With the underside easy to access I decided to finish up the flex brake line installation, the driver's rear was be far the most difficult to remove, these lines really did not want to come out.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0071.jpg
I cleaned up and reused the original plastic spiral protectors.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0075.jpg
New lines in, I noticed that the ground wire had been "customized". It seems somebody lengthened the stock battery to frame ground wire by bolting on another 12" piece to the transmission. I will remove this addition and place a new ground back on the frame and then an additional cable will connect the frame to the transmission.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0076.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0086.jpg
Now the cooling system is intact again, ive begun to work on the rear bumper and supports. I believe this car was rear ended years ago hard enough to bent the rear frame extension, So surely the rear bumper would have been destroyed. Look what I found, the bumper has a date stamped on it November 6th 1981, and also a tag on the rear taillight harness dated December 1st 1981. The car was built June 1981. Therefore I believe these parts to not be original to the car but with maybe not with the way things were put on out of order on the assembly line.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0088.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0073-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0090.jpg
Wow is the only underwhelming word I can say! I just bought my first DeLorean last week and will be picking it up on Monday. Your incredible project daunts and inspires me at the same time. Thank you for posting and best of luck to you on all of your future projects.
Congratulations mate! Sure your VIN is correct though - 41287 is incredibly high?Quote:
Originally Posted by AugustneverEnds
On his avatar area it says 10287
March 21 2012
Ive purchased some new headliner material that is not a factory match but it looks pretty nice. I stripped the passenger side backing board bare of the old glue and foam. Im not ready to show the first attempt with the new material but I must confess it did not turn out well, so more on that later.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...027_copied.jpg
Meanwhile the rear of the car is still apart.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...028_copied.jpg
The remaining rusty parts on my car are really bothering me so I took my rusty and bent up Rear Fascia/ muffler heat shield off, ground the rust down, straightened it then painted it with high temp black paint. The shield is just a pressed 16 ga steel panel with some holes and zinc plated. A whopping $72 for a NOS one.
http://store.delorean.com/images/Pro...ium/101764.jpg
Mine isnt bad now, just ugly, but I wished to improve it so I purchased some 16ga Stainless steel sheet for $35 and began to make my own, I'll have the finished product ready soon. You can see the original that is repainted on the right.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...029_copied.jpg
The car has been apart for weeks and ive become quite distressed at the fact I cant drive it, however i've restrained myself from assembling the rear just to go for a joy ride and instead began repairing the rear Fascia inner support panel. A previous owner has performed some repairs on this fiberglass panel before but it looks like they never finished sanding the repairs, also many new cracks have formed that I need to fill with fiberglass epoxy.
I dont know why there needed to be such a large repair for the small hole that the tail light harness passes through, but it still needs work.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0030-1.jpg
I taped up the back side of the holes I wished to fill, and made some dams with tape to contain the epoxy over the cracks and low areas. Somebody has ovaled out the lower engine lid latch holes. im filling these L shaped cuts up and drilling two new slots.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...031_copied.jpg
The largest crack is in this corner and will need alot of reinforcing.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...033_copied.jpg
Epoxy everywhere! It was immediately after i poured the epoxy that I realized I should have put the tape on the face of the panel as to mold the new epoxy to a nice flat surface, that would have cut down the sanding later.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...034_copied.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...035_copied.jpg
After a night for the epoxy to dry It was time to sand the excess and drill new holes for the latch mechanism. Super keen observers will notice that is in fact a 1994 Mazda Miata trunk latch. The Delorean latch is not longer available NOS, and even used ones are not really available, this is an issue because my car has been missing this part for years. But just my luck that the mazda bit is in bountiful supply at wreaking yards and fits perfectly, It literally bolts on and the delorean release cable clips right on.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...036_copied.jpg
With an evening of sanding done I primered the panel.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...037_copied.jpg
The next day it was ready for some SEM Trim Black paint, however I was not satisfied with how some parts came out, more sanding and paint will be needed before mounting to the car.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0021-1.jpg
While letting the paint dry I turned to the rear bumper cover
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0088.jpg
My cheap "dremel" I used on the car's firewall comes in handy again as I removed the 5 broken studs that were molded into the edges of the urethane bumper cover, these snapped studs are what have attributed to my very warped and saggy rear bumper, the most obvious and surly part of the bumper.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0016.jpg
Old stub remains and one new stainless stud.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0017-1.jpg
How the new ones will mount, Im getting some serious glue to attach these, is supposedly NASA derived and about $60 a tube.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0019.jpg
Ive started another little sub-project on my car here; replacing all the simple steel brackets with stainless steel. These two are relatively easy, just a 5" tall 90' steel sheet with 4 holes. You see these also have been slotted quite poorly by a previous owner, probably to get better bumper alignment with the bent rear frame.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0023-1.jpg
More 16ga 304 SS to the rescue, My neighbors must hate the sound of my angle grinder cutting up metal.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/SSPX0022.jpg
Next some drilling to make some adjustable slots, i'll bend these up in a bench vice after the slots are done.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SSPX0024-4.jpg
Best thread ever. I already know how it turns out and I'm still anxious to see what's next :)
April 6 2012
I've had a few delays on getting the rear together, I won't have the glue I need for the new studs in the fascia for another week or more. The car hasn't moved in like 6 weeks, this was getting depressing for me. The stainless brackets are done however and fit great. I will however I will need to do a "rough adjustment" of my rear frame tomorrow so things will line up properly.
Heres those 90" brackets in place:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0023-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0019-1.jpg
I had my lower fascia bracket/heat shield bent up on a friend's Metal brake, it looks great!Next I drilled the 12 holes for the fascia studs.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0047.jpg
New vs old:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0052.jpg
Test fit on the bumper and frame: You can see how bent the frame is by comparing the gap between the muffler tips and the heat shield too.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0048.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0050.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0051.jpg
My local metal supply shop sells a bunch of strange surplus parts including these rubber mounts for just $0.50 each, They fit perfectly to replace the factory muffler mounts, I just needed to drill the two mounting holes to 6mm. I saved $25.50 over NOS DMC mounts.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0016-1.jpg
I pressure tested my cooling system at temperature and found a few leaks that a clamp adjustment fixed.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0018-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0017-1.jpg
Now to the creation of a Coolant overflow tank which I mentioned before. I mocked up some mounting ideas, I think im going to have to cut down this bottle unless I can find one at least 2.5" shorter.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0028.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0031-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0027-1.jpg
You can see I attached my spare quarter panel to the wall, decoration and space savings at its finest!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0022-1.jpg
I decided to swap my cars positions in the garage as im starting body work on the Honda and it would be easier to isolate the little car with plastic curtains on this side.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0032.jpg
Although im not much for baseball caps ( I think I look dumb in them) I decided to buy one of these new limited edition (1 of 500) DMC hats because it looks good and I can say there is one less of these hats for one of those "Playas" that would wear one of these hats sideways and has never even see a Delorean in person.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0053.jpg
I like the job you've done on your stainless bracket/heat shield :thumbup2:
Your glasses look like one of the scientist :biggrin:
April 8 2012
So I performed my "rough frame adjustment" Saturday night. Now it looks really crude and I suppose it was but it worked and performed the same action that a body shop would use, brute force. With a sturdy tow rope I used my Toyota to give a few hard tugs on the right rear corner of the frame and pulling it back to the passenger side about 1" it's still a bit off but miles better than it was before. Not pictured but I did place some large wetted towels on the strap to absorb any energy if the strap were to break and fling towards me or the D.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0058.jpg
See the difference in the gap on the driver side, it moved about 1". This side needs some sanding and paint love too.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0059.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0060.jpg
The rope did bent up the left side some and crack most of the epoxy off( which wasnt holding on well anyway) but I was able to bend it back, some sanding and paint will help making the rail look better.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0062.jpg
I then took off the muffler and brackets for more cleaning, the engine is constantly shedding its oil onto these parts, I was able to track down another leak. This sensor is an oil pressure sender for the idiot light on the dash which illuminates when there is less than 4 or 5psi oil pressure.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0063.jpg
As you can see the copper O ring is bent, it must have been installed poorly. A new O ring fixes that.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0064.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0068.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0066.jpg
I then attempted to remove the crank pulley as the belt grooved looked pretty rough and could use some wire wheeling, I also could look at the engine's front seal which is leaking too. However no amount of impacting with my gun could get it off. Another time perhaps when I have a torch.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0069.jpg
The muffler brackets used to be yellow zinc plated but all the years of oil and heat have worn that down. After a good cleaning I primered them.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0077.jpg
Upon picking them up to hang them to dry I thought hey these are much too heavy. So after they dried I got out the ruler and pen to mark up some lightening holes, drill presses are invaluable sometimes.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0078.jpg
Now a few ounces lighter its time for some Wrinkle Black Paint
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0079.jpg
Another small project was to weld some nuts to the lower engine lid latch as getting to these are hard when the latch is in the bumper.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0070.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0072.jpg
Unable to find a shorter usable Water bottle for my coolant overflow, I cut this one down 2 3/4" using a hose clamp to mark a straight line around the bottle. using a 4 1/2" angle grinder I carefully cut away the section i was removing, this is very thin stainless.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0071.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0073.jpg
Sadly the Tig welder wasnt working so in the meantime ill have to go the cheap route and just JB weld it, remember this bottle will not be holding pressure, it just has to be water tight.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0076.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0074.jpg
April 12 2012
Ive been sanding away at my Fascia support panel everyday after work for the last week and I was not happy with how smooth is came out until yesterday. Some skim filler coats and lots of primer to get this rather panel that isnt super visible anyhow into the proper smoothness.
Yes the filler is extracted from Dolphins....
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0080.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0092.jpg
Primered up with the overflow bottle in its mock up location.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0096.jpg
A neat picture of the rear naked.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0082.jpg
Here is how the seam came out of the Epoxied bottle, im quite chuffed about it.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0094.jpg
I cut out a little access cover out of my Stainless, this was another part missing from my car, the original is a simple zinc plated steel plate but a NOS one cost $86.71 !!!!!!!!! check it out! there must only be like 5 left. I could cut two dozen out of that $35 sheet of SS I bought.
http://store.delorean.com/p-9652-access-panel.aspx
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0101.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0103.jpg
Next up is to give the urethane foam bumper some TLC. I brushed off the loose foam chunks and whatever black coating was flaking off before spraying on thick coats of Plasti-Dip, that plastic coating spray, Its the same job I did on the front bumper to help keep the foam from deteriorating as quickly.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0104.jpg
Sanded and repainted the rear frame rail corners.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0105.jpg
Great job, what about the round corner? Easy to do?Quote:
Originally Posted by vwdmc16
PJ Grady Europe use to sale them in stainless, but there is no more product in his shop:
http://www.pjgrady.co.uk//GenericCon...ent=Parts.html
I thought it will be available on DeLorean Performance Industrie but no:
https://www.deloreanindustries.com/s...stainless.html
Anyway, if you decide someday to sale your own plate in stainless, count me in if you're agree to send it to France :)
April 14th 2012
Another test fit of the rear support panel and latch, you can also see the clamps for the overflow bottle, not the prettiest solution, i'll create something better in the future.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0107.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0110.jpg
New hose for the overflow, looks sharp.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0111.jpg
A job before the rear bumper is repainted is to replace these rusted and mostly stripped out jack nuts that secure the tail lamps. they are quite hard to find in this size and at M4x 0.70 pitch.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0115.jpg
Surprisingly Home Depot ( not Ace which has the weird hardware) carried the proper speed nuts I needed that support the top of the bumper cover to the support. Just one row of screws, nuts and washer but still $10.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0116.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0117.jpg
More new stainless bolts all round. Over $40 in hardware this week so far.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0118.jpg
All bolted together and ready to install. Yes I know I havent glued in my new lower studs, I still have not gotten my awesome glue, I may have to go with something else but i can do it with the bumper attached.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0119.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0121.jpg
Close up of the DMC/Miata latch and cable.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0122.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0125.jpg
Need to Rivet on the engine compartment light but otherwise its looking great!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0126.jpg
Hose installed.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0127.jpg
Cleaned the Fascia a bit and its looking less droopy and will look even better after the studs are in.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0128.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0137.jpg
Muffler brackets look way better, Love the look of a non greasy engine.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0138.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0142.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0143.jpg
With everything back on it was time for a test drive, the first in 6 weeks. all went well at first, I pulled over after a few miles to take a look at the bottle and saw it was leaking. It appears I forgot one important step, drilling a vent hole in my custom overflow bottle. All my seams were air tight and this allowed pressure to build in the bottle ( remember I said it wasnt going to be pressurized) and partially blew out the bottom.
Damn time for more Epoxy.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0147.jpg
At least She's drive-able for this weekend's Norcal DMC club meet.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0145.jpg
Enjoy your week-end and please post some pictures :thumbup2:Quote:
Originally Posted by vwdmc16
April 14
Went to the Norcal Delorean Club tech day, we had quite a good turn out with 7 cars This was held at a members house in El Dorado Hills. We chatted, had some burgers and did some door Torsion bar adjustments. First was on my friend Jon's car, his doors needed alot of work and they never would stay up on their own.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0148.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0150.jpg
check out Stephen's car with just 19k miles, im SOOOOO envious of that super clean engine.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0153.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0154.jpg
Here we are using the wooden jig and large breaker bar to hold one of the torsion bars on Jon's car
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0152.jpg
Hex head socket
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0156.jpg
Jon's car gave a pretty good fight, some of the bolts were partially stripped, not what you want when they secure the $1500 bars that are always twisting at a few hundred lbs of force.
Next up was mine which appeared to have never been adjusted since new, We tightened both bars up one spline. Finally my doors go up all the way and stay even in cool weather. Such a great thing!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0159.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0160.jpg
After lunch we all headed out for a cruise through Folsom,ca.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0163.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0167.jpg
Great day!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...c/IMG_0170.jpg
That was such a great day!