Will be interesting to see how this works out.Originally Posted by SupercoolBill
Posts: 1,250
Will be interesting to see how this works out.
Posts: 937
Yesterday was the day! It was very cold and not snowing so the roads were dry.
We loaded up both of the frames and the frame jig on my buddy's trailer. Brought them to a autobody guy that has a small self owned collision and autobody shop one town away.
I really hope this guy knows what he is doing, sounds like he does.20220301_113052.jpg20220301_113100.jpg20220301_120904.jpg
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Posts: 937
Also cleaned up some more parts after work to relieve stress.
I am trying to decide if we should buy new brake caliper pistons or not. They are not damaged on the part that is in past the seal but the part where the boots go on is rusty, flaky. Is this chrome or nickel plating? 20220301_191827.jpg20220301_191823.jpg20220301_192353.jpg20220301_192356.jpg
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Location: Olathe, KS
Posts: 1,678
My VIN: 11596
Hey man! We want an update!
Andy Lien
VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023
Photography and Backpacking is life.
Was Fargo, ND
Now Kansas City
Posts: 937
Hey everyone. Sorry for the lack of updates for so long. Life has been crazy busy and hectic and the DeLorean has been on the back burner for a while. My antique motorcycle got some new pannier cases installed. My wife's Miata got a cold air I take I take, new upgraded brakes all the way around, and some other work done. My son is getting married this summer. The HVAC business that my wife and I own has been very demanding....you get the picture.
Here's he shorti-sh version of what is going on with the DeLorean.
We brought the rust free (but damaged) frame, the straight but badly rusted frame, and the jig we made to a guy that claimed he could fix the rust free frame and have it back to us in a few weeks. He had the frame for over a month and had done hardly any work on it. After more than 2 months of me bugging him he finally said it was done. He had fixed the trailing arm mount, managed to straighten the front strut tower pretty well, and claimed that he had straightened the frame. I went to pick up the frames and didn't get the "warm fuzzies" as they say. I asked him if the jig that I had made to fit the rusty frame fit on the frame he had straightened and he said "No,...but I can tell you it is straight,..probably your rusty frame is not straight because it is so rusty." I wasn't really believing him but I just wanted my frames back at that point so I paid him $1400 for his time working on the frame, loaded up, and headed back to my shop. The frames sat in my shop for a couple weeks. The other night my wife and I took a bunch of measurements. The frame is not straight. It is straight on a lot of measurements but the rear Y is a little tweaked to the left.
At this point we are just done dealing with this frame and done trying to find someone to fix it correctly. So we made an executive decision to buy a known straight, rust free OEM frame if we can find one and it isn't a obscene amount of money. We will then sell the rust free frame and the rusted frame to recoup some (hopefully a good amount) of our money. I'm sure the right person could finish fixing this frame super easy but there are too many bad memories for us. We just want a known good frame so we can start rebuilding this car. I have contacted Josh at DPI and he is checking to see if he can find us a good used frame.
We are also looking for a good set of trailing arms.
End of story for now
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Last edited by SupercoolBill; 07-02-2022 at 06:04 PM.
Posts: 1,250
Sorry to hear of your frame troubles. If you do find one, I suggest you do all your measurements before buying it. I wonder how straight these frames were right from the factory. I suppose Josh would know. I could easily believe they are 1/8” off, maybe even a 1/4”. How bad was your “fixed” frame?
Posts: 937
The worst measurement is the comparison of rear shock mount hole to front shock mount hole. As far as we can tell the right side is longer by 1+ inches.
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Wow, hard to have the nerve to charge someone for that.
Posts: 937
Yup we got had. The guy didn't do what he said he did. The one thing is the work that he DID do is worth something....not sure if it I'd worth that much or not. He claimed that he had 2 full days I of work into it.
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Location: Olathe, KS
Posts: 1,678
My VIN: 11596
Bill,
I will be changing my frame out this fall. My car has a manual frame that has some rust, three or four easy patch repairs, but it is straight as an arrow. I'm swapping it out because I got a great deal on a restored frame from someone near by and I don't have the space or wife-patience to have my car laid up for months waiting for frame repair. You clearly have the space to do this. I would be selling my frame for a very reasonable price if someone is willing to come pick it up once I get my new frame under my car. Probably in Sept/Oct. Located in Kansas City. Just a thought.
Andy Lien
VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023
Photography and Backpacking is life.
Was Fargo, ND
Now Kansas City
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