After 40 yrs with Deloreans is it time to end walk away? Advice welcomed.

[JIMJAM]

My ownership with Delorean goes back to when I drove my father's new 81 in college and one of the few who took a DMC to see BTTF when it came out. Some great times, lots of bad ones. I have reached that dreaded point in my life where I must make some tough choices. I have had vin 1597 for 20+ years. Ron Pirkle who recently passed was my mentor and has worked on it more than anyone. He was my closest knowledgable mechanic some 4 hours away.

Just this week my brother in law and I installed a new DMC starter. Not sure that went wrong but bottom line is 3 teeth on the flywheel "that we can see" are gone. Now the starter wired but not installed in place just instantly spins up when the bat is connected. When I have one side of the battery in car connected, touching the other post causes a huge/strong spark and the starter runs without! the key in the ignition.
So here is my dilemma.
Replacing the flywheel appears to be a expensive/difficult task. I am unable physically "mild stroke" and no lift in my garage just 12 inch ramps to do this job. My choices are sell it "as is" project car status and get what I can. Or.... Try and find someone in SC who can do the job or ship it off to DMC or DPI. No clue what cost I am looking at but lets say I am willing to drop $10 grand or so to replace it and have other "while they are there" things done and the inevitable other issues rise up.
My guess is with a running car and with the recent $$$ repairs done I will break even "get a premium/easier to sell etc" if I sell it.
Also with a drivable car, I could enjoy it another 5 years or so " just turned 60" and then let it go.

So its enough is enough, get rid of it as is and take a $$$ hit.
Or Dump in more $$$ fixing it, hope for the best and try and enjoy it a little longer and hopefully get a decent resale with repaired car bringing in a premium.

Thanks for any advice. Its been stressing me out. Jim Looks like I need a shop to fix it or a buyer. Flip a coin?

[Timeless]

Try and find someone in SC who can do the job or ship it off to DMC or DPI. No clue what cost I am looking at but lets say I am willing to drop $10 grand or so to replace it and have other "while they are there" things done and the inevitable other issues rise up.

Thanks for any advice. Its been stressing me out. Jim Looks like I need a shop to fix it or a buyer. Flip a coin?

If you decide to send it, DO NOT send to D.IND! Liars and crooks and I found out the hard way. Contact a DMC location.

[JETS 81 DMC]

JIMJAM,

Checkout post #3 in the link below.
Contact J Baker or the TN Motor Club link and they should be able to give you some good advice.

https://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?19607-SEDOC-Active

Good luck and hope you keep your car to enjoy for more years. Great history story too.

[JIMJAM]

Thanks for the replies so far.
Guess I need to 1st find out what kind of est time/shop rate and cost to replace it.

[Bitsyncmaster]

You will need to drop the transmission or pull the engine. I have dropped the 5 speed with front on ramps and each rear wheel on two 6x6 blocks. You would need a transmission jack.

[JBaker4981]

Hey Jim,
Feel free to reach out any time! Would love to see you fall back in love with the car!

[ssdelorean]

If you decide to send it, DO NOT send to D.IND! Liars and crooks and I found out the hard way. Contact a DMC location.

... Dave Bauerle (740) 815-3669 in Delaware, OH is another great option. He has been working on DeLoreans since they came out. I have known him since 1996 and his integrity is off the charts great. He is now a one man show so don't expect instant gratification. You need to call and schedule time.

Warning: DO NOT contact "Bauerle Automotive" (Wendal's Garage) they are crooks who purchased Dave's business a couple of years ago and ran it into the ground.

[BladeBronson]

If you decide to send it, DO NOT send to D.IND! Liars and crooks and I found out the hard way. Contact a DMC location.

I had to google "D.IND DeLorean" to understand that you were talking about DeLorean Industries. It should have been obvious to me from the context, but I've never seen it abbreviated that way.

[JBaker4981]

... Dave Bauerle (740) 815-3669 in Delaware, OH is another great option. He has been working on DeLoreans since they came out. I have known him since 1996 and his integrity is off the charts great. He is now a one man show so don't expect instant gratification. You need to call and schedule time.

Warning: DO NOT contact "Bauerle Automotive" (Wendal's Garage) they are crooks who purchased Dave's business a couple of years ago and ran it into the ground.

Bauerle is still around? Old School Cool right there!

[DMC VIN 6639]

James Nickles is in Greenville, SC. He can fix it. He has restored 2 deloreans. He has 3 more to do.