How to maintain your Delorean for less than $500 a year and put 10,000 miles on it

[Delorean Industries]

Well, I got the radiator mounted but it was getting too dark to finish up so I called it quits for the night. Today after work I plan to finish connecting the hoses, tighten everything, fill the system with tap water, and then pressure test and drive the thing a little bit.

After I have verified there are no leaks, I will drain the water, blow the system out with compressed air, and then fill it up with coolant and distilled water.

I am not putting my precious coolant in this thing until I know it is leak free.

I do have a few concerns about their recent repair. My dad went and picked up the radiator for me and I was shocked to see how dirty it was and that they used some sort of expoxy to do part of the repair this time. I really hope the thing holds.

The first repair looked so professional but it obviously wasn't fixed. The current repair looks so redneck. We will see if it lasts or not.

The last part of that made me smile.

[stevedmc]

The last part of that made me smile.

Care to offer me a discounted one at DCS if this one starts leaking? I think Hervey has the cheapest price but I'd love to buy from you if you find me entertaining.

Well the repaired radiator is installed. I put a pressure tester on it about an hour ago and left it at 15 pounds. So far no leaks.

The next thing on tonight's list is to hook up my ac compressor belt. I disconnected it last year when doing other work and have been too lazy to reinstall it.

After I get the ac belt reinstalled I will check my ac level and top off if it needs any.

The stinking AC belt reinstall didn't go too well. I was tensioning it and noticed the bracket was bending out. I later noticed that one of the bolts that holds the bracket onto the engine wouldn't stay in. It turns out the threads in the engine are stripped.

It looks like I will be driving to Walmart tonight with no AC. The good news is I am going to Walmart to get some of those new iPads to put on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Free-Overnig...item231b20211d

[stevedmc]

Total expenses to date: $247.0716
Expense #1 (Radiator Leak) - January 7, 2012 - 44,079 Miles - Total Cost: $117.83 (including tax)
Expense #2 (Radiator Leak) - January 15, 2012 - 44,386 Miles - Total Cost: $7.40 (including tax)
Expense #3 (Replaced windshield wipers) - January 15, 2012 - 44,386 Miles - Total Cost: $17.54 (including tax)
Expense #4 (Oil Change) - January 21, 2012 - 44,643 Miles - Total Cost: $24.4616 (including tax)
Expense #4 (Reinstalled steering column bushing) - January 22, 2012 - 44,693 - Total Cost: $1.35 (including tax)
Expense #5 (bought coolant and water) - February 20, 2012 - 45,000 - Total Cost: $11.88 (including tax)
Expense #6 (replaced rear interior light) - February 23, 2012 - 45,500 - Total Cost: $31 (no tax and free shipping courtesy of Farrar)
Expense #7 (replaced heater control valve) - March 4, 2012 - 45,766 - Total Cost: $10.39 (including tax)
Expense #8 (bought more coolant/water) - March 7, 2012 - 45,766 - Total Cost: 23.65 (including tax)
Expense #9 (glued rear view mirror to windshield) - March 16, 2012 - 45,772 - Total Cost: $1.57

Well, at least something went right tonight. I decided that since my car is drivable again it would be a good time to reinstall my interior rear view mirror. Using a piece of glue padding I purchased from eBay, I installed the rear view mirror and I can now see behind me.

Upon driving today I noticed my radiator appears to still have a stinking leak. This means I will not be going back to the repair shop to have them "fix" it. And I checked my refrigerant level and its way too low to top off with r134a. I'm guessing I will need a new condenser and radiator. The fascia needs to be repainted too because of the incident at the inspection station. I was going to paint it myself, but I'm seriously just thinking of calling my insurance company on Monday to discuss my options. It just stinks that this happened almost 3 months ago and I am just now calling the insurance company about it. I've got a $1,000 deductible which I didn't really want to spend but I'm fed up with this crap. I guess the title of this thread should be changed to how not to maintain your Delorean for less than $500 a year and put 10,000 miles on it.

[jawn101]

Total expenses to date: $247.0716
Expense #1 (Radiator Leak) - January 7, 2012 - 44,079 Miles - Total Cost: $117.83 (including tax)
Expense #2 (Radiator Leak) - January 15, 2012 - 44,386 Miles - Total Cost: $7.40 (including tax)
Expense #3 (Replaced windshield wipers) - January 15, 2012 - 44,386 Miles - Total Cost: $17.54 (including tax)
Expense #4 (Oil Change) - January 21, 2012 - 44,643 Miles - Total Cost: $24.4616 (including tax)
Expense #4 (Reinstalled steering column bushing) - January 22, 2012 - 44,693 - Total Cost: $1.35 (including tax)
Expense #5 (bought coolant and water) - February 20, 2012 - 45,000 - Total Cost: $11.88 (including tax)
Expense #6 (replaced rear interior light) - February 23, 2012 - 45,500 - Total Cost: $31 (no tax and free shipping courtesy of Farrar)
Expense #7 (replaced heater control valve) - March 4, 2012 - 45,766 - Total Cost: $10.39 (including tax)
Expense #8 (bought more coolant/water) - March 7, 2012 - 45,766 - Total Cost: 23.65 (including tax)
Expense #9 (glued rear view mirror to windshield) - March 16, 2012 - 45,772 - Total Cost: $1.57

Well, at least something went right tonight. I decided that since my car is drivable again it would be a good time to reinstall my interior rear view mirror. Using a piece of glue padding I purchased from eBay, I installed the rear view mirror and I can now see behind me.

Upon driving today I noticed my radiator appears to still have a stinking leak. This means I will not be going back to the repair shop to have them "fix" it. And I checked my refrigerant level and its way too low to top off with r134a. I'm guessing I will need a new condenser and radiator. The fascia needs to be repainted too because of the incident at the inspection station. I was going to paint it myself, but I'm seriously just thinking of calling my insurance company on Monday to discuss my options. It just stinks that this happened almost 3 months ago and I am just now calling the insurance company about it. I've got a $1,000 deductible which I didn't really want to spend but I'm fed up with this crap. I guess the title of this thread should be changed to how not to maintain your Delorean for less than $500 a year and put 10,000 miles on it.

Sorry to hear it Steve. Ambitious goal and maybe one you could have hit if it was just maintenance and not repairs too. No one could realistically maintain *and* repair ANY car for this money.

I wonder if you should subtract "damage and damage related expenses" and see if you can still do it?

[Michael]

I was saving this for(what I thought would be) later, but WTH

[stevedmc]

Sorry to hear it Steve. Ambitious goal and maybe one you could have hit if it was just maintenance and not repairs too. No one can maintain *and* repair ANY car for this money.

I wonder if you should subtract "damage and damage related expenses" and see if you can still do it?

I'm going to keep this thread going, regardless of what I spend this year and people can make their own decision as to what I spent to maintain my car.

Below is my new shopping list. The main reason I want to buy from Hervey for this order is because he has a larger AC condensor than what the Houston guys are selling. And since I'm ticked off anyway, I might as well spend the $219 for new AC lines anyway, whether or not insurance will being paying for this stuff.

100415C New fans and radiator mounted & tested. $499.90
30591 AC compressor hoses R134A spliced. $219.00
106327HE AC condensor core only new $139.95
Total From Hervey: $858.85

In addition to this, if I do file the insurance claim I am going to insist that the fascia be painted. It only had a few small dings in it before the incident. Now its got all sorts of chips of paint missing. If I am going to spend $1,000 for a deductible I might as well get at least $1,000 worth of repairs.

[jawn101]

If I am going to spend $1,000 for a deductible I might as well get at least $1,000 worth of repairs.

Damn right.

[Ron]

I wonder if you should subtract "damage and damage related expenses" and see if you can still do it?

Same here...it's repairs or insurance, not maintenance, so I don't think it should count.

The only solution I see is blackmail the inspector for repairs, and, at this point, make her play escort at DCF.

[stevedmc]

Why not simply post every penny you spend on the D? As long as you itemize, people can easily compare/adjust accordingly...(ie You may do work yourself or overpay on labor etc, etc.)

That's what I plan on doing, minus insurance, yearly inspection, and fuel.

Hmm... According to my own rules it seems I can pay the $1,000 deductible and it won't count toward my total. A deductible does count as insurance, right?

[DMCMW Dave]

Hmm... According to my own rules it seems I can pay the $1,000 deductible and it won't count toward my total. A deductible does count as insurance, right?

Well - it's your money but it is a casualty loss rather than maintenance.