What have you done to your DeLorean today?

[DeLorean03]

Indeed they are.

No offense intended by my first comment btw. Just that "wifey" is a hot-button word for mine, for some reason.

No offense taken at all, good sir (: .

Didn't do anything to the car today, but Jessica and I did hang this (: !

100_5976.jpg

[Farrar]

Just that "wifey" is a hot-button word for mine, for some reason.

I've already made my fiancé promise that she'll never call me "hubby."

Edit: I just noticed this post is one number away from my VIN! Missed it by a hair!

[Farrar]

I'm taking an air conditioning/water/snack break, but here's what I've done so far today:

I re-routed the disused "brake lights on with key only" power (green) to the headlight switch's illumination bulb (orange/red at the switch). This will help me find the headlight switch button in darkness. I left the original wiring in place, so it can be easily changed back.

I took the HVAC panel illumination bulbs off of the harness and added a pigtail. Now all of those pesky leads are out of the way when I'm plugging everything else back in. I plug the pigtail in last, et voila -- all done.

I added my Y-connector to the HVAC mode switch wiring to turn the compressor on with defrost, heat, etc. Again, original wiring and connectors are still in place, so can be easily changed back.

I re-installed the radio bracket. Those boots for the vents aren't nearly as bad to put back on as people make them out to be. Then again, my radio is not installed. I was able to poke my fingers behind the bracket, make sure everything was seated, and pull the boots back a touch to ensure a good seal. That might not have been possible if I had a stereo head unit protruding back there.

I investigated using JB Weld to put the studs back into my passenger knee pad, but all but one of the studs are missing. Looks like I'll have to go to the hardware store to try to find something compatible. I was going, anyway -- to find stainless screws for the license plate light fixtures.

I left the camera in the garage, so pictures will follow later. Time for a trip to Ace...

Edit: Holy crap! It's post #2613!

[DMC5180]

I'm taking an air conditioning/water/snack break, but here's what I've done so far today:

I investigated using JB Weld to put the studs back into my passenger knee pad, but all but one of the studs are missing. Looks like I'll have to go to the hardware store to try to find something compatible. I was going, anyway -- to find stainless screws for the license plate light fixtures.

Edit: Holy crap! It's post #2613!

Farrar,

You might try something like this.

images.jpeg

With the insert installed/glued in if you have too. You can thread the stud into it or Use Compatible Screws. Good Hardware Stores will have a selection of these type of fastener insert nuts.

[Farrar]

You might try something like this...

Thanks, GENIUNE Momo Man! (For some reason that's the first thing I see on your posts.)

The deed is already done...

SANY0904.jpg

...but if this fails, I'll consider some thread inserts plus studs as my next attempt.

In other news:

HVAC panel lights pigtail:

SANY0895.jpg

Naturally, when I checked to make sure everything was OK, one of the bulbs (an LED, actually) was not lit. First thought: pull and check the bulb. The glass part came off, and the rest of it stayed behind. Grr. I got it out, anyway, and am leaving that socket empty for now. I did, however, check it with a spare (incandescent) bulb.

I have two functioning license plate fixtures now -- Thanks, Kenny Z! -- and they're installed with stainless screws.

SANY0900.jpg

My fiancé walked by and asked how things were going. "I'm making good progress," I enthused. That doomed me.

The next place I went was in the driver's footwell. I had recently seen a helpful photo of how to attach the bracket which holds the windshield wiper delay box. "Oh, that's easy," I said. After twenty minuts of the usual lying on my back slicing my fingertips open, with my glasses steaming up and sliding up my nose to rest on my eyelashes, I finally shoved the damned thing behind the carpet, which is where it was when I got the car five years ago and where it shall, evidently, remain, until someone who is not me tries to install it properly.

At this point, the passenger door was close and the driver's door was open. Paradoxically, the passenger door lights were on, and the driver door lights weren't. Neither was the dome light on. I opened the passenger door and yanked the wires off the switch. The lights went out. Ah ha! Bad switch?

Wrong. Dave's courtesy light module was saving my battery. The only way to get the lights back is to unplug the module and plug it back in.

I unplugged the module, and plugged it back in. Now none of the courtesy lights were on. I stuck a jumper in the connectors for the passenger door switch. Still nothing. Then I went over to the driver's door and did the same. The lights came on.

Someone with a 1,000-Hz tone box needs to camp out in my garage with their finger on the button whenever I'm in there. At this point, my head was so full of remarkably rude words and phrases, all jostling for release, that I couldn't get a single one out. I had the idea to leave the jumpers in place and put the courtesy lights on a switch. I will then put a sign on the door switch wiring which says "Fuck this. It's not worth it. Move on." Same with the wiper delay module bracket.

I moved on.

I decided to do something easy. I put the HVAC ducting on the driver's side back in place. Huzzah! Feeling better, I wrapped the most vulnerable bits of the wiring harness (now mostly stripped of its Dunmurry Dress) in silicone tape, in what one could call a nearsightedly optimistic belief that the console will go back in tomorrow.

I turned the key. The fuel pump still runs. Previously, the needle valve had become disconnected from the float, so gasoline would just keep flowing out of the carburetor, but I had double-checked that today. There are no leaks in the system. So there is that.

Now it's time for Advil and lemonade.

[Silverbullet]

Examined the rear wiring harness from the DeLorean and played count the splices. Then I tried not to speak ill of the dead since both previous owners are deceased. Why splice one wire 6 times instead of buying a longer wire? And crushing an irreplaceable bulb socket with a pipe clamp is not a substitute for a ground strap.

Ouch... 6? .... man... Guess it is why I call it a "Sports Car"... cause you have to BE a real sport to own it....

[DrJeff]

Just be prepared - you will eventually run into one where some idiot didn't put the Allen bit in all the way, overtorqued the door, and expanded the head of the torsion bar. This locks the bar into the clamp, which you can't release due to the window glass. That's when things get pretty exciting. And you'll wish you had a helper or two.

The other things you will find - stripped retainer bolts, cross-threaded weld nuts, un-welded weld nuts, etc. There area some pretty bad prior-owners out there.

My doors have to take twice the force (what seems like an almighty slam) to close than anyone else's doors that I've tried. I got the soft-lift struts to help with the bouncing, but you still need to hang on as they approach the top... so I've been preparing to adjust the torsion on the doors and get this solved. I also suspected a slight bit of roof separation on the RH side.

I took off the finishing trim today to have a look at the torsion clamps, bar ends, etc. First bad sign was the screws used to hold the finishing strip on. If I'm not mistaken that's a wood screw, a machine screw, and a metal screw.
Finishing Strip Screws.jpg

On the LH side the washer is missing (okay not too big a deal), but on the RH side it looks like the hex socket took a bit of abuse. My 3/8 hex socket also shows a bit of play when inserted. The RH clamp is also showing some signs in the paint/surface that suggest a bit of rotation (under the left bottom edge).
LH Torsion Clamp.jpgRH Torsion Clamp.jpg

I don't know if this is stock but the screws look like one of the roof separation fixes I've seen. The screw to the inside of the RH clamp is showing signs of leaning up just slightly (i.e. roof separation). There might be an 1/8 in deviation here.
Roof Separation Screws.jpg

Something tells me this could get exciting

[Kenny_Z]

I have two functioning license plate fixtures now -- Thanks, Kenny Z! -- and they're installed with stainless screws.

Awesome, glad it found a home and that it could be part of your easy part of the day.

Yeah, no less than 6 splices and color changes from red to black to brown with a white stripe. I snipped that section out and taped the ends while I wait on a lamp socket from DMCH.

[Minkman]

Spent this week rebuilding the front callipers and installing stainless braided brake lines. Have just had the new bearings (well NOS, and it's obvious unfortunately so will need to look into something better later) pressed into the hubs so have now fitted new rotors and reinstalled.

Just got to fit the new pads, bleed, tighten everything up, and take her out for a shakedown - hopefully no issues so I can take her for a trip tomorrow, first time she'll be on the road since trip to Sydney last month.

Did you have to do anything special to slide the hub assembly(with new bearings) back on to the spindle? Or did they go on easy?

[Tillsy]

Did you have to do anything special to slide the hub assembly(with new bearings) back on to the spindle? Or did they go on easy?

They wouldn't go back on, would wedge a mere millimetre in, insanely tight/precise fit so metal on metal just wouldn't budge.

Same problem as getting them off, except since they were already now off I could apply a teensy amount bearing grease to the axle and spindle - they slipped straight on with no effort what-so-ever after that