Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,546
My VIN: 6125
As far as I'm aware not a single wormhole emitter has ever been found "in the wild". Castings and scratch built replicas have been made of the screen used parts but what and where the original parts came from remains a mystery.
It's one of the last great discoveries that has yet to be made.
Location: Illinois
Posts: 36
My VIN: 20034
Mark, and others,
Thanks for sharing whatever pieces you can within reason. I'm a new owner, only 10 months into it and I enjoy the puzzle-building challenge of it, much like as a kid putting the model cars together. Now, if there's a simplicated parts list you can share, or pictures of your builds, I'd appreciate it so when going to car shows against Mustangs/Chargers/Corvettes, and representing the DeLorean/BTTF fan base, it's closer to 95% solution than stuck at 40% because 30 years after the movie it's hard to know what parts to look for, even substitutes or look alike stuff would be great. Yes, we all want to make our fan-home-replica project cars as much like the movie as possible for accuracy. So for the few of us working on everything from scratch with no professional staff, (mine is mostly help from friends & grandkids & a welder on exhaust vents), where do you recommend going to get the flux band tubes (like national hardware chain?) (WHAT SIZE tube, aluminum??) and the stainless steel mesh (?) and the rubber pieces that hold it all to the car?
Thoughts on best tool to bend the tubes into right curves configuration?
Will any of you be attending the big national Delorean Convention in Springfield, Illinois this summer with your replicas? Hope to meet you there! Thank you very much!
Stan-PushN 88
Location: Happy Valley, OR
Posts: 1,709
My VIN: 4456 - Owner since March 2011
Club(s): (PNDC)
Good luck... I asked the same question here and was basically told to pound sand.Originally Posted by StanMan PushN 88
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?11...l=1#post191064
However, I met a guy on Facebook building a replica... he was more than happy to share a bunch of info on what the parts are and even sources for getting them - he even sold me some rare parts that he had extra of. I'll ask him if I can share his contact info with you. I'm sure it won't be a problem as he's a really helpful guy.
Cheers
Steve
Cheers
Steven Maguire
#4456
IT'S A TRAP!!!!!
Posts: 232
The flux bands are 3/4". The mesh can be purchased at tons of places(Amazon.com, even) but i can't recall the correct hole size/spacing. I'm sure that info is out there on the internets.
The rubber brackets you'll need to custom make or find someone who can make or has a set to sell.
Location: Farmington Hills MI
Posts: 359
My VIN: 2203
Club(s): (SEDOC) (DCUK)
I'm planning on making a replica digital speedometer sometime soon. I can't seem to find any dimensions/drawings of it online anywhere. Does anyone know a source for this? I really just need the dimensions of the box and the size of the 7 segment LED displays.
Thanks!
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,546
My VIN: 6125
Hey Stan, If you PM me your email address I can email you a bunch of reference photos to help with your build.
For the flux bands the acurate solution is to use either 3/4" solid aluminum rod or 3/4" aluminum tubing. I've only worked with solid rod using a hydraulic pipe bender like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-...der-32888.html
It's not the easiest method but with solid bar you don't have to worry about kinking tubing. If you can get the rod in annealed form it will be much easier to work with than heat treated rod like 6061-T6 which is more common. A map gas torch can also help to anneal the sections you're bending. If you mark off and heat up the sections where you're going to bend and let them cool down slowly you remove the heat treatment from the aluminum.
An alternative is to use galvanized steel conduit, but 3/4" OD is between conduit sizes and if you're going for accuracy the conduit does not look right. There are also small aluminum straps welded between the two bands which will be problematic to do with steel because of the need to remove the galvanized coating on the conduit and rusting issues afterwards.
There are gold chem film coated aluminum P clamps that secure the perforated aluminum mesh to the bands, and there should also be an 1/8" layer of plexi glass sandwiched between the ends of the clamps for the correct look, even if you're not planning on lighting up the flux bands. The clamps are measured in 1/16" increments and originally came with a layer of cushioning rubber on them, similar to the clamps that you see screwed into the panels of the car. The correct size flux band clamps are size -10 (5/8") measuring to the inside diameter of the clamp if there were rubber cushioning present. With the rubber removed a size -10 clamp has the correct 3/4" inner diameter with enough gap for the aluminum perforated mesh and the plexi. If you do not plan on using plexi you may want to go down one size in clamp. You can find various sized clamps at mcmastercarr, grainger, electronics websites, and even some big box retailers but it will be difficult to find the correct aerospace style clamps with 'lightening" holes in them to reduce weight. For ultimate accuracy the restoration had to special order clamps from an aerospace clamp manufacturer in large quantity to match the original specs. If you are anywhere near a place that sells surplus aircraft parts/surplus that would also be a good place to search.
The exterior wire clamps with purple rubber cushioning also have the same lightening slots and were part of the large special order we had to place. Those are size -13 and have a purple rubber cushion. The same clamps are also used at the bottom of the SID (light up display behind the driver's seat).
I have the exact specs on the perforated aluminum mesh you'll need, but I don't have any of my reference files on this computer so I'll get back to you on that one.
The rubber isolation blocks that mount the bands to the car were custom made for the car and not a found part. We machined a master part out of aluminum (could also use wood) and then made a silicone mold and poured castings in rubber. You could also cut them from thick sheets of rubber if you have a local water jet cutting place or create a cookie cutter type stamp out of sheet metal and die cut them out using a shop press.
Last edited by Mark D; 04-25-2016 at 10:27 AM.
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,546
My VIN: 6125
The digital speedo box is made from Hammond enclosure PN 1591CGY.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...ygdYdvPg%3D%3D
The original was actually blue so production painted it white. The gray enclosure is close in color that you wouldn't need to paint it or you can still paint it satin white. The connector on the back is a D-sub type connector like you'd find on an old printer cable. There are various types you can buy on Newark.com, mouser.com, etc that are close, I don't have a source for any that are identical to the screen used connector.
The digital displays were originally made by Stanley Readout and are basically extinct at this point since they're ancient technology. Most people use 7 segment LED displays that look pretty accurate if you put a sheet of acetate film over the displays to act as a diffuser. I made a speedo a long time ago and used 1/16" styrene sheet to build the little black frame around each digit. The black border is part of the Stanley Readout on the real car, but you can make a close approximation of the real thing with polystyrene around an LED display and paint it black.
Here's a CAD model of how the original was constructed showing the Stanley Readout housings. If you're going for super accuracy people have made plastic castings of the stanley bodies and then made matching circuit boards with grain of wheat size incadecent bulbs or warm LED's. It also requires manufacturing a clear lens and as well.
Here's a stanley readout housing minus the clear lens, diffuser, or circuit board.
The speedo was originally 3 digits and would read XX.X Apparently the third 1/10 MPH digit made reading the display confusing so production put a piece of black gaffer's tape over the 3rd digit so you only see XX.
The images above are all I have available at the moment, but I can post some better reference if you need it.
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,546
My VIN: 6125
I'm not sure why you continue to post negative comments in this thread. I've said multiple times that if you have a specific question all you have to do is ask and I'll do my best to answer whatever I can. I don't know everything there is to know, nor do I have every single piece of information needed to build a 100% accurate car. There are literally thousands of parts that go into building an accurate replica. It took two dozen guys more than a year to restore the A car and no one person holds every single piece of information in a single comprehensive document. I was lucky enough to be a part of the restoration and I want to share whatever I can with people.
So please, ask a specific question and I'll do whatever I can to answer it for you. Hint: "Tell me everything" is not specific enough.
Location: Farmington Hills MI
Posts: 359
My VIN: 2203
Club(s): (SEDOC) (DCUK)
This is great thank you! I would love to have that CAD model if possible! Do you know if there is an accurate CAD model of the Flux as well?
Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk
Location: Chicagoland area
Posts: 1,900
My VIN: A few, by name... DeLorean Monster Truck, DeLorean Roadster, DeLorean Hovercraft, DeLorean Limo
Club(s): (DMWC) (DCUK)
Hi Stan,
My friend and fellow DMC club member Tom "McFly" Sedor with have his 100% temporary and reversible Time Machine conversion at DCS 2016 and he will be giving a presentation.
If you want to "hold off" on some of your purchases of parts until you see the presentation (and the Q&A session afterward), you may have a lot more of your questions answered.
While Tom's Time machine conversion is not 100% screen accurate, I'm sure its 88% or better and completely reversible in a few hours (half day?), with no interior or external holes
drilled in any panels. The only non-reversible modifications were done, were to a spare engine cover that I supplied to Tom, to attach the vents and the plutonium chamber base.
No glass was removed (rear glass and both rear quarter glass remain installed). The quarter glass does cause a little glare in direct sunlight, but otherwise, it is not much of an issue.
Night photo taken at the Adler Planetarium on Chicago's Lake Front, with the skyline in the background.
Tom-car-skyline-night.jpg
Thanks,
Rich W.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote