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

[stevedmc]

Back to your Radiator. Your initial test is valid. Any positive air pressure will find a way out if there is one. Yes it should be fully tested at 15 psi. The damaged area seen in the photo appears to be superficial. You might be able to pull the bent aluminum frame back down somewhat by using a slide hammer connected to the mounting stud. Did the Fan shroud get broken by the impact?

Unfortunately I don't have an air compressor to apply 15 psi. I figured the shop vac would only provide a pound or so of pressure and obviously that wasn't enough power. I didn't take me long to figure that out.

Surprisingly the fan shroud didn't have any significant damage. I think it was slightly cracked where one of the bolts goes in it, but it wasn't bad enough to justify replacing it. Shoot, it isn't even noticeable unless you are specifically looking for it.

I am getting a little concerned about the radiator though. I dropped it off at 9:30 am this morning and the guy said it should be ready in an hour. I called back at 11:00 am checking on it and he said it was taking a little longer than expected and he would call me back when its done. Well, its 3:15pm now. I guess I'll wait and call the guy again tomorrow.

[sean]

I am getting a little concerned about the radiator though. I dropped it off at 9:30 am this morning and the guy said it should be ready in an hour. I called back at 11:00 am checking on it and he said it was taking a little longer than expected and he would call me back when its done. Well, its 3:15pm now. I guess I'll wait and call the guy again tomorrow.

You and local mechanics dont have a great track record do you? I'm having flashbacks of the guy doing your head bolt.

[stevedmc]

You and local mechanics dont have a great track record do you? I'm having flashbacks of the guy doing your head bolt.

With my luck its going to take $500 and 4 months just to get my radiator issue taken care of.

[SamHill]

Related/unrelated. This Friday night when it was very dark there was a huge log in my lane on the interstate. I was going 65 in my Miata and was boxed in. I hit it hard. The log went through my front valance, destroyed my condenser, a/c lines, sheered off the bottom half of the radiator, bent the front sway bar.

Using an old radiator, a sledge hammer, JB Marine weld and LOTS of tie wraps, it's back and running perfect. That's a $0 repair. I'm very proud of myself. It'll never have air conditioning again, but a convertible car in VA doesn't really need it.

[David T]

Just because the car has been fitted with a carburetor doesn't invalidate the test. There are many other systems in the car that will be unaffected by that mod. Besides, on a well running K-Jet system, that is well taken care of (no old, worn out parts) the only maintenance would be to change the fuel filter or maybe an O2 sensor. The idea stevedmc presents is sound. Keeping track of yearly expenses would be interesting, it would be even more interesting if more than one person did it.
David Teitelbaum

[Kevin]

Unfortunately I don't have an air compressor to apply 15 psi.

I can recommend this pressure tester:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details

Used it last week to patch up a couple coolant leaks and bleed the system. Very convenient to be able to pressurize and depressurize the system without running the car.

[Ozzie]

I can recommend this pressure tester:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details

Used it last week to patch up a couple coolant leaks and bleed the system. Very convenient to be able to pressurize and depressurize the system without running the car.

Yup, and Harbor Freight has a near identical one if have a store near you.
OR...you can rent again a near identical one, at your local AutoZone with a refundable-upon-return deposit.

[stevedmc]

I can recommend this pressure tester:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details

Used it last week to patch up a couple coolant leaks and bleed the system. Very convenient to be able to pressurize and depressurize the system without running the car.

Thanks. I've used pressure testers before though. I normally rent the tester at Autozone for free though. It is basically the same item.

[stevedmc]

I just got off the phone with the radiator guy. He said it is ready and its going to be $87.50 plus tax. I plan on picking it up tomorrow and I will update this thread with the total cost including radiator repair, anti freeze, distilled water, and tax.

[TTait]

There seems to be a concensus, with Deloreans anyway, that deferred maintenance and upkeep actually costs more than consistent upkeep. Thats a tough nut to crack, especially with a single car in the sample group.

I'd encourage you to download the car evaluation checklist (DMCnews.com?) and do an honest evaluation from soup to nuts, listing your best estimation of each item on the list from 100% (brand new) to 0% (time to replace). Then at the end of the year, do the survey again (without having looked at the original for a year) and see what has changed. Then you take the percentage of degradation and multiply that by your cost to effect the repair/replacement including paid labor, shipping, etc.

Then you add that figure to the actual costs and you have your total cost.

Its ok that the evaluation is subjective, because you as the owner are the sole judge of the value of your car.

I'm guessing Tony or someone else might be able to list the total cost per mile to keep a car in concours winning condition. That too would be a great contrast.