First a short history...my father bought a an automatic 81 Delorean about 13 years ago. He drove the car for about 5 years until the transmission decided to shop shifting into 3rd. The car sat for about 6 years. My brother brought the car to his house, replaced the transmission control unit and rebuilt most of the fuel injection system. The transmission was still not shifting right, and at times lost all gears. My brother got a new job, moved, and returned the car to my father. Every once and a while my brother would come home and try to fix the car. One day the transmission miraculously healed itself (yeah right). The car could be driven for a number of miles with no problem. My father began driving the car every once in a while but it still sat the majority of the time. When I sold my car my father told me to drive the Delorean...now...the problem... I attempted to drive the car from Chas SC to Savannah GA. The car did fine for about 2 hours worth of driving...then the trans began to shift out of 3rd...then out of 2nd. If I stopped the car, cut it off, and let it sit for a few minutes I could get a mile or 2 out of it. I thought the car would not lose 1st...until I stopped at a traffic light...had to push the car over to a curb, let it sit for a minute...then go. I was able to make it to a parking garage near my workplace. I checked the trans fluid this morning. There is a cold, warm, and hot identifier on the dipstick. When the car was cold the level was way above the cold mark...up on the flexible part of the dipstick. When I started the car the fluid level barely showed on the dipstick. Is the cold mark incorrect? I would think it would read higher cold than warm since the fluid is just sitting in the pan, not being pumped around. If I add more fluid the level will be that much higher when cold. I always heard you never check an automatic trans level when cold...only when warm and while the engine is running. Thanks for any advice Jeff Oh yeah...the neighbor across the street from my parents has a "dead" Delorean. It has been sitting under a cover for the past few years.