[DML] Late Model Exhaust Pipes and Concours
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[DML] Late Model Exhaust Pipes and Concours



Tom (and others) -

It's not a matter of DMC Houston not believing you about the exhaust pipes, it's a matter of what the factory documentation says was installed on cars with your VIN. Concours is NOT only about originality. If that was the case, there quite a few 'original' cars in existence in far worse shape than yours that would be excellent concours candidates.

In a previous life I had a great deal of experience with NCRS - the National Corvette Restorers Society. Judging an NCRS Corvette is incredibly more intense that judging Millennium, the De Lorean Motor Company Concours. Judges literally are required to time how long seat belt buzzers run, and measure the distance the cigarette lighter is ejected. Checking date codes on parts is commonplace as well. Why is this? Because people will spend literally hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing their cars for Bloomington, the greatest of all Corvette shows. When that much money is spent, it becomes incredibly more difficult to judge, hairs become thinner and thinner to split.

As I've said before, because of the brief and turbulent history of the original De Lorean Motor Company, documentation was certainly not their primary concern. Keeping the doors open and building cars was the priority. The Concours Judging Manual (which all pre-registered competitors receive prior to the event, and is freely downloadable from the De Lorean Motor Company web site) was written based upon literally thousands of pages of documentation from the original De Lorean Motor Company we acquired with the purchase of the parts from KAPAC. Significant other documentation was provided by Lief Montin, the National Parts Manager for the original De Lorean Motor Company. All the documentation used in the creation of the manual is available for inspection at any event. When we open our new facility later this year, ALL the documentation will be available for viewing at any time by appointment.

We have the original ECA (Engineering Change Authority) files on the DeLorean. Supposedly, any time a change was made in the production of the DeLorean, one of these was completed and routed through the engineering department. All of them have an area where the beginning VIN is to be noted - many times this is blank. All of them have an area where the 'reason' for the change is to be noted (reason for the change is hood styles? 'Management Decision'.) There are over 4000 of these that we know of. In some instances, these forms are noted as retroactive, meaning the change occurred before the ECA was formally approved.

We also have the original "QA Inspection" files for parts that came in from vendors (someone in the Belfast factory spot-checked incoming parts, like fascias, louvres, nuts, bolts, seats, etc). Many of these are marked as "Supplied part does not match specification, accepted on authority of Engineering Department". That means that the part was not exactly right, but they used it anyway.

What this all means is that the vast majority of DeLoreans are unique. How and where do you draw the line? According to the documentation, exhaust tips were installed on all cars after VIN 10000. This same memo lists the intro points for ASI radios, etc. The memo ends with the sentence "some items on the list above may have been introduced earlier".

In the very last days of the original De Lorean Motor Company, when your car was built, who's to say they didn't run across a pallet full of the earlier style exhaust systems and install them on cars? I can't say that they didn't, all I can say is the documentation says THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE. Does that make your car any less valuable? Only to a dyed in the wool concours freak. Would you be better off welding on a set of flared tips to your exhaust? If I REALLY wanted to win in concours, and two points stood between me and trophy, you can bet your behind I would.

I welcome anyone to continue this discussion with me via private email if desired.

James Espey
DeLorean Motor Company
Houston, Texas

281/568-9573
800/USA-DMC1
http://www.delorean.com

Not all 1983's came with small exhaust pipe tips. I purchased #17168 new with
17 miles from a New Jersey dealer who had over 20 1983's in stock. As I
remember most were 17000vins. The cars with black interiors had the large
tail pipes and the cars with grey interiors had small pipes. I wanted the
grey interior and could only get it with the small pipes.
At the Cleveland Show my car lost 2 points in the concours because of the
small pipes. Would any owners of 1983cars with 17000 vins e-mail me with
their vin #,interior color and tail pipe size. DMC Houston does not believe
my exhaust is original. If there are other strange things about label decals
please let me also know.
My interior looks the same as #20064. I wish my wife would let me buy it.

Thanks,
Tom Griepenburg
dmc17168@xxxx





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