Re: [DML] Re: Stainless Frame Features

[Martin Gutkowski - DMC Ltd <martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All

My tuppenceworth to follow :-)

1) I worked on the Explodaview car over the space of several weeks and 
saw the quality of the galvanising and powder coating firsthand. In the 
case of that car, the frame was fine to begin with, just the usual flaky 
patches and surface rust. It was hot-dip galvanised locally to me and 
the process resulted in the epoxy coming off. The only part to warp was 
the fuel tank flap. I know little of the galvanising process but John 
clearly did his research. The Explodaview frame was given a 100 year 
rust-free guarantee. However some spots did appear along some of the 
tight seams where air may well have been trapped during the galvanising 
process. These were extremely small. All the captive nuts required 
re-tapping afterwards too.

2) Lotus galvanised all the Esprit chassis (chassises???). They have a 
far higher level of rust problems than the DeLorean after 25 years. 
Lotus used the epoxy method on the baby Elan. If you think galvanising 
is as bullet proof as epoxy or powder coating, think again. It's very 
hard but can still scratch and is thinner. "powder coating" covers a 
range if plastics too, and I've seen some phenominal nylon coatings that 
you could fire a shotgun at and watch it bounce off (okay, probably 
slight exaggeration there!)

3) I had the pleasure of visiting Bryan's home and seeing the frames in 
production. While they are obviously hand made, the attention to detail 
is intricate. Some modifications were necessary to cover the different 
approaches between mass production and hand craftsmanship. It was 
pointed out to me how the original frames were spot welded, and the 
stainless frames are seam welded. They are much stronger and as has been 
stated, far more servicable and will last a lifetime, and IMO worth 
every penny. My only beef is the move away from metric fastners......

4) IMO the stainless frame will add value to the car and so is a 
potentially worthy investment, although perhaps only to someone who 
drives their car every day and the frame has rotted, or to someone who 
has bought a cheap car because it has a rotten chassis. Then again, most 
cars treated as "garage jewellery" do not have problems with frame rust 
anyway!

I am personally "on the fence" on this one. I have no real problem with 
either approach, and I don't think John does either other than cost. One 
day, if I still have my DeLorean when the frame falls apart, I'd like to 
have a stainless frame, but I fear their production run will be all too 
limited compared to the lifetime of most of the original frames. I 
reckon 25 years from now, when we start to get frame problems in a 
larger proportion, I sincerely hope Bryan and his Dad are still making 
them otherwise suddenly they will become very valuable and sought after.

Martin
DMCL
www.delorean.co.uk

Bryan Pearce wrote:

> Hello All:
>
> Great to meet a bunch of you at DCS 2006!
>
> I feel compelled to respond to, what seems to be, an attack on our
> Stainless Steel frame solution for the DeLorean and the effort that
> was required to make this product available to the DeLorean
> community. While I applaud the effort put forth by John Dore on his
> restoration, I am offended by his comments. John fails to realize
> the amount of time and effort required to build a stainless steel
> frame for our cars.
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx

For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com

To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/