DeLorean FAQ

[Martin Gutkowski <webmaster@xxxx>]

We all get asked the same questions when we stop in our cars, right? I 
thought I'd compile a little FAQ for people to print off and keep in the 
car. Before I put it on the website (big update soon guys) I thought I'd 
better put it here for anyone to add to or make suggestions/corrections:

Martin

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Q: How many of these are still around?
A: 8583 were built, most are in North America. Commonly quoted figures 
are of around 6000 worldwide with maybe 250 or so in Europe, a few in 
Australia, Hong Kong etc. 23 or so right-hand drive ones exist, 
primarily in England and Ireland.

Q: Is John DeLorean still in prison?
A: He was only ever held on remand, and that was for 3 days. He has 
never been convicted of any criminal act. His "drug trafficing" case was 
thrown out of court after it was clearly shown that he was entrapped by 
the FBI. He's still very much alive and occasionally attends DeLorean 
car shows in the US.

Q: The Bodywork's Stainless Steel, right?
A: Yes. Alloy 304, commonly used in the catering industry.

Q: Must be tough getting it fixed if you ding a panel?
A: No. NOS replacements are still available with the exception of the 
front left fender. There are one or two geniuses capable of flawlessly 
repairing the panels. We are lucky to have the best one right here in 
England.

Q: Is it all stainless?
A: No. The car sits atop a Lotus-engineered epoxy-coated steel backbone 
chassis, similar in design to the Esprit. Above this rests the 
fibreglass underbody, constructed using Lotus' VARI process (Vacuum 
Assisted Resin Injection). The stainless panels are hung on the underbody.

Q: What about spares?
A: Mechanically the car's largely built from off-the-shelf european 
parts circa 1981. Most are still available today as NOS from any good 
motor factors, british classic specialists, Renault, Volvo (engine and 
transmission) and even Halfords! Many DeLorean-specific parts are 
available through the DOC UK. If you get really stuck, a call to the US 
will buy you pretty much anything, and often re-engineered modern 
replacements for weak OEM parts.

Q: Are they all the same colour?
A: All cars left the factory in unpainted stainless. Some were painted 
at dealerships, others have been painted due to body damage. The 
interior came in two colours, grey and black, with the exception of two 
of the three gold cars which had saddle brown interiors. Some later cars 
have mixed grey and black interiors. Early wheels are grey, later wheels 
are silver. Two cars were sold by Amex that were gold plated. A third 
gold car was made from a spare set of panels and holds the highest VIN 
number.

Q: What's the engine?
A: It's a Peugeot Renault Volvo V6 (PRV-6) 2849cc Bosch K-Jet fuel 
injected SOHC 90 degree V6. It's the US emission-controlled version of 
the Renault 30's lump, and uses a slightly modified version of the same 
transmission (both 3-speed auto and 5-speed manual). The gears are 
taller and the transaxle is rotated through 180 degrees for rear-mounting.

Q: How powerful is it?
A: In US form, it's not great. The engine only develops 130bhp. However 
the exhaust system is terrible for performance, and the catalytic 
converter makes it doubly bad. Just removing the cat can gain you 20-30hp.

Q: So it's slow then?
A: The car only weighs 1200kg, so even given the tall gears, it's quite 
easy to keep up with the flow in the fast lane.

Q: Where/when were they made?
A: In the Belfast suburb of Dunmurry in a purpose-built state-of-the-art 
factory. Cars were built from 1981-1982 with late '82 cars carrying '83 
build dates.

Q: I'm told the doors never work properly?
A: Who said that? Seriously, the way they work is ingenious. A 
cryogenically prepared torsion bar does most of the work initially, and 
as it "untwists" and gets weaker, the geometry of the gas-strut mounts 
allow it to take over. A new gas strut is $60 and the torsion bars very 
occasionally need adjusting. Today, 20 years on, many "neglected" cars 
need new struts or a torsion bar adjustment or both. This has lead to 
the myth that the doors never work.

Q: Why does the speedo only go up to 85mph?
A: It was a regulation in the US at the time. Corvettes of the same 
years also have 85mph speedos. The Canadian version carried a 240kph 
speedo, some of the Right-hand drive prototypes carry a 140mph face and 
theres a commonly available 170mph aftermarket replacement.

Q: How much are they worth?
A: It depends. If you want to pick one up from the US, a "project car" 
can cost less than $7000 (£4500). A mint original right-hand drive with 
low miles will set you back £25,000. There are a lot of cars in between!

Q: Why did the company fail?
A: How long have you got? The short version is that in between the time 
of the company's inception, and of the first car going on sale, the 
market for sports cars in the states fell dramatically. Also the 
exchange rate and higher-than-perceived production costs put a price tag 
of some $30k + on a car that had been promised for less than half that.

Q: What happens when you hit 88mph / Where's the flux Capacitor / when 
are you going back to the future / where's the cocaine then?
A: Ha ha. Very funny.