[DMCForum] Why Parting-Out DeLoreans is not Nessisary.

["therealdmcvegas" <dmcvegas@xxxxxxx>]

It's not necessary to part out DeLoreans such as the one listed here
on eBay, nor many of the other ones seen. And there are 2 main reasons
why.

1. Parts availability.
There are a TON of parts remaining. When asked, the response by Steven
Wynn down in Houston was that there was very little that had to be
left over when refurbishing their cars. Leather, carpet, interior
pieces, the wiring harnesses, you name it. It all gets replaced with
their old stock. Because otherwise, they are sitting on an enormous
amount of brand new DeLorean parts that wouldn't otherwise be used in
our lifetimes. So if when refurbishing a car, DMCH only recycles a
bare minimum of parts, that's got to tell you something right there.

Another aspect of this was what James Espy said to us regarding John
DeLorean's philosophy about building the DMC-12. To paraphrase him,
"Anything that the customer can see, feel, smell, or otherwise
interacts with, make unique to the car. Everything else that deals
with the hidden mechanicals of the car, just buy the best, most
reliable parts made by the top companies in the industry." Now that
says allot. Interior trim pieces on a car are going to be rotten, so
that's something that you're not going to part out. Who needs brakes
when they're in such abundant supply, as well as easily available down
@ CSK, since they've been used on so many other cars over the years.
New A/C hoses are available, or readily made from a local hose
supplier. Coolant pipes, exhaust pipes, radiators, blower motors,
suspension parts, etc... The only components that are rare and
unobtainable are going to be remanufactured by vendors for us. And why
would I buy parts off a used car, when I can get better
quality/condition from a vender, AND have a warranty with them? I mean
seriously here, would you part out a mostly complete, but
very-restorable parts car simply because it had a good headlight
switch that was needed by others? Or maybe even because that little
switch was missing?

And as far as parts go, let just talk about those panels. DMCH has a
complete set of underbody molds, as well as a drilling jig to make the
holes necessary to insert rivnuts to mount body panels, etc. They
would just need to weld together a spider cage, and chuck it into the
mold before forming the upper half.

You're right that they don't have those precious body dies for the
car. But at this rate, who needs them? The hardest parts to
manufacture would be the doors. Of which DMCH has a supply that
they'll NEVER run out of. Next would be your rear quarter panels,
because the have the upper rib welded into place, to support the
louvers. As for the fenders, pfffft! They're all one piece, and as
such are the easiest to fabricate. In fact, I know that that one
German site that used to sell Stainless products for the DeLorean
claimed that they could easily make the fenders. And I could swear
that I've seen one UK based site where the guy was able to take a
sheet of stainless, a brake, and some assorted tools, and was able to
make a replacement fender with no problem.

The only reason that the left front fenders are so expensive, is
because the people in possession of the are demanding so much money
for them. Remember when the book "Stainless Steel Illusion" was like
$150 on eBay, and in some cases higher? Then after DMCH had a reprint
of those books, their value plummeted, because once they became so
common and superseded by a better product, no one wanted them. Hence
they're worth so much less now, if damn-near anything. Just wait. The
same thing is gonna happen with those fenders. Less cars get driven,
less accidents, less demand for replacement fenders. Then throw in the
alternative of reworking and/or fabricating pieces, and those $1,000+
fenders will be as cheap as the right front fenders.

2. Structural Integrity of a DeLorean Doesn't Warrant it's Destruction.
The DeLorean isn't built like any other car out there. The only thing
that has ever come close, is it's Lotus cousin. It's a basic cab over
chassis design, but the cab is molded, and covers the entire chassis.
Let me segway into a quick sidetrack to better understand what I'm
talking about here.

Let's take a look at a typical light truck design. You've got a
chassis, which has all suspension and drivetrain pieces bolted to it,
much like the DeLorean does. And then you've got the cab made out of 6
main pieces: 1. Floorboard x1, 2. Door/windshield frame x2, 3.
bulkhead x1, 4. Firewall x1, 4. Roof x1, 5. Rear panel x1. Now all
these pieces are welded together to form the base cab itself.

Now take the DeLorean in comparison. The manufacturing process is
greatly reduced, and cheaper. Not counting exertior skins, you would
need 8 die sets to replicate the above pieces for the cab, and inner
fenders! All we needed are 2 mold sets for an upper, and lower half of
the body, which in turn was epoxied and stapled together. And we're
talking about an entire vehicle here. Don't forget that while the
DeLorean is complete, the truck still needs inner fender wells, along
with the cargo bed, and or SUV body. We're done. Unibody is somewhat
similar, except you weld big-ass pieces of steel in place, and it's
the car that carries the weight of itself & drivetrain, as well as
absorbs the vibrations of the suspension. I.e. Fender wells that
previously kept water off the engine, now pull double duty to hold the
shock absorbers into place.

Now, why did I bring this up? It's important to know how these
vehicles are built, so that you can know how they're going to fail.
Just for the cab, we've got 6 pieces of carbon steel that have to be
welded together. And as you know, water will find it's way into every
nook and cranny where it can, and WILL rust these things out. With old
cars and trucks, you have floorboards that rust out, firewalls that
rot away, and door frames that decentergrate. And if these things are
in trouble, then you know that the rest of the car is gonna have
problems too. Sure the industry has made some strides, such as plastic
molded pleneums for the HVAC intakes, and separate plastic fan boxes
to house blower motors, so that the firewalls don't rust away. And
vinyl tubes, and better trunk designs to carry water away from the
body (many Chryslers from the 70's have no rear quarters because of
water drainage problems).

DeLoreans on the other hand have no worries about this, because we're
made of plastic! The cabs don't rot away, cracks and holes can easily
be repaired, and for many collisions, we can weld on new body tub
sections. The chassis are pretty damn salvageable too, with front
crumple zones that can easily be cut, and have brand new crumple zones
welded into place. Hell, if the entire chassis were to rot away, we
could still just bolt a new chassis to it, and the car would be
structurally sound, with a minimal amount of work. Especially in
comparison to what has to go into repairing similar era cars that
could suffer the same damage.

Short of rolling the car, setting fire to it, or otherwise complete
and utter destruction of everything, what could actually warrant
parting a DeLorean out? We know it's not a lack of available parts.
And we know that it's not because rust has ravaged one of these cars
beyond economical repairability. Because after all, it's these kinds
of cars the DMCH & D-1 are taking in to get refurbished. So what
exactly could it be outside of personal greed? "Hmm... $3K for the
car, and I could sell the front fender for $1K, and the rest of the
body panels to break even..." Now where have I heard that... Parting a
car out based upon the profitably, while using the excuse of "Well I'd
be helping to keep other cars on the road." is pretty damn shallow.
Too many DeLorean owners out there want to flaunt our parts
availability to others as a bragging right, but in turn wish to
cannibalize poor condition cars, simply because they're too cheap to
pay list prices for these same parts they *need*. What other reason is
there but greed?

-Robert

p.s. Here is a bit of non-DeLorean related trivia for you. Using the
concept above for the light truck manufacturing, picture that the
truck I'm speaking of is a Ford Ranger. Swap the front fenders,
grille, and hood, and you go from a Ford Ranger, to a Mazda "B-Series"
pickup. Install a longer floorboard, roof, and two extra window
sections, and you've got a Supercab. Swap the front pieces again,
install longer roof and floorboard sections with a separate rear cap,
and longer side panels, and you've got a Ford Explorer Sport 2 door
(swap the front clip back, and you've got a Mazda Navajo). Make an
even longer floorboard & rood, insert two more door frames, and you've
got a 4-door Explorer.

And you can keep using this formula over, and over again. GM=
S-10/Blazer/Jimmy/Olds Bravada. DCX=Dakota/Ram Charger (Mexico
Only)/Durango. Ford & GM took this a step farther with their full-size
pickups to create their Expeditions, Excursions, Tahoes, Suburbans,
Avalanche/SXT. A LARGE line of vehicles listed above, that simply
recycle the same engineering plans into one another. I.e. Create one
truck, and create a whole line of different vehicles from those same
set of plans you paid for. Combine that with more simplistic building,
and now you see why SUVs are so profitable for Detroit.




--- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Joe OBrien" <joeyoseppijoe@xxxx> wrote:


> They can only possible remake them if the market warrants enough 
> demand from such a small market. Even then, it is hard to get parts 
> remade.
> 
> Look how damn long they have been trying to sell enough headlight 
> switches for. 
> 
> They don't have the body dies, if they did, left front fenders 
> wouldn't be priced over a grand.
> 
> 
> -Joe
> 
> 
> 
> --- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, doki_pen <doki_pen@xxxx> wrote:
> > "Anyone sniffing around cars like this is either too
> > cheap to reinvest in our community of owners, or
> > doesn't have the passion for the cars."
> > 
> > Could you elaborate on what you mean by this?
> > 
> > Please don't get offended by what i'm saying here, i
> > obviously don't have as much knowledge in this area as
> > you.  I also had no idea DMCH could produce all the
> > parts, I take it then they must have acquired DMC's
> > Die's for parts and body panels?  I ask because I'm
> > not familiar with the specifics of their facilities.
> > 
> > Jon
> > --- therealdmcvegas <dmcvegas@xxxx> wrote:
> > 
> > > That might be true if we were talking about some
> > > obscure, vintage 
> > > cars that had an intended limited production..
> > > However, these are 
> > > DeLoreans. So where do I think that future parts are
> > > going to come 
> > > from? DeLorean vendors! Trust me, if you've ever
> > > walked through the 
> > > warehouse @ DMCH, you'd know what I mean. "Rare"
> > > isn't a word when it 
> > > comes to parts down there. If they don't have it,
> > > they simply make 
> > > more of it.
> > > 
> > > There are no parts that are so rare, and so
> > > unobtainable in the 
> > > DeLorean that could ever warrant parting out a sound
> > > vehicle. Even 
> > > with severe chassis damage and rust holes, DMCH can
> > > even weld them up 
> > > good as new, and powercoat them for another quarter
> > > century of 
> > > service. Anyone sniffing around cars like this is
> > > either too cheap to 
> > > reinvest in our community of owners, or doesn't have
> > > the passion for 
> > > the cars.
> > > 
> > > With the parts availability not a cause for concern,
> > > let's think 
> > > about things this way: If we don't part-out cars,
> > > people simply buy 
> > > their parts from the vendors. And by not destroying
> > > cars by parting 
> > > them out, we don't decrease the number of available
> > > cars. Hence we 
> > > allow that many more people to live the dream, and
> > > enjoy a vehicle 
> > > they wouldn't otherwise have had, if it didn't
> > > exist.
> > > 
> > > -Robert
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > --- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, doki_pen
> > > <doki_pen@xxxx> wrote:
> > > > It's so funny to me people that consider parting
> > > out a
> > > > car as a "bad thing".  Maybe you should look at it
> > > the
> > > > other way.... 
> > > > 
> > > > Maybe parting it out will give others access to 
> > > parts
> > > > they've been a long time searching for?  Maybe one
> > > guy
> > > > needs a right front fender, maybe another could
> > > use
> > > > the right rear suspension?  Maybe someone needs a
> > > > frame?  It's good to have a balance out there of
> > > cars
> > > > being fixed up and cars being parted out. 
> > > > Realistically, as these parts become more and more
> > > > rare, where do you think the parts are going to
> > > come
> > > > from? Donor Vehicles!
> > > > 
> > > > Jon
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > --- therealdmcvegas <dmcvegas@xxxx> wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > Why would you want to part the car out? Why not
> > > > > simply let someone 
> > > > > else who wants it, have it? It's certainly got
> > > great
> > > > > potential.
> > > > > 
> > > > > Money comes and goes. And the government is
> > > always
> > > > > printing new bills 
> > > > > up. So wouldn't it be even more valuable to keep
> > > > > another car on the 
> > > > > road, rather than part it out?
> > > > > 
> > > > > -Robert
> > > > > 
> > > > > 
> > > > > 
> > > > > --- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Videobob
> > > Moseley"
> > > > > <videobob@xxxx> 
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > Figure this, a front left fender will get a
> > > good
> > > > > $1500+, and a 
> > > > > decent flap 
> > > > > > hood will sell for at least $2000, so you can
> > > > > recover your money on 
> > > > > those 
> > > > > > two parts alone.
> > > > > > Then you have a right fender without the hole
> > > and
> > > > > I would say thats 
> > > > > a $500 
> > > > > > at least....
> > > > > > Then you have the louvers, that whale tail,
> > > rims,
> > > > > any salvagable 
> > > > > interior 
> > > > > > peices that can be recovered, suspension
> > > parts,
> > > > > etc...
> > > > > > - VB
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > >From: doki_pen <doki_pen@xxxx>
> > > > > > >Reply-To: DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > > > >To: DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > > > >Subject: Re: [DMCForum] eBay Deloghini
> > > > > > >Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 08:22:15 -0700 (PDT)
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >Oh man, I didn't even see that, aren't those
> > > > > things
> > > > > > >rare as Hen's teeth?
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >Jon
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >--- Videobob Moseley <videobob@xxxx> wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > The metal looks good, I would part it out
> > > -
> > > > > but I
> > > > > > > > would KEEP that flap hood
> > > > > > > > for myself!
> > > > > > > > -VB
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >From: doki_pen <doki_pen@xxxx>
> > > > > > > > >Reply-To: DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > > > > > >To: DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > > > > > >Subject: Re: [DMCForum] eBay Deloghini
> > > > > > > > >Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2005 12:33:55 -0700
> > > (PDT)
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >I agree, that whale tail, blacked out
> > > > > portion,  and
> > > > > > > > >the intakes on the sides gives it a
> > > longer,
> > > > > > > > stretched
> > > > > > > > >out, and more dramatic look.  I gotta say
> > > > > though, I
> > > > > > > > >don't like the monochrome bumpers.  I
> > > think
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > > >deloream needs the black to break up all
> > > the
> > > > > silver
> > > > > > > > in
> > > > > > > > >the front and the back.  Also I believe
> > > the
> > > > > black
> > > > > > > > >bumpers add to the stretched out look. 
> > > > > Without
> > > > > > > > them
> > > > > > > > >the car looks kinda "snubnose" if anyone
> > > can
> > > > > follow
> > > > > > > > >me.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >Are those intakes on the sides painted to
> > > > > look like
> > > > > > > > >intakes? Or are they actually shaped out
> > > of
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > > metal?
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >If I were to buy this car it would be to
> > > > > remove the
> > > > > > > > >tail for use on my car and then just
> > > resell
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > > thing
> > > > > > > > >again for the same price i bought it for.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >Jon
> > > > > > > > >#3215
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >--- Videobob Moseley <videobob@xxxx>
> > > wrote:
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Call me nutty, but I like where they
> > > were
> > > > > going
> > > > > > > > with
> > > > > > > > > > this design:
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?
> > > 
> > === message truncated ===

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