[DMCForum] Re: impending frame off restoration

["John Dore" <dmcjohn@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Elvis,

Yep I don't think the stainless frame idea is going anywhere either 
really. Just dreaming... Its such a pity the car was not built that 
way in the first place.

Anyway, I think you might be misunderstanding me slightly - I wasn't 
expecting to have this job done in 10 days! I am thinking of a few 
months at least. What I meant was I'll strip it down to the frame in 
the first few days, and bring the frame and suspension pieces and 
steering rack back to Dublin with me where I'll have more time to 
work on them. Then, whenever I have them all rebuilt and nicely 
painted/powdercoated, I'll bring them back to Limerick and start 
putting the car back together.

I've a nice digital camera and will be taking a few pics of 
everything before I take it off the frame, then putting all the small 
pieces in marked bags. I'll keep notes also.

I'm not talking about doing a full rebuild of the car, just the frame 
and suspension bushings and ball joints. The rest of the car is fine, 
so I will not be also going thru the cooling system, AC, or anything 
like that. So, maybe I'm still being too optimistic, but surely I'll 
get it done within a few months!?

If you didn't dip your frame, what did you do to it? I'm pretty 
undecided about it at the moment, and would definitely consider other 
options such as sandblasting and POR-15, or powdercoating. I'd just 
be a bit concerned that powdercoating on its own wouldn't be very 
durable. Also, it would be difficult or impossible to sandblast and 
paint inside the closed off box sections of the frame such as the 
engine support cradle or the front crossmember. The Zinc dip would 
get into these areas much better.

I'd love to hear what you did with your frame and see any pictures if 
possible? Also let me know if you still think I'm delusional about 
doing this job, I appreciate your input if you have already done this 
job yourself! 

I forgot to answer your question if I've ever rebuilt a car - not 
really, no. I have so far done most of the work on my DeLorean - 
replaced front springs and 4 shocks, rebuilt brakes, clutch 
hydraulics, put in new fuel system (all except distributor), cooling 
hoses, some electrics, and a few more things. So I can use a toolkit, 
but I'm not a mechanic by any means!

Thanks,
John


--- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Elvis Nocita" <elvisnocita@xxxx> 
wrote:
> John,
> 
> you are very optimistic about your schedule.
> Have you ever rebuilt a car ?
> Do you know how many small parts there are ?
> 
> Do you know where they all belong to after you took them off
> without any documentation ? The manual is not enough, they
> don't describe the little details and you will forget them
> because there are too many !
> 
> Do you have a digi cam ?
> 
> 
> I didn't dip my frame into zinc, I wasn't sure if it would stand 
> it like you described. Another german here had it dipped and it 
> cam out well. He said he couldn't measure any warping or 
differences. 
> I have never seen it though. He started before me and still 
> is far away form being done. We are talking about 4 years now !
> 
> Stainless fram built by a company that doesn't know any details 
> of the car ? no experience ?
> Forget it !
> I have seen the pearce frame, this is not a children's birthday
> (ok, in german it sounds better...) this is a lot of work, 
precision,
> details that have to be thought about. I wonder how pearce can offer
> these frames for that money.
> Next thing is - vibrations, forces and so on. Pearce showed he can 
> handle that. Your shop that welds that thing together can't prove 
> nothing ! Just forget about it.
> 
> And think again about your time table. Do it like with software.
> multiply the days it with 2.
> and then use that number for the weeks !
> you said about 10 days ? in 20 weeks you're probably done.
> 
> Now you have a realistic number ! I'm not kidding !
> 
> Let me know if I can assist you with details and pictures
> 
> Elvis
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Elvis and others,
> Actually the time factor is not as bad as I first made out - I'll be
> taking 2 days off work to do the job, so will goto my parents house
> on a Wednesday night, work all day Thursday thru Sunday to strip the
> frame down, then Sunday night, bring the frame and suspension pieces
> back to Dublin with me to get treated.
> Then, when all the suspension bits and frame are restored, I will
> bring them all back down to my parents house again, take another few
> days off work and put it all back together... or so the plan goes.
> 
> Elvis, did you actually galvanise your frame? Were you worried about
> it warping at all? Did it warp in any way??!
> 
> The guy from the galvanising place just called me to warn of the
> dangers of my frame warping during the process... He was basically
> saying that even if this has worked fine on a DeLorean frame in the
> past, there is no telling if it will work on this occasion. Scary
> stuff!
> 
> Another option I'm considering (more like dreaming) is taking the
> bare frame to a place in Galway (in Ireland) that would copy the
> frame in Stainless Steel for me. I'll price it anyway, and maybe I
> could partly fund it by selling my original frame, which is actually
> in good shape apart from some rust on the front frame extension - 
the
> reason I want to galvanise it now is to keep it in good shape.
> 
> I told the galvaniser I'm definitely stripping my frame down, and
> when I get a look at how much work it needs I'll let him know what I
> decide to do.
> 
> Thanks,
> John> 
> 
> -- 
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