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There are 10 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. MP3 Player for the DeLorean
From: "Robert Rooney" <dmcvegas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
2. Re: magazine featuring DeLorean
From: "yugoman" <mdrig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
3. My Second Try at a Delorean
From: Michael Sanchez <sokar@xxxxxxx>
4. I have a factory demo car?
From: Delorean17@xxxxxxx
5. Car Bra
From: Joe Palatinus <jpalatinus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
6. The Resurrection of Vixen Continues...
From: "Dave Stragand" <dave.stragand@xxxxxxxxxxx>
7. RE: Re:Door Lock solenoids/Car Alarm
From: "Gus Schlachter" <gus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
8. Re: custom front grille
From: Michael Reinemuth <micha@xxxxxxxxxxx>
9. Re: My Second Try at a Delorean
From: "John Dore" <dmcjohn@xxxxxxxxxxx>
10. Re: My Second Try at a Delorean
From: Mike Substelny <msubstel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 21:38:46 -0000
From: "Robert Rooney" <dmcvegas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: MP3 Player for the DeLorean
In the past there has been the question of installing a traditional
CD player, or an MP3 type player, so I just wanted to add my $.02 in
on this... An MP3 player is not really worth the extra cost that
you'd pay for it. Chances are that if you download the music you
purchase on the internet, you'll recieve it in MP3 format. To play it
in the car, you'll have to record it onto a disc anyway. If you use a
CD-R, or a CD-RW drive, you can record .WAV files, and create a
regular audio disc. There are a few Freeware programs availible on
the internet which will let you convert a .MP3 file into a .WAV file.
If you use this method, you'll be able to create audio discs the you
can play not only in your car, but almost any other regular Compact
Disc player as well, so you won't be limited to MP3 players only. I
only bring this up to try and help out everyone here by saving them
some money. If you're creating a good sound system, or even if your
not, the money saved here could be put to better use elsewhere. Since
this is not totally DeLorean related, this will be the only message
that I'll post to the list. If you have any questions, contact me
directly at: DMCVegas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-Robert
vin 6585
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 20:30:14 -0400
From: "yugoman" <mdrig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: magazine featuring DeLorean
I found a copy yeaterday at Barnes & Noble, last one they had. Very nice
magazine!
----- Original Message -----
From: <senatorpack@xxxxxx>
To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: [DML] magazine featuring DeLorean
>
>
> Practical Classics is a British Car magazine.
>
> In the UK and Europe Tel. 01733 237111
>
>
> You can try any Barns & Knoble or Borders Books.
>
>
> Before posting messages or replies, see the posting policy rules at:
> www.dmcnews.com/Admin/rules.html
>
> To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
> moderator@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
________________________________________________________________________
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 19:17:24 -0600
From: Michael Sanchez <sokar@xxxxxxx>
Subject: My Second Try at a Delorean
Just thought i'd let you all know how my hunt for a Delorean is going...
Today i went to go visit the Second Delorean on my list of interests.....
Man, talk about a disappointment!!! the guy claimed he had it appraised at
26,000 (which in fact, he really did, however it seems that because he works
in the "auto" industry, he had no problems finding an appraisal *my guess is
from a friend, there is no WAY this car was worth anywhere NEAR that*) The
vin number on the car was 250.... that's rite, it was one of the first 500
promo cars made. I remember a while back reading about how the doors on the
first 500 or so never fit quite right because they were produced in America
and not in the factory in Ireland... it seems as though this was 100%
correct!!!! the doors were a PAIN to close and were VERY visibly off line!!!
They also didn't "glide" up well, despite the fact they had new struts. The
dash had been completely FRIED!!!!! I understand a few cracks and stuff in
a 20 year old dash board.. but this was rediculous, it looks like he had
fried fish on the thing! As for the engine, it could not even idle without
sputtering out and shutting itself off after about 30 seconds.... not a good
sign. All this from a car which "supposedly" had only 4000 miles on the
odometer!!! (and "supposedly" no fuel contamination from sitting there for
so long =p) And then to top things off, i looked under the car to check the
frame.... the epoxy looked just O.K. which is a fairly good sign... until i
looked closer and saw that if chipped a piece of the epoxy off with my
fingernail, the frame underneath was just rusting away, like a cavity in a
tooth! This thing was an 18,000 dollar lemon!! (what he was asking for it)
I have to thank the DML for all their info on what to look for in this
beautiful 20 year old (and sometimes quirky) car!!!! The first things i did
on the car was check the frame, the hoses, the oil screen, and dashboard....
ALL these things were bad on this car, and after checking prices on these
parts at the DML site, it looks as though i would have had to invest another
6-8 thousand dollars in parts before this thing would have been a good daily
driver!! (mostly cause of the mechanical parts just totally dead in this
car, and good possiblity of fuel contamination).
Anyhow, my point is, i must thank this list for all your help! this place
has been wonderful when it comes to being a first time Delorean buyer! =)
Thanx guys!
-Michael
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 21:22:55 EDT
From: Delorean17@xxxxxxx
Subject: I have a factory demo car?
Hello,
I was digging through the box of parts that came with my car and I found
the original warranty with the original owners name and address on it. At
the bottom it shows a * and says*"Delivered at retail or put in to use as
demo or company car" and next to the date of delivery it has a * typed in.
I bought the car from the second owner who was told it was a FACTORY PAINTED
test vehicle by the first owner. He was told by the first owner that it was
painted by Dupont for DeLorean to find out the best way to paint a "d". The
dealer said it came off the truck black. After hours of looking at
peoplefinder.com and so on I found the original owners current address. My
car is an early 81 but wasnt delivered to the dealer until 6/7/82, that
seems a little funny.
I thought there was no way there could be a factory painted test car. but
John DeLorean was asked "how do you feel about people painting there cars"
he said "it was our intention to make paint available and we worked with
DUPONT to develop a series of paints to the dealers" "WE HAD COMPLETED
DEVELOPMENT WORK WITH DUPONT BUT WE NEVER GOT AROUND TO STARTING TO SELL
IT""DeLorean Gold Portollio article" If development work was done surely
they painted something. maybe it was a just a panel or maybe an entire car.
I just sent a letter out to the original owner today to see what they said
when he bought it. before everyone starts saying there was NEVER a factory
painted car please have something to back it up with. I am VERY unsure that
if it is a factory job and sorta dought it but I just find it interesting, I
actually prefer the stainless. The "demo car" on the warranty just kinda got
me thinking the other day. does anyone know anything about this? I will let
everyone know what the original owner says.
well I have to go finish "Dream maker" now. Its really quite good.
Thanks for reading
#2496-
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Message: 5
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 22:46:22 -0400
From: Joe Palatinus <jpalatinus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Car Bra
I have one of those DMC bras that was sold by the DMCA I think. When I put
it on the car and travel past about 50mph it vibrates an awful lot, and
scuffs the hood. Does anyone have a little trick to putting the bra on
which prevents this from happening? When I am going less than 50, it
certainly looks real nice. thanks
Joe Palatnus
VIN 17167 6808
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Message: 6
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 23:37:28 -0400
From: "Dave Stragand" <dave.stragand@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: The Resurrection of Vixen Continues...
Well,
A DeLorean certainly looks better with an engine in her. =)
I spent the past week finishing up all of the little things needed on
the engine, and then borrowed a hoist from a friend on Sunday and
started the process of the install.
Now, a few of you out there have helpfully commented that it's easier to
replace the engine and trans already bolted together. I appreciate the
advice, but usually do things the hard way anyway. (I'm stubborn like
that).
Actually, in truth it just hadn't really occured to me to do so. Oh
well. But, since the trans was already mounted, I reached into my bag
of tricks from the past to find an easy way to get the trans and engine
together without having to take the trans out. (Gumption trap #1 --
"Out of Sequence Reassembly". See my website and you'll understand.)
Now, I have mentioned that I also have a '58 Plymouth. That car and a
DeLorean have very little in common, but hear me out on this story, and
soon you'll understand the relevance to a D.
The automatic transmission on that Plymouth is called a torqueflite, and
it's made almost entirely out of cast iron. Total weight is somewhere
in the neighborhood of 300 pounds. Not an easy beast to maneuver you
can be sure, especially while all covered in that greasy black goop that
seems to accumulate only on transmissions. There was no way to lift the
trans up onto the jack while lying underneath the car on my stomach, so
I had to lift the -car- up enough to sufficiently clear the trans
already on the jack. Now, with the car so high, the trans jack could
not lift the trans enough to meet up with the engine. This is what is
sometimes referred to as "a quandry". I referred to it as something
else -- something in "French" -- and something definitely not repeatable
on a family-friendly mailing list...
Lowering the car (and simultaneously, the jack supporting the engine)
back down to where the trans could mate solved that little problem.
However, another problem now presented itself, in that no matter how I
tried (for 5 hours), I could not get the input shaft to line up with the
engine. Those of you who have tried to maneuver a D trans into place
may know the feeling. Multiply that by three and you've got a
torqueflite. The thing was so heavy I actually broke three trans jacks,
necessitating the "Plymouth up, Plymouth down" push-up process enough
times to put an Army boot camp recruit to shame. It seemed impossible,
but there had to be some way to get them aligned.
The solution was a quick trip to the hardware store with one of the
engine-trans mounting bolts. I matched up the size and thread to
heat-treated bolts approximately 6" long -- 4" longer than the
originals. Arriving back home, I threaded these bolts through the trans
casing back into the engine block, and then aligned the engine and trans
to as close an angle as possible. Then, all it took was to slide the
trans right up the bolts until it clicked in place, already
pre-aligned. The whole process, now that the 'alignment bolts' were
installed, took only about 60 seconds.
Big difference.
Soooo... Not having learned my lesson (I'm stubborn like that), I tried
for around 3 hours on Sunday to get the Vixen's engine and trans aligned
without the bolts, but to absolutely no avail. I had skipped buying the
alignment bolts out of a total impatience to get home to try and install
the engine. I should have known better, especially considering my past
nightmares. I've learned that being impatient always takes more time
than just being patient in the first place.
So, tonight I stopped at Pep Boys and bought two 10mm x 120mm and two
10mm x 100mm coarse-thread grade 10.9 bolts. At home, I threaded the
two longer bolts through the trans into the block on the top, and the
two shorter ones on the bottom. (You need the shorter ones on the
bottom to clear the output hubs on the trans). A quick little lift on
the hoist gave a rough alignment, and a push of the engine back onto the
trans yielded a satisfying clunk as the two components clicked together
effortlessly. Like I said, I should have known better.
If you're going to try this yourself, you could also use studs, but the
bolts are only threaded at the end, giving a nice smooth surface to
slide on. I should also mention that you should NOT support either the
trans or engine from these bolts. The casings are not designed to
handle the odd force vectors encountered in this situation -- just use
them for alignment only, with both pieces supported well. Once you've
slid the two halves together, pull the bolts one by one, and replace
them with the correct bolts. Then as the French sould say... "Voila!"
It's a different French language than I was using on the Plymouth, to be
sure.
So, the engine installation is done, but the Vixen is far from being
done. Not that that depresses me though, I do realize the value of
progress. Every uphill climb consists of a lot of little steps.
Tonight, we took a big one.
This whole crazy project might just work after all... A lot of people
tried to talk me out of it, but I was (and still am) convinced that it
can be done.
I'm stubborn like that.
-Dave Stragand, #5927
http://www.ProjectVixen.com
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 00:07:05 -0500
From: "Gus Schlachter" <gus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Re:Door Lock solenoids/Car Alarm
I have remote locks also, and they work fine. But I still have a LockZilla.
They're wired so that the alarm system throws the driver's door, and the
lock module functions throws the other lock.
The alarm module has a relay for putting 12V on a lock motor but it's
nowhere near needed rating for the solenoids' current draw. A second relay
was put into place. If I recall, there are two red (12V) wires to each
solenoid, and the alarm took control of one of the red wired for the
drivers' door though a high-amp external relay.
Hope that helps,
Gus Schlachter
Austin, TX
VIN# 4695
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stian Birkeland [mailto:dmc_norway@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2000 3:07 PM
> To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [DML] Re:Door Lock solenoids/Car Alarm
>
>
> Hello,
> Has anyone had any experience with wiring of a car alarm that
> also works the
> door lock central locking system. Is it possible to use such a
> feature on an
> alarm system together with the door locks and door lock module or
> is it not
> advisable?
>
> Best wishes
> Stian Birkeland
> NORWAY
>
> >From: "Dave Swingle" <dswingle@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >Reply-To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx
> >To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx
> >Subject: [DML] Re:Door Lock solenoids
> >Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2000 01:14:24 -0000
> >
> >
> >This takes about 70 feet of #20 enameled motor (magnet) wire per
> >coil. Each solenoid has two coils.
> >
> >Details on other lock repair issues at:
> >http://www.dmcnews.com/Techsection/doorlocks.htm
> >
> >Dave
> >
> >--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx, burkephoto@xxxx wrote:
> > > In a message dated 4/7/00 10:02:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> >dmcjoe@xxxxxxx
> > > writes:
> > >
> > > << you will probably
> > > have to install new solenoids as well. >>
> > >
> > > I just wanted to mention that burned out solenoids can be very
> >easily
> > > rewound. I've done it by unwinding the old wire (measure and
> >record the
> > > length) and getting the same gauge and length and carfully
> >rewinding the
> > > solenoid.
> >
> >
> >
> >Before posting messages or replies, see the posting policy rules at:
> >www.dmcnews.com/Admin/rules.html
> >
> >To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
> >moderator@xxxxxxxxxxx
> >
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>
>
> Before posting messages or replies, see the posting policy rules at:
> www.dmcnews.com/Admin/rules.html
>
> To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
> moderator@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 8
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 11:05:31 +0200
From: Michael Reinemuth <micha@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: custom front grille
Hi John,
the grille used on this car was taken from a Mazda 323. The Owner did
this modification more then ten years ago, I didn´t know why. I haven´t
seen the car in the last years, so I didn´t know if the car still wears
this ugly thing...
--
Gruss
Michael Reinemuth
--------------------------------------------------
eMail: micha@xxxxxxxxxxx - Heidelberg, Germany
http://www.delorean.de - DeLorean Site Deutschland
--------------------------------------------------
John Dore schrieb:
> Hi everybody,
> I found an interesting picture of a D with a custom made front grille
> on DeLorean Site Deutschland "http://www.delorean.de"
> The pics are very small, but I put 2 in a folder called "custom front
> grille" in the vault. Anyone know who did this, or anyone speak
> german?!
> Thanks,
> John Dore, Ireland.
>
> Before posting messages or replies, see the posting policy rules at:
> www.dmcnews.com/Admin/rules.html
>
> To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
> moderator@xxxxxxxxxxx
________________________________________________________________________
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Message: 9
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 13:21:39 -0000
From: "John Dore" <dmcjohn@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: My Second Try at a Delorean
Hey Michael!
That DeLorean really sounds like an expensive lemon, but the car is
still very interesting - I thought all pre vin#500 were dismantled or
destroyed in crash testing. In the DeLorean Gold Portfolio, John Z.
is quoted as saying something like the cars were of inferior quality
and that none of these first 500 were to be shipped to the US. I
think he said they might be shipped to South Africa?
I think some of these didn't even have bodypanels...
Good luck finding your dream car!
John Dore, Ireland.
--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx, Michael Sanchez <sokar@xxxx> wrote:
> Just thought i'd let you all know how my hunt for a Delorean is
going...
>
> Today i went to go visit the Second Delorean on my list of
interests.....
The
> vin number on the car was 250.... that's rite, it was one of the
first 500
> promo cars made.
>
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Message: 10
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 09:30:26 -0400
From: Mike Substelny <msubstel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: My Second Try at a Delorean
Michael Sanchez recently looked at a very early DeLorean:
> the guy claimed he had it appraised at 26,000 (which in fact, he
really did . . .
[SNIP]
> The vin number on the car was 250.... that's rite, it was
> one of the first 500 promo cars made. I remember a while
> back reading about how the doors on the first 500 or so
> never fit quite right because they were produced in
> America and not in the factory in Ireland...
Pardon me? Who said they were "promo" cars? Who said the doors were
made in America?
The purpose for the cars before VIN 500 was to get the machinery,
fixtures, and workers "dialed in" for building the cars. This is common
practice among manufacturers. It would not make sense to do it in
another country. While the doors did have their own assembly line, I am
pretty sure it was in the factory . . . in Ireland.
> it seems as though this was 100% correct!!!! the doors were a PAIN
> to close and were VERY visibly off line!!!
This may have little to do with the workmanship of the car. Chances are
that such an early DeLorean does not have door guides, so the doors line
up differently every time they close. If this is the problem, it can be
corrected for about $50 and 15 minutes of work.
> The first things i did on the car was check the frame, the hoses,
> the oil screen, and dashboard.... ALL these things were bad on
> this car, and after checking prices on these parts at the DML
> site, it looks as though i would have had to invest another 6-8
> thousand dollars in parts before this thing would have been a good
> daily driver!!
Free advice: so you want to find a DeLorean that you can use as a daily
driver without investing in rehab work? Your best bet is to only look
at cars currently being used as daily drivers. Stop looking at
low-mileage DeLoreans that have been stored. Note that among car
collectors, daily drivers are usually considered MUCH LESS VALUABLE than
stored cars.
If this really is a pre-VIN 500 DeLorean, then it is pretty rare. It is
probably more valuable as a piece of history than as a daily driver.
While I agree that it is not the car for you, this DeLorean might still
be worth $26,000 to a collector.
- Mike Substelny
VIN 1280, 7 years
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