[DML] D that has been sitting for years...

["Garrett Rudkin" <agentprelude@xxxxxxxxx>]

I apologize that this is long, I have a lot to say about my D 
purchase and a new home purchase.  I'll try and be as brief as 
possible, thanks in advance, it's TRULY appreciated.  I inherited 
some money this year after my father passed away last year.  My 
fiance and I are planning on buying our first home this spring, 
furnish the house, finance a wedding and honeymoon, pay off our 
college loans, and buy a Delorean, with some left over.  This is 
really a blessing in disguise to get our new lives and careers 
started.

I am looking at purchasing an '82 from a coworker's father-in-law at 
a bank I work at.  It is an '82 with exactly 15,447 miles on it, an 
automatic with gray interior.  I have seen the car and it is in very 
good shape inside and out.  He has owned the car since 1985 and has 
all documents on the car, and plenty of issues of Delorean World in 
the car too.  It has sat in his heated garage at his business 
(airplane parts machinist) with his other exotic/rare cars, '94 
Viper, '87 Porsche 944, '32 and '34 Fords, etc.  He has not driven 
the car in over 10 years.  

I examined the car this morning and was quite impressed of what I 
found.  The panels, body, and interior are in excellent shape.  The 
fascias look just as new.  I have yet to examine the undercarriage 
for rust.  It is still sitting on the original tires, which are 
completly flat, and of course will need to be replaced.  Are there 
any problems to be expected of a car sitting on flat tires for this 
long? 

He says before putting it in storage for the last time, he drained 
all fluids, including gasoline and removed the battery.  We are going 
to get together this weekend to replace the battery and replace all 
fluids to see if we can get it running.  The elderly gentleman was 
confident that we would get it started and wouldn't have any 
suprises.  Some things that will need to be replaced off the bat is 
the headliner and door struts.  

Has anyone had any experiences like mine of buying a car that has 
been sitting this long?  What can I expect to replace off the bat to 
keep this car a reliable nice weather weekend driver?  I got a good 
faith estimate on having this D serviced at DMC Houston including: 
door struts, fuel system, weatherstripping, major service kit (belts, 
tune, valve adjustment, etc.), relay update, hose kit w/ new 
radiator, headliner.  This all comes to a cost around $3800, which 
includes parts and labor.  Not too shabby, I was expecting to fork up 
front $5k-$6k just to make it a reliable weekend driver.  However, my 
fiance and I are now looking at buying a 3-car garage home to house 
the D and our two Miatas. (DMC12)+(2MX5s)=lots of garage room.  =) 
This will give me plenty of room to work on a car here and there.  Do 
other car novices/intermediates work on their Deloreans?  Or do they 
leave it up to a professional?  I consider myself between a novice 
and intermediate wrench.  I think I would have more enjoyment of 
working on my own D then letting someone else do it.  It's not so 
much as a money thing to save labor cost, but learning how to do it 
myself and the feeling of accomplishment.  What are your thoughts on 
my situation?  How many DIY'ers at home have a lift? as I may 
consider one too for this car.  Again, thank you very much for your 
input and time you have put in to reading this long post.  Have a 
good day,

-Garrett




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