[DML] Late Model Exhaust Pipes and Concours

[James Espey <james@xxxx>]

Tom (and others) -

It's not a matter of DMC Houston not believing you about the exhaust 
pipes, it's a matter of what the factory documentation says was 
installed on cars with your VIN. Concours is NOT only about 
originality. If that was the case, there quite a few 'original' cars 
in existence in far worse shape than yours that would be excellent 
concours candidates.

In a previous life I had a great deal of experience with NCRS - the 
National Corvette Restorers Society. Judging an NCRS Corvette is 
incredibly more intense that judging Millennium, the De Lorean Motor 
Company Concours. Judges literally are required to time how long seat 
belt buzzers run, and measure the distance the cigarette lighter is 
ejected. Checking date codes on parts is commonplace as well. Why is 
this? Because people will spend literally hundreds of thousands of 
dollars preparing their cars for Bloomington, the greatest of all 
Corvette shows. When that much money is spent, it becomes incredibly 
more difficult to judge, hairs become thinner and thinner to split.

As I've said before, because of the brief and turbulent history of 
the original De Lorean Motor Company, documentation was certainly not 
their primary concern. Keeping the doors open and building cars was 
the priority. The Concours Judging Manual (which all pre-registered 
competitors receive prior to the event, and is freely downloadable 
from the De Lorean Motor Company web site) was written based upon 
literally thousands of pages of documentation from the original De 
Lorean Motor Company we acquired with the purchase of the parts from 
KAPAC. Significant other documentation was provided by Lief Montin, 
the National Parts Manager for the original De Lorean Motor Company. 
All the documentation used in the creation of the manual is available 
for inspection at any event. When we open our new facility later this 
year, ALL the documentation will be available for viewing at any time 
by appointment.

We have the original ECA (Engineering Change Authority) files on the 
DeLorean. Supposedly, any time a change was made in the production of 
the DeLorean, one of these was completed and routed through the 
engineering department. All of them have an area where the beginning 
VIN is to be noted - many times this is blank. All of them have an 
area where the 'reason' for the change is to be noted (reason for the 
change is hood styles? 'Management Decision'.) There are over 4000 of 
these that we know of. In some instances, these forms are noted as 
retroactive, meaning the change occurred before the ECA was formally 
approved.

We also have the original "QA Inspection" files for parts that came 
in from vendors (someone in the Belfast factory spot-checked incoming 
parts, like fascias, louvres, nuts, bolts, seats, etc). Many of these 
are marked as "Supplied part does not match specification, accepted 
on authority of Engineering Department". That means that the part was 
not exactly right, but they used it anyway.

What this all means is that the vast majority of DeLoreans are 
unique. How and where do you draw the line? According to the 
documentation, exhaust tips were installed on all cars after VIN 
10000. This same memo lists the intro points for ASI radios, etc. The 
memo ends with the sentence "some items on the list above may have 
been introduced earlier".

In the very last days of the original De Lorean Motor Company, when 
your car was built, who's to say they didn't run across a pallet full 
of the earlier style exhaust systems and install them on cars? I 
can't say that they didn't, all I can say is the documentation says 
THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE. Does that make your car any less valuable? Only 
to a dyed in the wool concours freak. Would you be better off welding 
on a set of flared tips to your exhaust? If I REALLY wanted to win in 
concours, and two points stood between me and trophy, you can bet 
your behind I would.

I welcome anyone to continue this discussion with me via private 
email if desired.

James Espey
DeLorean Motor Company
Houston, Texas

281/568-9573
800/USA-DMC1
http://www.delorean.com

> Not all 1983's came with small exhaust pipe tips. I purchased #17168 new with
> 17 miles from a New Jersey dealer who had over 20 1983's in stock. As I
> remember most were 17000vins. The cars with black interiors had the large
> tail pipes and the cars with grey interiors had small pipes. I wanted the
> grey interior and could only get it with the small pipes.
> At the Cleveland Show my car lost 2 points in the concours because of the
> small pipes. Would any owners of 1983cars with 17000 vins e-mail me with
> their vin #,interior color and tail pipe size. DMC Houston does not believe
> my exhaust is original. If there are other strange things about label decals
> please let me also know.
> My interior looks the same as #20064. I wish my wife would let me buy it.
>
> Thanks,
> Tom Griepenburg
> dmc17168@xxxx