Re: Stainless Steel Frame

[rbrogren@xxxx]

John Dore, Ireland, wrote:
>>>>
On the subject of Bryan Pearces Stainless Steel Frame, I am planning 
on buying a DeLorean this summer and fitting one of his SS chassis to 
it - for a number of reasons! Firstly I would like to save a rusted 
out DeLorean instead of buying a perfect one, and also I love the 
idea of a completely rust proof car.
I have a few questions for the list, hope someone can help me out!
>>>>

We had a D with a rusted frame for sale last summer by a local Chevy dealer 
for $17,500. I was interested because body and interior was in excellent 
condition and it had dual turbos. I never saw the car but did talk to a 
salesman who filled me in about how much they had to do to the car to make it 
run. (He also mentioned that one of the gears was tough to engage.) One of 
our members had looked it over a couple of times and found the frame quite 
rusty. To make a long story a bit shorter; if they had been willing to sell 
it for $7000 I MIGHT have bought it. (Now I'm happy that I didn't!)

I do not know how much a SS frame would cost, but I'm certain that it isn't 
cheap! I believe that DMC Houston have a number of the original frames in 
stock and I think that would be my preference, at least until I was 
absolutely certain that an aftermarket frame had a clean bill of health.

There was a very good article by Mike Roberts in the Delorean World, Volume 
9, Number 1, 1992. This article not only covered the cost and tribulations to 
rebuild and replace the frame, it also pointed out the very real dangers to 
unsuspecting owners that think that they have 'just a little bit of rust' on 
their frame! (I suggest everybody with rust on the frame on their D get a 
copy of the article or the magazine from DOA!)

Next you said: "2. A DeLorean with a rusty frame probably was never cared for 
properly, so there might be a lot more wrong with the car." 
Not necessarily true!
The author of the article in DW bought his car new in '81 and had to replace 
the frame in '91, with 80,000 miles on it. Based on what this gentleman wrote 
I would say that he would be classified as a careful owner!

If you buy a stored car with a rusty frame I bet you would easily have 
$25,000 to $30,000 in it before you are done, even if you pay only $5,000 for 
it!
Please note that this is only my guess! We have a lot of people on this list 
that know a lot more than I do about the cost of restoring a D! 

Roger




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