Newbie Intro

["checksix3" <checksix3@xxxx>]

Hello Folks,

I'm new here and just bought an automatic 81 with 15K miles on it. I 
have had the car a week and resolved lots of problems on it, mainly 
electrical issues (I have battled Lucas, The Prince Of Darkness, many 
times in the past) and fuel leaks at the sending unit and fuel pump 
boot. I have tried to do extensive research on the Web so as not to 
pester you all with simple questions, but I have a few. Btw, I do all 
work on the car myself.

A little about me: Northern California, commercial pilot and 
industrial maintenance engineer. My other money pits include 
a Toyota Turbo Supra, motorcycle and Cessna 177RG. Since I'm new 
here I will try to keep my ears open and mouth shut but I'll 
point out that I'm also an electrical/electronics, industrial 
automation machine design and materials engineer, machinist, 
certified auto A/C tech and aircraft mechanic, among a few other 
things. (Not boasting, just pointing out you can talk technical to me 
in several disciplines without dumbing it down.) 

While my actual experience with this car is limited, after 7 days of 
inspecting and studying it I feel I understand the car's system's 
fairly well at this point, especially the electrical portions of it. 
(I"ll withold my opinion on the electrical design for now :-) 

I do have a few questions: 1) The squeaking when turning the 
steering, is that the bushing or is there a way to otherwise resolve 
it? 2) Amoung those well known I've found, any parts suppliers I 
*should not* deal with? Recommendations of those I should? 3) Where 
can I get a decent, readable electrical schematic? 4) My car has a 
case of "bump steer", any comments about resolving that? 

5) The car's idle hunts (750 to 1200 rpm) when cold but smooths out 
when warm. (I read somewhere this is normal but can't find that 
reference again.) The constant idle system (stepping valve, switch, 
thermistor, ect)checks out fine. I understand there is fixed 
pulse "mapping" to the freq valve when cold? (I say mapping because 
the intelligent ECU in my Supra runs in open loop when cold.) Its my 
understanding the DeLorean has no such microprocessor ECU smarts? The 
Bosch ECU is analog?

The car seems in decent shape now, what specifics peculiar to 
these cars should I be worried about at 15K miles? I've replaced the 
fuel pump and belts, the brakes are OK, the cooling hoses are 
original as is the stock cooling bottle. Cooling fan and tempstat are 
OK, heater blower is noisy. I've leaked checked and charged the A/C, 
temps are now good but it seems to have low airflow even with blower 
on high speed. Blower speed resistor and A/C mode switching and 
vacuum actuators check out ok. Maybe a external leak somewhere in the 
heater core/evap box?

Lastly, my transmission govener computer is acting up. Any other EE 
types out there who have modified this thing for better reliability?
Any comments on its removal?

I'd like to offer an alternative to the Fram drain valve. For years I 
have used this product: http://www.fumotovalve.com It is a high 
quality valve but I don't know if one would work well on our cars due 
to the location of the drain. Does anyone know the drain plug thread 
specs on the car? As for accidental openings, fwiw, such valves are 
used on aircraft all the time without any problems.

My apologies for the long post and thanks for any input. I value the 
expertise of the members here and hope to have a rewarding experience 
driving and maintaining this vehicle. 

Gary