[DML] Re: $20K DeLorean Rule (Bill Robertson)

["Louie" <louie@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I feel I have to chime in on this since I've known Bill longer than 
any of the other DeLorean owners here, and have undoubtedly spent 
more time with him than anyone on the DML. I'm very much getting 
tired of people trying to shush Bill all the time when they don't 
even know him personally, and haven't seen his car lately. I am the 
first to admit, when Bill first got his DeLorean it looked like he 
pulled the poor thing out of a swamp, the car was just pitiful. When 
he first carbureted his car it was jetted so rich that when his 
secondaries kicked it, the car was totally drowned in fuel and it 
would start choking and stumbling. But over the past 7 years he has 
been slowly and methodically chipping away at his car piece by 
piece. The two times I've seen the car the past few months I could 
hardly believe it was the same automobile. He has cleaned and 
detailed the engine bay, even made new vacuum diagrams to illustrate 
the fact he is carbed, not fuel injected. ANY idiot could work on 
the car, I absolutely assure you of that. He's also made a custom 
air cleaner assembly and added the DMC sticker on the air cleaner. 
He's painted all the black trim on the car, painted the fascias, 
installed new carpet in the interior, and new PJ Grady (aka DMC-
Texas) seatcovers. The car isn't just presentable now, it's becoming 
downright sharp. 

The modifications you've spoken of aren't some sort of basement 
witchcraft, they're common sense items such as making the 
sidemarkers also function as turn signals, and rewiring the tail 
lamps so more of the lense lights up when you put on the brakes. He 
has wired lights into the car that illuminate his footwells and 
parcel shelf. His modifications make the car more safe without a 
doubt. I don't know what you're expecting, but when you look at his 
car, it looks very much stock. It doesn't look like some sort of 
Franken DeLorean that's been hacked together. I've been in the 
community for 10 years, and have driven at least a dozen DeLoreans 
(probably more), and his car drives and rides as good or better than 
a stock one. It certainly is a good deal quicker than a stock PRV. 
It even gets comperable/better gas mileage than a stock car. And it 
idles right! At the DMA event last weekend there were so many 
DeLoreans that had high/erratic idle... Bill's carbed car was one of 
the few that didn't. Also unlike a bunch of $20k+ DeLoreans I've 
seen with $5k stereos, he actually has working AC too! Not just 
working AC, but AC so cold that it'll run you out of the car. 

I guess all I'm saying is this: if you are a naysayer of Bill, you 
haven't seen his car in 2008. His car is turning into a downright 
nice example of the marque, and I guarantee it'll out perform and 
will be infinitely more reliable than ~any~ stock DeLorean. I used 
to be of the $20k (now $25k) school of thought as well. At one time 
I was also one who wanted to keep the car as stock as possible. But 
the car that Bill only has $12k in **TOTAL** looks better than now 
than most of the cars for sale in that $25k price bracket, and I 
guarantee his is engineered so that it'll give you much more time 
behind the wheel. Bill may not be conventional, but he knows what 
the hell he's doing, and his modifications and experimentations only 
help ALL of us in the end. We all own/have owned/will own cars that 
went extinct almost 3 decades ago now. Parts aren't getting any 
cheaper for them, or more plentiful. And arguably the number of 
people/shops who can work on the DeLorean is shrinking. The fact 
that Bill is out there questioning the status quo is good for ALL of 
us! Not just people who aren't conventional, or on a budget. So 
before any of you pick on Bill, I urge all of you to put up or shut 
up. Go see and drive his car, and THEN if you still think you have 
grounds to pick on him, by all means have at it. Otherwise, this 
online feuding is quite pointless and truly detracts from the 
DeLorean community. We have to remember, there are enough people who 
don't like our cars, why should we not like each other too? We're a 
minority as DeLorean people, and we should all be in this together!!

Louie Golden
Charlotte, NC
Past owner of VINs 10115 and 5252

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