Re: [doc] How PSO is going at present....

[Martin Gutkowski <webmaster@xxxx>]

Stephen Strelczak wrote:

> PSO now has her new gas strutts fitted, which work like a treat, they 
> take the doors up to full hieght, swiftly and smoothly, no need to 
> torsion bar antics thank god:) New stainless steel coolant bottle, 
> throttle cover both fitted, and engine bay starting to look tidy at 
> last. Martin, what was the name of that black polish you were using on 
> the black plastic parts of the car? I would like to use it on the 
> connecting rubber pipes on my engine, and the bay in general.
It's Car Plan Black Trim Wax. You can get it in Halfords. Chris Hawes 
discovered it. NB it's NOT a polish. it will give you a matte black 
finish. If you need to restore colour, as I did, then it's fantastic, 
however the auto-glym stuff James uses is better, this gives it a 
permanent "wet" look. It comes as a sort of green gel

> Been talking with my mechanic last week, specifically about the ride 
> hieght of the car. We would like to drop the ride hieght by an inch on 
> the back, and 2.5 inches on the front. We haven't had much luck on the 
> springs front, but think we will be able to do the job with a certain 
> type of clamp device, which compress's the springs down by any 
> required amount. Does anyone know of this conversion to the springs?
Chris Parnham can get you the front springs for £50. He's working on 
getting the rears done too, but 2.5 and 1 inch sound like quite a lot! 
DMC Houston do a new pair of rears, but they're pricey. If you just 
compress the stock springs, you'll bottom out the suspension, because 
with a shorter travel you need stiffer springs to compensate. The stock 
springs are too loose as it is! PJ grady also do new shock absorbers for 
the car - this would be a better investment IMO, and I did read 
somewhere you can adjust the height on them.

> Trailing arm bolts, PSO never had the conversion, what does this 
> involve?
What conversion? You just need to make sure they're kept torqued. 
www.delorean-parts.com have the Toby TAB's in stock - who else wants a 
set - we could save on shipping. I want a pair, James does too. No doubt 
Rich can be bullied into it also :-) They're $66 a pair and that is what 
they cost to make (read why on his website).

> Another thing, my heating system. We have found the problem, and it 
> made my mechanic and myself laugh. My fan motor is currently spinning 
> the wrong way! My mechanic swapped the polarity, and the fan system 
> improved by over 100%!
I have heard this can happen, though I'd like to find out why. It'd take 
something seriously wierd to go wrong in the motor, and I'm not sure how 
the earthing works onthe fan motors. NB I think you still have the 
fan-fail module in your relay compartment (blue jobby, to the bottom 
left as you look over it). You have two fans and both should come on at 
the same time. There's no independent wiring in the stock loom for them 
to come on independently. The fan-fail module often creates the 
situation where you rely on one fan only - mine's doing this but as I 
don't have/use the AC, the fans rarely need to work. It SHOULD light up 
an indicator on the instrument panel to tell you only one fan's working, 
but again, rely on this at your peril! I can easily wire up the mod in 
the relay compartment to make your fans work properly.

> However, this can not remain, as the car is negative earth, and my car 
> was then able to give a nice electric shock to anyone touching the 
> outside at the wrong moment. So big question, and I know you'll like 
> this one martin, can the motor be rewired, rebuilt, or a device fitted 
> before it, to change the polarity safely, without electric shocks? 
> This would help a great deal.
I don't see how reversing the polarity on the motor can cause it to make 
the bodywork positive. - it's still connected to the earth of the 
battery! Most likely you need a new fan motor. I could have a go at 
dismantling it if you like, and while it's out we could try and X-ref 
the motor. You can run on one fan.

> Courtesy light circuit!!?? I'm stumped on this on. I now have the 
> circuit diagram for the car on the wall of the garage, at double A0 
> size (we have a poster printer at work that goes to A0 size, quite 
> handy n'est pas? However, I'm still no closer to finding out how to 
> get this circuit running. It wasn't the fuse as said before. I would 
> call Dave, but I don't have 2 hours spare at present:) Whats the best 
> way of getting this bit started?
Let me have a look at the car :-) Can't really help otherwise! We need 
to have another get-together with our cars. Are you coming down next 
Sunday (10th) for the Mechanoids filming? I should get a bit of time to 
have a look then.

> Door modual, when's a good time to send them Martin?
Now. I have to find my solder braid and some fat cable, but I have 
arranged everything on my desk to do the work on Dave's and Graham's. I 
have six relays so can do 3 modules. I do need some diodes though....

> Body work is looking wonderful, but a couple of panels looking a 
> little dull, best way to clean these up. Any hints on really cleaning 
> up the steel, without rebrushing, as I don't think that will be 
> needed. Hints on direction of cleaning, products, tools etc.
White spirit, a rag and elbow grease!

> I can't find any hints on the sites for this one. Whats the best way 
> to bring the car up to its best, without ruining the grain on the 
> stainless steel?
When cleaning, _always_ rub with the grain

> Finally, when can we all meet up again? My car feels 
> underpowered, like really underpowered, and I'd love to run the car 
> alongside another to compare, along with elctrical systems ect. Which 
> show would be the best one to take my Delroean along to, if I want to 
> sit beside her for the first time, and feel very proud? Lots of 
> questions I know, but thats what keeps this group nice and active:) 
> Speak soon,
We're doing another D-Day at the Diesel Centre around the end of 
April/start of May, as to actual shows, they're pretty thin on the 
ground till the weather improves!

Martin