Eds Delorean

Author: Eddie

Delays

Posted on by Eddie

Since finishing refurbishing the car coincides with the DMC (Midwest) Open House, the plan was the owner would deliver the car to me when he came up to attend the event. On Monday, April 23rd I got an email from the owner:

I got the new evaporator all right and started to put it in.

However I slipped with a screwdriver and stuck a nice hole in it so I now have to redisassemble the dash again and order another evaporator.

 

This basically killed my chances of the car being done this weekend, thus I would not buy it yet. His email said to give him a call, so we talked for about 15 or 20 minutes. He doesn’t want to try to repair the puncture – he wants to use a brand new part that won’t fail. I can certainly respect this. He was upset that he wasn’t going to make it on time, and this was the first time he was going to be late on one of his projects. He sounded very tired, and frustrated. He now has to take apart the dash again, which is very labor and time intensive. I was disappointed, but as I told him, “I’ve waited over ten years, so I can wait a few more weeks.”

 

The good news is that he plans to still bring the car to the DMC Midwest Open house. He wants me to go over the car, and I can test drive it and even help out if there is some work to be done. I do plan to learn how to service this car myself, so this is a big opportunity. I’m still looking forward to Saturday J

Refurbish Details

Posted on by Eddie

I’ve compiled a list of all the items that the owner has repaired or replaced:

mostly new fuel system, new fuel pump
new brake system
new rear brake hoses
new tires
fresh powdercoated wheels
CD player panasonic 3034 I believe with mp3 and remote input
new kicker 4×10 speakers in rear
new front speakers
refurbished dash, binnacle
New leather seats, A posts, and knee pads
clean carpets
new relays and fuses
New remote door launchers
new window motors
the upper half of the motor has been rebuilt
looks like a new torque converter
new front and rear main seals
good refurbished motor mounts
replaced fan blower motor
new otterstat switch
new oil pressure regulator
fixed the oil pressure sensor cable so the light works
fixed the seat belt light
fixed the tranny dip stick leak
new air compressor, air conditioner
replace the dryer and probably the orfice tube
new headliners
new weatherstrip
refurbished front and rear fascias
New glove box
most bulbs replaced
replaced faded side marker lights
undercarriage on this car is clean no signs of significant rust (some rust on bolts and a few chips in undercarriage epoxy that will be cleaned up before the sale.
idle control valve
change door locks
seat belt on passenger side
weatherstrip to go on passenger side
rear view mirror
fix drivers mirror
detail black trim parts
replace door struts
Fixed the rear storage compartment
fixed two clips on the front grill
The knee pad stud was replaced
The shifter plate was repaired (no longer avail so it had to be fixed)
I replaced the right angle drive and have the instrument cluster back in
replaced the right angle drive so that all works.
rear storage compartment cover

 


 

VIN 16908’s History

Posted on by Eddie

I searched the DML for any reference to 16908. Surprisingly, someone had posted about it in 2005, and it was not the current owner. So I sent an email to this previous owner, and got a response back. FYI, I’m hiding names to protect people’s identity. This was the reply:

Ed,

I’m glad to hear the car is getting a good home.  I did sell it to ____ last fall and actually saw it a few weeks back while on a business trip to Cincinnati – like all of his work it looked and sounded great.

As to my history with the car, I bought it a couple of years ago as my second DeLorean restoration project (my first was VIN1494 that I still own). Although the interior was a mess, the engine & transmission were in good shape.  More importantly this car basically had the straightest, closest to perfect body on a Delorean that I’ve ever seen as well as a perfectly rust free frame. After buying it I changed jobs, moved, and simply ran out of time.

I actually bought 16908 out of the Auto Trader from a guy in Macon Ga who had purchased it at a sheriffs auction in McDonough, GA.  This guy basically bought it solely to turn around and only had it for a few months.  As to why
it was sold at auction, the former owner (prior to the one I bought it from) had left it at a mechanics shop and failed to pay the bill – the deadbeat owner was the second owner.  After it sat there for six months or so the shop placed a lien against it and the Henry County (GA) Sheriffs Department auctioned it off on the courthouse steps (I gave ____ all of the original, notarized paperwork from the auction).

Anyway for what it’s worth I don’t think you can go wrong buying the car from ____ – he does work and is a great guy who genuinely loves these cars. Like I said I saw it a few weeks ago and frankly wish I had the $ to buy it back myself.

Let me know if I can provide anything else. Best regards,
_______

It’s really great when the previous owners of your car can give you so much information on it. I’m so excited to be buying this car!!!

Refurbish Pictures

Posted on by Eddie

The owner sent me these pictures on March 27th, however these pictures could be up to several months old. They are in “no particular order.”









Newly powder coated wheels





Check out those new seat covers!














Notice the multiple DeLoreans in the shop







Again, two DeLoreans





The ad

Posted on by Eddie

It all started with this post on the DML:

——

Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:25 pm (PST)

I have a 1983 Black interior with the light gray carpet combination now available. The potential buyer backed our for financial reasons and for those of you watching it has been updated on DCMtalk for the past three months. The car has 23,918 miles.

The car has mostly new fuel system, new brake system, new rear brake hoses, new tires, fresh powdercoated wheels, CD player panasonic 3034 I believe with mp3 and remote input, new kicker 4×10 speakers in rear, new front speakers, refurbished dash, binnacle, New leather seats, A posts, and knee pads, clean carpets, new relays and fuses, New Toby door launchers, new window motors, the upper half of the motor has been rebuilt that part was documented on the DMCtalk, looks like a new torque converter, new front and rear main seals, good refurbished motor mounts, replaced fan blower motor, new otterstat switch, new oil pressure regulator, new headliners, new weatherstrip, refurbished front and rear fascias, most other parts have been refurbished or tested out. Also have reinforced the torsion bar area but in this case it looks like the 83’s had a factory patch as they had rivits in the plate where 81 and the 82’s I looked at did not. This was in good condition.

Struts all work some have been replaced. New glove box, most bulbs replaced, replaced faded side marker lights, undercarriage on this car is clean no signs of significant rust (some rust on bolts and a few chips in undercarriage epoxy that will be cleaned up before the sale. Its one of the cleaner undercarriages I have seen in a while.

The transmission has had the reverse switch and the gearshift relay connectors resealed as has the dipstick and the transmission pan gasket has been replaced along with the kickdown cable and the computer governor.

We also replaced the windshield.

I am asking $XX,XXX for the car and it comes with a limited $1000 parts warranty for 6 months to the purchaser. This covers most major parts like engine, tranny, brakes etc but does not cover cosmetics, road damage done after the car is purchased, or light bulbs type stuff. If interested I will give you the details.

If interested call me or e-mail me off line.

—–

Seemed too good to be true. Exactly what I’ve been looking for, and it’s been refurbished with many new parts by a very respected member of the DeLorean community. After a few emails, and a phone call, I decided I was buying it.