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Wednesday, 24 April 1996 Volume 02 : Number 104
In this issue:
Leather Seats
Introduction of a non-US subscriber
Cigarette lighter problems
Speaking of the cigarette lighter...
Formula for epoxy?
Treating the stainless...
Trailer hitch?
Re: Speaking of the cigarette lighter...
DeLorean Model
DeLorean Firestar 500?
Luggage racks...
Re: Luggage racks...
Deloreans wanted and cigarette lighter
Re: DeLorean vs. Fiero GT
Used DeLorean FOUND!!
Re: Speaking of the cigarette lighter...
Right hand drive
Replacement Engines
Brakes- Power Assist?
What Malcolm Bricklin is up to...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: stormrider(AT)socketis.net (Chase Clark)
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 00:05:29 -0600
Subject: Leather Seats
Matt:
It is very easy to redo the leather seats in a DeLorean. The seats were
designed to use "slip-on" leather covers (another of the easy-to-work
aspects of the car). I believe you can still buy original or OEM leather
for around $400-$500 per seat.
~ Chase
------------------------------
From: "martin jellema"
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 96 12:56:21 CST
Subject: Introduction of a non-US subscriber
>I would also like to encourage all the lurkers to at least introduce
>themselves to the rst of the list, especially the non-US subscribers. I'd
>personally be interested in knowing not only how you found out about the
>list, but how you became interested in the DeLorean. Don't be shy, as
>long as you're not bashing the DeLorean, your comments are welcomed!
I'll introduce myself, my name is Martin Jellema. I'm a 20-year-old
college student from Holland. I became interested in the DeLorean after
I'd
seen an interview on television of a Dutch DMC-owner in an automagazine.
I haven't had a real interest in cars so far, but this struck me. I can
still remember seeing BTTF in the cinema, and I thought it was a very
futuristic looking car. I never realised until a couple of months ago
that
the dmc isn't just an exotic car of which only 10 have been made, but
that
it has been a real production car. So I started looking in libraries
looking for books on the dmc and JZD. I have only found a few bits of
information so far. A couple of months ago I started using internet and
my
e-mail address regularly.
So I decided to look what was on the www about DeLorean and found a few
links. The dmc-mailinglist was mentioned there and I decided to
subscribe.
Martin
------------------------------
From: Knut S Grimsrud
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 96 08:07:00 PDT
Subject: Cigarette lighter problems
Virginia Mason Hodges writes:
> Also, the green light around the rim of the socket never
> turned off when I first got the car so my father unhooked the
> light. Has anyone had a similar problem with the cigarette
> lighter?
This problem is not too uncommon with the DMC and stems from a fairly
trivial problem with the cigarette lighter base. This may also cause
the infamous flat battery sundrome (I had this problem with my car a
couple weeks ago and it was a simple fix).
The illumination bulb for the lighter gets its ground from a little
barb (wiper) that rubs up against the outside of the lighter cylinder
(which is grounded). Unfortunately, there are a couple wide slits in
this cylinder behind which the "hot" contacts for the lighter sit. If
the cylinder gets rotated a bit, the barb will contact the hot
portion of the lighter instead of the outer ground and cause some
strange behavior (including the light always being on _except_ when
you turn your lights on). In my case, the barb would sometimes slip
between the hot inner contact and the grounded outer cylinder and
create intermittent shorts.
The cure is simple -- take it apart and put it back to gether again
being careful of the rotation of the cylinder. You can get at the
lighter by removing the two screws on the black shift panel (directly
in front of the lighter) and raising the shift panel. The panel the
lighter is mounted in is sufficiently flexible that you can
_carefully_ lift it a bit and gain access to the underside. NOTE --
for most of the work you need no access underneath, although I found
it useful in order to make sure everything went back together right.
Knut Grimsrud
DOA Chapter 41
------------------------------
From: James Espey
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 08:54:39 -0800
Subject: Speaking of the cigarette lighter...
It seems that neither my cell phone power adapter or my radar detector
power adapter fits the lighter hole very well. Does anyone else have this
problem, or is it possibly just me?
James
------------------------------
From: James Espey
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 08:48:46 -0800
Subject: Formula for epoxy?
I've been meaning to touch up some of the chips in the epoxy on my
frame and need to know if there are local sources for the epoxy, or if I
should just call one fo the parts houses and get it. Anyone know?
James "Mikasa" Espey
------------------------------
From: James Espey
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 08:57:16 -0800
Subject: Treating the stainless...
I will be putting a new left quarter on my DeLorean weekend, and I seem
to recall reading somewhere that NOS stainless panels required
treatment anywhere that glass would have to adhere to or be against the
stainless (i.e. the rear side glass). Can anyone confirm this, and if so,
tell me what the proper treatment procedure is?
James "Mikasa" Espey
------------------------------
From: James Espey
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 12:46:07 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Trailer hitch?
Blasphemy! I'm looking at buying a jet ski and trailer, but since the
divorce, the DeLorean is my only car now, and I'd have to use it to tote
the jet ski around. Anyone ever put a hitch on a DeLorean? I recall seeing
a DeLorean with a "half-DeLorean" trailer before, but don't recall any
details on the hitch setup.
James
------------------------------
From: Don_Gowler-CFPO01(AT)email.mot.com
Date: 22 Apr 96 12:38:00 -0500
Subject: Re: Speaking of the cigarette lighter...
You need an adapter because it's a European size opening. The adapter is
just a
plain black plastic sleeve with a couple of slots in it so that the lighter or
phone can make contact with the power. You should be able to get them
from a
European car dealer or possibly from your cell phone carrier. Good luck.
Regards, The Silver Fox
______________________________________________________
_________________________
Subject: Speaking of the cigarette lighter...
From: dmcnews-approval(AT)world.std.com(AT)INTERNET at #EMAIL
Date: 4/22/96 11:54 AM
It seems that neither my cell phone power adapter or my radar detector
power adapter fits the lighter hole very well. Does anyone else have this
problem, or is it possibly just me?
James
------------------------------
From: dmcnews-approval
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 96 13:11:28 -0400
Subject: DeLorean Model
I contacted the person who used to produce the stock DeLorean bodies
that fit
onto BTTF DeLorean model chassis. He said they are no longer produced
due to
the low availability and high price of the BTTF models. He did say that
he
could start producing the kits again with just a little bit of work if it
were
profitable. He said he'd have to sell 15 to 20 kits to make any profit.
The
kits consist of the body (I assume the doors don't open), the dash board,
the
rear window slats and the engine cover. They sold for $35.00 a few
years ago
but he'd probably sell them for ~$40.00 considering inflation. The rear
window
slat pieces would have to be re-engineered as the mold for them broke in
the
final production run.
I discussed the idea of using a Lotus as the base car but he stated that
there
haven't been any Lotus Espirit kits available for a long time either.
Oh well...
Drop a message here if you're interested in buying one of these kits. If
we
can get enough solid orders, I'm sure he'd do a production run for us.
His name is Art Anderson and he works for (owns? sounds like it) All
American
Models at 22 South 16th St. in Lafayette, IN. The number is
(317)423-4565.
If you'd like to place an order though, post it here. I'd like to be the point
of contact for this so we can go to him and actually have the total
number of
orders ready up-front. We might also be able to get a better price that
way.
- --Rob Hook
(mail06754(AT)pop.net)
------------------------------
From: dmcnews-approval
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 96 13:29:22 -0400
Subject: DeLorean Firestar 500?
What was the DeLorean Firestar 500? I see a reference to it in some patent
information in the PTO database. The reference states it was pictured in the
1/86 issue of Motor Trend on page 17. Was this one of JZD's attempts at
restarting DMC?
- --Rob Hook
(mail06754)
P.S. I sent a message to the list the other day about some DeLorean trademark
information. I didn't see it in any of the lists I got. Did anyone else get
it? James?
------------------------------
From: "MR. DeLorean Man!"
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 16:48:25 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Luggage racks...
Chase, the luggage rack mounts to the louvers, believ it or not. Not
many other places it could go. If I remember correctly, they were introduced in
responce to a lack of storage space for the larger rear spare tires.
Wolfie!
------------------------------
From: jory bell
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 13:53:54 -0700
Subject: Re: Luggage racks...
> Chase, the luggage rack mounts to the louvers, believ it or not. Not
>many other places it could go. If I remember correctly, they were
>introduced in
>responce to a lack of storage space for the larger rear spare tires.
>
> Wolfie!
The mounts I've seen consist of hinges which mount to the stainless at
the
edge of the louvre, and kind of thread their way between the rubber
along
the stainless and the louvre itself. There are 4 mounts.
- -jory
------------------------------
From: Virginia Mason Hodges
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 15:42:40 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Deloreans wanted and cigarette lighter
Thank you to everyone who wrote back to me about the cigarette
lighter in my car. In the last Delorean digest someone wrote
about a delorean for sale in Pennslyvania. The letter was from
Dmcnews-approval. I would love more information if anyone knows
about the details on that specific car.
Next, the replica car show in Carlisle, Pennslyvania is
May 15th this year. It's a great car show and I purchased my
delorean there last year. If anyone lives close by and wants to
go it would be great to see other Deloreans there.
Thanks again for the help with the cigarette light.
Sincerely,
Virginia Hodges
------------------------------
From: "MR. DeLorean Man!"
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 19:23:50 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: DeLorean vs. Fiero GT
>One **might** see similarities between the GT and the DeLorean, but I
>doubt anyone consciously thought of the DeLorean while sketching the GT.
>I see more similarities in the Scirocco and early Isuzu Impulses, at
>least in the front end. It should be noted that Giugiaro designed those
>as well.
I have noticed a vague resemblance between areas of the scirocco
and the
DeLorean. I spend most of my time telling myself it can't be so...hehehe
I was not suggesting that anyone was considering the DeLorean
when
designing the Fiero. A possibility, but I did not suggest it.
I found when I set my DeLorean next to the Fiero, there were
striking
resemblances, moreso then any Sciricco of Isuzu I've seen (thank
god...heheh)
Wolfie!
------------------------------
From: william zappini
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 96 13:42:03 PDT
Subject: Used DeLorean FOUND!!
Hey everybody! I've got some great news for anyone out there who is
trying to find a used DeLorean. I've spotted one in Elizabethtown, PA,
not too far from Harrisburg. The body is in perfect condition but the
interior could use some restoration. Anyone who is interested let me
know and I will give you more details.
------------------------------
From: marv930(AT)ix.netcom.com (Marvin Sterling)
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 22:38:32 -0700
Subject: Re: Speaking of the cigarette lighter...
You wrote:
>
>It seems that neither my cell phone power adapter or my radar detector
>power adapter fits the lighter hole very well. Does anyone else have
this
>problem, or is it possibly just me?
>
>James
>
- -------------message divider
Jim:
Usually these appliances have an adapter that is screwed onto the plug
if the bare one does not fit; however, what I did was run 16 gauge wire
directly from the battery to a triple outlet that is fastened to the
underside of the dash, very handy for multiple appliances, naturally it
is fused. The wires are slipped up under the side of the console so
that they cannot be seen, this also leaves the console lighter
available.
Regards,
Marv Sterling
------------------------------
From: dgf108(AT)psu.edu (Damien Falato)
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 00:00:09 -0400
Subject: Right hand drive
I remember reading a bit about converting the car to right hand drive. I
can't remember if it was in the archive for the mailing list or else
where.
I contacted a notable de lorean servie and modification center recently
(due
to the nature of some of the things they do I was asked not to state who)
and they said they had done one change over that went to Austrailia.
They
also said that to make the car look factory spec they had to import a guy
in
from France to do the job. As I understand it this was a handfull of
years
ago and the cost was about $8,000.00. Anybody know any detailed info
on the
converion and If this figure wasn't a mis quote? I would be interested in
seeing about what is required to do the conversion properly and exactly
what
is required.
In responce to Marv Sterling, I don't know where you are located, but if
you
are in the north east stainless work is one of P.J. Grady's top items.
Don't expect the car to be done with quikly though. Rob Grady has 13
restorations in the shop as of the other week. He'll allways take on
more
work, but he'll be up front with you as of when he can expect to get to it.
About the merge with Chrysler, it's unsure if this was a joke on John's
part
or not. As I understand it John mentioned the deal to his financial/legal
head/team (whatever the deal was at the time) when he was
investigating all
kinds of other options for his personal finances. This was before Lee I.
had brought Chrysler back on it's feet. At the time it was believed that
if
he had swung the same kind of financing he had for DMC he might have
been
able to make a non insulting offer.
------------------------------
From:
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 96 16:35:47 +0100
Subject: Replacement Engines
The Germanns writes:
>From: The Germanns
>Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 18:43:36 -0400 (EDT)
>Subject: bad engine
>
>I have a delorean with a bad engine. Could someone help me with possible
>engine swaps? Where can i get the parts??
>
The last time I visited K-pac in Ohio, they approximately 300 new
engines
for the DeLorean. I am not sure about the asking price, but the number
is 800-854-6087.
Hope that helps.
Bryan Pearce
------------------------------
From: Jeff Frailey
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 16:36:24 -0500
Subject: Brakes- Power Assist?
To power assist, or not to power assist? That is the question?
With new disks and pads, I have experienced much better stopping ability
since I finished bleeding the brake lines.
BUT... when I first apply the brake the car wants to stop on a dime... if I
let off for 1 or 2 seconds and reaply the brake... THEN the car doesn't
want
to stop so quickly. I can feel a distinct difference in the pressure
required on the peddle.
Where do YOU think the problem is...
Is it a vacuum problem or should I replace that master cylinder ASAP.
I have a master cyl. in a box waiting for a long weekend to be installed.
Suggestions welcome.
- -Jeff
------------------------------
From: ssykes(AT)cygnus.rsabbs.com (Scott Sykes)
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 23:46:23 -0400
Subject: What Malcolm Bricklin is up to...
The CNN Technology page has a short article on Malcolm Bricklin's latest
project, an electric bike.
The URL for the article is...
here
The following quote sent shivers down my spine...
"For Bricklin, being a pioneer is nothing new. When he was just 32,
he designed and manufactured a futuristic gull-winged sports car called
the
Bricklin. The DeLorean, which was made after the Bricklin, actually
resembled the earlier car."
Oh really?
Scott Sykes
ssykes(AT)rsabbs.com
------------------------------
End of dmcnews-digest V2 #104
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