Thursday, 17 October 1996 Volume 02 : Number 186
In this issue:
DeLorean / Pantera Issue
DMC heart transplant -- final episode
DMC PARTS
Radios, Brakes, and Hood Cables
Differences of?
RE: DMC heart transplant -- final episode
Re: Sponteneous locking
Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
CAR BREAK-INS
Trip and ...
Re: Model differences
Re: CAR BREAK-INS
Radios
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Don Gowler-CFPO01"
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 8:10:00 -0500
Subject: DeLorean / Pantera Issue
dstall@trib.net@INTERNET wrote about a 1983 DeLorean for sale that was outfitted
with a Pantera drive and train. The following is a brief comment he made that
has me puzzled as to why the owner is not accepting direct bids on the car. Do
we have a middle man here?
>The car remains for sale at the moment; however, only critically serious
>buyers should contact me within the next week with a request via e-mail
>(If the car is sold, I will post a notice). The owner may also decide to
>keep the car. I will do my best to relay your phone or fax to the owner
>stating what your best offer would be; no offer below the owner's minimum
>will be forwarded. I will not forward reply's to the owner after the 20th
>of October, 1996.
Regards, The Silver Fox
------------------------------
From: Knut S Grimsrud
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 96 08:01:00 PDT
Subject: DMC heart transplant -- final episode
For those following the story:
I've had my car back for a week now -- what a feeling! The
installation went without a hitch (the installation was done 2 days
after my new motor mounts arrived) and the new powerplant performs
flawlessly. The whole car feels new!
My thanks to the folks at Specialty Automotive, KAPAC, and Foreign Car
Specialists for their service in completing this project in a
professional and timely way. The whole experience was good (aside from
all those big checks I wrote).
Now for the questions: I found the engine ID plate on my removed
powerplant (it's right above the left side engine mount), but I am
unable to determine how anyone would determine that the engine matches
the car body. Does anyone know how one determines that "the numbers
match" on a DeLorean? Are matching numbers verified as part of
concourse competition? Are matching numbers completely unimportant in
DeLoreans, and why?
I have my old engine on a stand in the garage and will re-build it at
my leisure. Since the cost of the components is low when compared with
the time involved, I thought that I might as well rebuild the engine
with premium components and at the same time boost its' performace
slightly. Does anyone have suggestions for high-performance components
or modifications to consider while rebuilding a PRV from the ground
up? I was thinking along the lines of getting slightly oversized
(maybe 0.040" over) cylinder liners (is there such a thing? where does
one get this stuff?) running some forged pistons, getting a higher
performance cam, bla, bla, bla. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
My old fuel distributor is in good shape and I want to keep it that
way while the engine is stored/restored. Is there any procedure that
should be carried out to purge and preserve the fuel distributor? I
have currently taken all the lines off it and purged them before
sealing them up in zip-lock bags and I have temporarily sealed the
distributor in a bag as well to avoid having the fuel in it dry out
and leave deposits, but I am concerned about properly preserving this
expensive component. Any thoughts you may have on this would be
appreciated.
Incidentally, aside from the gasket failure and some slight pitting on
the head surface, the rest of the old engine looked surprisingly good.
Had I not had the problems with the gaskets, I see no reason why I
could not have gotten a helluva lot more miles out of it.
Knut Grimsrud
DeLorean Owners Assoc.
Chapter 41
------------------------------
From: "t.m."
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 12:32:30 +0000
Subject: DMC PARTS
Hello everyone. I am in need of a right front fender. It can't have
any dents, scratches are okay. I have other parts (mostly body) I can
offer in trade. Thank you for your help.
I do have some advice for anyone wanting to upgrade their DMC radio. DO
NOT purchase anything expensive. Chances are that someone walking by
your car may want that expensive stereo too. You are better off buying a
reasonable-looking tape deck, and buying a wireless CD changer that you
can hide. These items are cheaper than replacing the window someone
broke because they also wanted an in-dash CD player. Believe me, I speak
from experience.
------------------------------
From: Delornut@aol.com
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 20:12:40 -0400
Subject: Radios, Brakes, and Hood Cables
My car is a very late '81, vin # 6938. I bought it new and the Craig Radio
has the clock, ( no console clock ) and station preset buttons. The biggest
problem with those radios ( rather poor sound quality not withstanding ) was
the ribbon wire that feed the LED's on the tape deck door. After repeated
opening and closing the ribbon wires began to fracture and the station and
clock numbers disappeared. This happened to mine in very short order. I
bought a radio at Kapac during the tour last week and it's the same as my
original. I'm just going to file it as I have and Alpine unit in the car now.
Mike covered the brake squeal pretty thoroughly but I' d like to ad one more
suggestion in the event all the other solutions fail. If you've ever changed
a speedometer angle drive you've no doubt discovered the nut is torqued
really tight. The reason is the stub axle ( spindle ) on the front wheels
are tapered and must fit into a tapered hole in the front hubs. The high
torque on these nuts ( 165 ft lbs. ) was needed to assure the stub axle was
seated securely in the hub. I have a friend who suffered horrendous brake
squeal and non of the usual cures helped. After much investigating he
discovered the stub axles were loose enough to rotate when he tried
tightening these nuts. As soon as he torqued them properly the squeal
disappeared.
Several years ago Terry Jennings advertised emergency engine cover and trunk
release cables in DELOREAN WORLD. Basically they were just bicycle brake
cables that were hooked to the latches and routed along the existing cable
shrouds. They were left a little longer than the existing cables with the one
for the trunk looped around the release handle under the dash. The engine
compartment emergency cable was routed to the area behind the drivers side
tail light. If the engine cover cable broke you would only have to remove the
tail light an pull the emergency cable and of course the trunk cable was
right there next to the release handle.
Bruce Benson
------------------------------
From: Sam
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 09:57:17 -0700
Subject: Differences of?
I am new to the world of DeLoreans and have been doing
quite a bit of "catching up" to gain a communicable level
of conversation with all of you out there. My questions at the
moment are:
What are the differences between the '81, '82, and '83 models?
Aside from model upgrades and fixes why would someone prefer one
model over another?
------------------------------
From: "Roger Huggins"
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 96 04:37:59 UT
Subject: RE: DMC heart transplant -- final episode
I think that the biggest problem with fuel systems sitting is not that they
dry out, but that they have fuel in them. The fuel can leave varnish deposits
on the insides, and it's especially bad if you have any water in there -
rust!!! Probably the best thing to do for storage would be to drain all the
fuel out, make sure it's nice and clean and dry, and put it away in a clean
dry location. It would probably be good to keep it in something to keep off
the dust buildup, et al...
Good luck!
- ----------
From: dmcnews-approval@world.std.com on behalf of Knut S Grimsrud
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 1996 8:01 AM
To: dmcnews@world.std.com
Subject: DMC heart transplant -- final episode
My old fuel distributor is in good shape and I want to keep it that
way while the engine is stored/restored. Is there any procedure that
should be carried out to purge and preserve the fuel distributor? I
have currently taken all the lines off it and purged them before
sealing them up in zip-lock bags and I have temporarily sealed the
distributor in a bag as well to avoid having the fuel in it dry out
and leave deposits, but I am concerned about properly preserving this
expensive component. Any thoughts you may have on this would be
appreciated.
------------------------------
From: "Marvin S. Sterling"
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 02:57:28 -0700
Subject: Re: Sponteneous locking
Solitary Man wrote:
>
> >NO IT"S NO Marv ... .I locked my keys in my DeLorean once ... I had
> >taken the car to a car wash to "spray it off" and when I closed the door,
> >there was enough "force" to make the rocker switch close ... the doors
> >instantly LOCKED!
>
> Ah!...Yes, happened to me too, although they usually don't lock
> completely, but just enough to prevent opening the door. Admitedly, the
> passenger side tends to do it more often then the driver side. Sufficed to say,
> I make a point to take my keys whenever I leave the car now!
>
> -Wolfie
Okay, I stand corrected, you're not supposed to be able to lock the doors
without using the key ... so much for buikt in lock out prevention and a
vote for tight rocker switches. Along these lines when I first bought
mine in 2/84 I had an opportunity to speak with KAPAC who was providing
the warranty and was advised by one of their tech people to never lock
the doors while in the car because the lock relays had a habit of going
out and locking you in the car ... rumor was that this happened to Johnny
Carson and that it took an hour to get him out of it after which he bad
mouthed the car at any opportunity.
Best to all,
Marv
------------------------------
From: "Marvin S. Sterling"
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 03:05:10 -0700
Subject: Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
t.m. wrote:
>
> Hello everyone. I am in need of a right front fender. It can't have
> any dents, scratches are okay. I have other parts (mostly body) I can
> offer in trade. Thank you for your help.
> I do have some advice for anyone wanting to upgrade their DMC radio. DO
> NOT purchase anything expensive. Chances are that someone walking by
> your car may want that expensive stereo too. You are better off buying a
> reasonable-looking tape deck, and buying a wireless CD changer that you
> can hide. These items are cheaper than replacing the window someone
> broke because they also wanted an in-dash CD player. Believe me, I speak
> from experience.------------------------
Happened to me too. They took out the passenger large window going for an
alpine unit that I had had installed while the ASI was being repaired.
Well they didn'y get the alpine but they did screw up the console which
was replaced. The ASI is back in and will stay there ... some people just
can't leave other people's property alone.
Regards,
Marv
------------------------------
From: Emmett Lyman
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 03:49:54 -0400
Subject: Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
Hey, Marv, that happened to my Delorean, too. Except my stereo was only
$5000 to replace. Oh, well, as long as it wasn't anything more than pocket
change. The other day, my Ferrari was broken into as well. It sucked
because it was just outside my window by the indoor pool. I was wading in
the hot tub when this guy came up to it and smashed the driver's side
window. I ran after him, but let my personal FBI agents take over the case.
So I went back to my pool and had my hot, sexy 20 year-old models give me a
massage. They used my $60,000 olive oil from Bogota, but it was worth it.
BUT, I'm getting off the subject. So now, while my Delorean no.1 is in the
shop getting the stereo fixed, I have to drive my gold one to school. Just
a side comment: Carl Sagan, who lives right next door to me, has offered
$200,000 for the gold one. What do you think, guys? Should I sell it to him?
I'll talk to you guys later when I get back from my day trip to Bermuda.
See ya.
Emmett Lyman
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Freeze this moment a little bit longer,
Make each sensation a little bit stronger...
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
From: stormrider@socketis.net (Chase Clark)
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 11:50:05 -0600
Subject: Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
>Hey, Marv, that happened to my Delorean, too. Except my stereo was only
>$5000 to replace. Oh, well, as long as it wasn't anything more than pocket
>change. The other day, my Ferrari was broken into as well....
Funny Emmett. The point of the whole thread was that an aftermarket radio
can increase the chances of someone trying to break into the car. Most
owners can live with the loss of a radio (although I hope my Alpine never
gets stolen), but the simple truth is the thief may cause much more damage
to the car than the radio itself is worth. Remember, there is only a
limited stock of original DMC parts left, and some items, such as windows
and windshields, can not be replaced easily with aftermarket parts.
Personally, my Alpine unit has a removeable faceplate, which I store in its
holder in the car's "safe" when I am out and about in town or on trips. If
they are smart enough to get hold of it from there, I figure they plan on
stealing the whole car anyway. That's where the insurance company and I end
up in court arguing over how much my car is really worth.
~ Chase
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stormrider Media Productions P.O. Box 105301
Chase Clark, Co-Owner Jefferson City, Missouri 65110-5301
Voice/Fax (573)635-0622 Email: stormrider@socketis.net
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If I had a dime for every original idea Bill Gates had...
why I'd have nothing!" - Christopher Meinck
------------------------------
From: "Marvin S. Sterling"
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 01:13:47 -0700
Subject: Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
At 11:50 AM 10/16/96 -0600, you wrote:
>>Hey, Marv, that happened to my Delorean, too. Except my stereo was only
>>$5000 to replace. Oh, well, as long as it wasn't anything more than pocket
>>change. The other day, my Ferrari was broken into as well....
>
>Funny Emmett. The point of the whole thread was that an aftermarket radio
>can increase the chances of someone trying to break into the car. Most
>owners can live with the loss of a radio (although I hope my Alpine never
>gets stolen), but the simple truth is the thief may cause much more damage
>to the car than the radio itself is worth. Remember, there is only a
>limited stock of original DMC parts left, and some items, such as windows
>and windshields, can not be replaced easily with aftermarket parts.
>
snip - snip
>~ Chase
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Chase-
Wasn't sure what to make of Emmet' s response but thank you for cutting
through to the subject. Radios can be replaced, from what I hear there are
no more center consoles available.
Best regards,
Marv
- -------------------
"Cheer up!
If sometimes you think that the whole world is against you, forget it.
Nobody's that importatnt" anon
- ----------------
------------------------------
From: raddad@cmn.net
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 07:53:22 -0600
Subject: Re: DMC PARTS & expensive radios
Further to this discussion - Yes, on day 2 of a six week trip in my
DeLorean, it was broken into for the in-dash CD player - I also had 4
speakers mounted across the interior rear fascia - they took the whole damn
thing - fortunately (?) they apparently didn't have enough time to take
either the EQ or the Amp - however, they sure snipped a lot of wires!!! -
was able to get a new face plate and console plate to replace the badly
bent and scratched pieces - also got side window - had to have a new wooden
rear fascia made - Rob Grady did it and I believe he had a few extra made
"just in case".
Nothing new to add here - just the misery loves company syndrome.
------------------------------
From: "Don Gowler-CFPO01"
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 9:35:00 -0500
Subject: CAR BREAK-INS
A lot of conversation going on regarding DeLorean break-ins for radios and CD
players. Don't you folks have alarm systems on your cars? I have one that has
a customized 100 watt amplifier driving the siren - believe me it would wake the
dead.
Let's talk about alarm systems - anyone - what have you guys done in this area?
Regards, The Silver Fox
------------------------------
From: ausmith@pdx.oneworld.com
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 07:46:49 +0000
Subject: Trip and ...
Hi! Well, I just got back from Carmel, CA. Sixteen hundred mile
round trip and everything worked fine with one exception that I'll
describe in a minute. It was a bit crowded even with a luggage rack
and it's just me, and my dog. She likes to ride in the passenger
footwell, has no interest in looking out the window. Golf clubs, a
couple of bags and some tools (just in case) really fills it up. Had
some fun with a couple of Corvetts on the way down running through
the mountains near Mt. Shasta. Had a really tough time with a guy
driving an empty log truck with the trailer piggy-backed. He must
have driven that stretch daily for a while, handeled that rig like a
sports car. I never did pass him and felt like I did well just
keeping up. He waved as he took an exit near Redding.
Carmel was fun, all the regular questions whenever I was parked. I
may have talked a couple of "financial advisors" into becoming owners
while we were playing golf. I think I had them convinced that driving
a "normal" car and taking the depreciation every year was really a
dumb move, especially considering their profession.
To the one failure. My brake lights went out! I have no idea when
they failed but I noticed it just north of Roseburg on the way home.
I pulled off and took stuff out and checked the fuse, pulled the tail
lights, and couldn't find anything. Since I didn't bring my tester
there wasn't much else to do except head home, keeping a closer eye
on trafffic. No tickets and no misshaps, I made it. I traced the
problem to the brake light switch. Since it has L1 imprinted on the
top I am assuming it's another f#*&%#ng Lucas part. From the outside
it appears overbuilt but when open you see that it's all show. The
contacts are held to the nylon shaft by a really tiny "tinnerman"
nut. The spring is to stiff and the shaft is turned (or molded) to
about 1/32" for this pressed on nut which popped off. I would strongly
suggest finding a replacement before this happens to you. I'm going to
find one today and will post a part # as soon as I have one.
Chris
Saw a bumper sticker once. "The British like warm beer because they
have Lucas refrigerators."
------------------------------
From: Mike Substelny
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 10:56:12 -0400
Subject: Re: Model differences
Sam asked:
>What are the differences between the '81, '82, and '83
>models?
For most cars this is an easy question, but not the
DeLorean. While forming DMC, John DeLorean's goal was to
create an "ethical" sports car. This meant safety, durability,
and value. DeLorean knew that major automakers change
their models every year to reduce the value of last year's
model, and he considered this to be a somewhat unethical
practice. He wanted a car that would not betray last year's
customers with this year's changes.
Still, DMC knew the DeLorean would need to be changed
and updated from time to time. For the most part they made
the changes whenever it was convenient, not between model
years. So you often hear DeLorean owners refer to their cars
by a fraction of a year, like: "early '81" or "late '82." This
makes it difficult to tell a "model year" definitively without
inspecting the build plate.
The good news is that all the changes were pretty minor.
The first DeLoreans had a windshield mounted radio antenna,
a digital clock in the center console, a Craig cassette stereo,
style lines & a fuel filler door in the luggage compartment lid,
a locking gas cap, and a strap with a steel ring wrapped
around the door handles.
These last few weeks the DML has been trying to figure out
when the luggage compartment lid lost its fuel door and style
lines. I think the fuel door went first, making the lid stronger.
This meant you needed to open the lid to fill the tank, but it
eliminated the need for the locking gas cap. The windshield
antenna also went away in early '81, replaced by a power
mast antenna hidden in a rear air scoop. Later the power
antenna was replaced by a fixed mast in the front fender.
Both get better reception than the windshield mount (I am
painfully aware of this myself!).
I can't tell you for sure when the other changes were made,
but the DeLorean later lost its style lines in favor of a flat
luggage lid (don't worry, the flat lid looks great). The center
console clock went away when they started putting a clock
in the stereo. A dangling strap was built into the doors,
eliminating the clumsy "wraparound" strap. The alloy wheels
got a lighter color paint job.
The final DeLoreans have a cool "DeLorean" emblem in the
front of the driver's side of the luggage lid. They also had an
ASI radio, and slightly different markings on the a/c controls.
I may have missed a couple of other changes, but you get
the idea. It was pretty much small, cosmetic stuff. They all
had the same engine and power train. The frames were all
the same. The brakes and suspension were the same.
Except for the style lines and the radio antennas, the bodies
were the same.
Other differences between cars, like the 5-speed vs
automatic tranny, black vs grey interior, thin vs thick side
stripes, and paint jobs were either factory or dealer options.
You may find these features on any DeLorean any year. (A
possible exception is the grey interior, which Stainless Steel
Illusion says was not offered in the very early cars. I would
love to know the VIN# of the first grey interior.)
Perhaps someday, when the DML has thousands of
subscribers, we can conduct a detailed survey and determine
exact dates and VIN numbers for all of the changes. In the
mean times, I hope my ruminations have helped.
- -Mike Substelny
------------------------------
From: "Mr. THX"
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 11:51:01 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: CAR BREAK-INS
Hi all,
Car alarms are annoying. Here in NJ and NY, so many alarms go off
accidentally that nobody pays attention anymore. I was thinking about
getting one, but what's the point? One the damage has been done, the alarm
serves no purpose. I'd rather just get a kill switch. My neighbor's alarm
kept going off accidentally every 20 minutes. I swore I'd never be the
cause of such audible anguish.
Mike
------------------------------
From: "Michael E. Gaines"
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 12:11:29 -0400
Subject: Radios
Hi all,
I recently had a Panasonic CD player installed in my DMC. It has a
removable faceplate so that I can bring it with me wherever I go. I
listened to CD changers that hook up through the antenna's RF adapter
and they just sound awful. First off, I don't take the DMC anywhere
that's likely to be unsafe. My wife and I have two cars so we take the
Saturn to places like the mall. With that in mind, I feel confident that
I'm keeping the car safe.
As I stated in a previous message, an alarm is nothing more than an
annoyance. I had an alarm on my Nissan Stanza and the damn thing kept
going off on its own. I'd rather go for the kill switch.
Mike
------------------------------
End of dmcnews-digest V2 #186
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