DeLorean Mailing List - 11/3/95
Subjects:
ALARM LED holes in the Dashboard...
Re: Body Panels Again
Re: Fishing for body dies
DMC - Houston
Re Interior Lights
Need steering wheel center piece
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From: awolf(AT)pacific.telebyte.net
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 16:20:08 -0800
To: "Delorean Mailing List"
Cc: todd(AT)bi-tech.com
Subject: ALARM LED holes in the Dashboard...
The thought occurred to me when installing my alarm also...
I decided not to wire the LED or Valet switch and the alarm refused
to work without either...
I didn't want to spend too much time poking through the system hard
wiring out the led and valet switch...so I chose to wire them down to the
lock panel behind the driver side seat.
From: VKruger(AT)aol.com
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 19:22:35 -0500
To: dmcnews(AT)goodnet.com
Subject: Re: Body Panels Again
In a message dated 95-11-01 08:39:04 EST, Takeuchi(AT)teleport.com writes:
>Shoot..., at $3500 - $4,000 a panel, with hundereds of them lying beneath
>the ocean floor, it would seem enough to start fishing for the dies.
>Anyone want to go deep-sea fishing, and make some $$$$? 8-)
Remember that auto body stamping dies are pretty substantial hunks of metal,
translating into a salvage operation of nearly "Raise the Titanic"
proportions. Even at $4000 it is unlikely that the demand for the panels
would support the costs of the salvage operation. Another possible worry is
that the dies would be in poor condition after 10 years in salt water.
Another possibility is to create a set of short-run dies using an existing
panel as a template. Prototypers for the car companies sometimes make
hand-hammered one-off panels over hardwood bucks. Although stainless is not a
particularly tractable material to work with, the front fender does not
appear to be a highly complex stamping. At best this would be a highly
labor-intensive operation but at $3K a panel it can be.
From: mikasa(AT)goodnet.com (James Espey)
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 06:47:56 -0700
To: dmcnews(AT)goodnet.com
Subject: Re: Fishing for body dies
In a message dated 95-11-01 08:39:04 EST, Takeuchi(AT)teleport.com writes:
>Shoot..., at $3500 - $4,000 a panel, with hundereds of them lying beneath
>the ocean floor, it would seem enough to start fishing for the dies.
>Anyone want to go deep-sea fishing, and make some $$$$? 8-)
Yes, but isn't the whole point of the exercise to make more body panels
available, therefore increasing the supply and theoretically lowering the cost?
I mean, sure, assume for the moment that the dies are salvageable, not just from
the ocean depths, but also that their condition has not deteriorated to the
point that either (a) they are unusable, or (b) the cost to make them usuable is
not so enormous that you would have to make a hundred panels at $3-$4K per panel
to make it "profitable". What is the demand for the panels? We can perhaps
assume that the demand will increase as time passes, though we will also see
more cars being "parted out" as time passes as well. Remember that only 8500 or
so of these cars were made. How many of these are still **driven** enough that
the likelihood of it getting in an accident and needing a left fender is up for
speculation.
Salvaging the body dies, IMO, is not the answer. Many of us have read or are
familar with the book Stainless Steel Illusion. The prototypes were all made
from "soft" tooling by a specialty shop, AutoKraft, I think. Obviously, the
protype panels are different than the production cars, but I think creating new
"soft" tooling would be a better idea than an undersea salvage operation.
Does anyone know, or can find out, how many body panels pieces are left? I'm
talking all the way around the car, fenders, quarters, hoods, T-panels, doors?
Knut mentioned earlier about a XX year supply, what does that translate to?
Just my $.02
James
From: LordWeb(AT)aol.com
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 17:42:02 -0500
To: DMCNEWS(AT)goodnet.com
Subject: DMC - Houston
I recently had my car "restored" at the DeLorean Motor Company in Houston.
While I can not say anything good or bad about any of the other service
providers that we all know, I can say that I was pleasantly pleased with the
work performed by Stephen Wynne and his crew.
Stephen is a pleasant "chap" from Liverpool who mde certain that I was kept
informed on the progress of my car while he had it. He had the car for about
6 weeks which might seem long but I told him I was not in any hurry to get it
back and wanted them to take their time and "do it right".
The work performed included a major tune up (including replacing all engine
rubber), brakes, new headliners, some electrical modifications, lower speedo
cable replacement, windshield washer motor and a modification to the cooling
system. I also had him install a AM/FM Cassette in dash with a 10 disk CD
Changer in the luggage compartment. Finally, they did remove a couple of
deep scratches in the hood and on top of the passenger door.
Did I pay to much for all of this??? That is a matter of opinion. I don't
think so but some of you may be more mechanically inclined then myself. All
I can say is that I am glad I had a professional do it and I was willing to
pay the price. Bottom Line......I would highly recommend Stephen Wynne and
DeLorean Motor Company in Houston.
Write if you want to know more
Web
From: mikasa(AT)goodnet.com (James Espey)
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 06:32:16 -0700
To: dmcnews(AT)goodnet.com
Subject: Need steering wheel center piece
As some of you out there may know, I have been looking for an original steering
wheel for my car, and I recently found a steering wheel. I bought it sight
unseen over the phone and was really surprised to get it and discover that it
did NOT include the center cap. The seller did not say that it was not included
and I did not ask. The seller will take it back, as he has no cap to go with it,
but I would like to try and find a cap first before I send it back and then
start the whole process all over again! Can anyone help?
James
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End of DMC-News Digest #034
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