F-car owner with Delorean?

Just wondering if there are other F-car owners out there with Delorean as another toy to share some experience with. My buddy and I each bought a Delorean last week. His second and my first and I'm very excited !

 

Not me....

However, a neighbor has a 612 and a gold plated DeLorean. I am not certain of the history of his DeLorean, but I am told it is not one of the Amex cars and that the gold plating was done in the U.S. and not Ireland. Interesting nonetheless........

 

It's on my to-do list. Have you found http://www.dmctalk.com/ yet?

 

Just registered on that forum last night and will probably be very actively asking questions once the car gets here next week.... I hope.

 

I want to hear what you think of the car when you get it. There very neat machines thats for sure.

 

My brother is an expert with fixing the Deloreans, most likely cause his keeps breaking.

He might be willing to help you with any questions you may have and he is right down the road in S.A.

 

Jeff Ipolitti bought 1, he used to be Pres of FCA NY

and organizes the Orlando Celebration show in late april

great guy

 

John,

I would love to touch base with your brother because I know I will have questions. When I test drove the car, it idled high and didn't idle as smooth as I would of like. Shocks replacement is also a must since it still has the original OEMs on there.... 25 years old !

BTW, do you know if there's a Delorean club in Austin or San Antonio?

 

I love those cars! Not exactly sporting to drive, but fun in their own way nonetheless. Please post pictures when you can.

 

I owned a DeLorean at the same time I owned my GT4. No offense but there is no comparison, it reminded me of my Fiero. Like I said no offense they are cool cars but in a very different way. I am more of a machinery nut and the Ferraris fit that scenario better, the Deloren is more of boulevard car. Regards, Vern

 

I've had two DeLoreans. Both were 1981s, one was an early automatic and the other was a late '81 stick. No comparison in which tranny to have, the manual wins hands down over the slushbox. As you know, the cars are rather underpowered but have curb appeal that's hard to beat and are surprisingly quite comfortable for long haul trips. I drove my late '81 on a number of lengthy trips and always arrived feeling fairly refreshed, as compared to other, more "luxurious" cars of the era. I did the Sanden compressor upgrade on both of my cars and they had ICE COLD A/C, better than my MB or Jaguar! The windows were a constant source of frustration (wait till you have to dig into those), the doors would come out of adjustment frequently and the car felt like a huge go-kart over bumps in the road. Would I have another one? I think yes. But I'd have to say that with a DMC you're better off buying as late as possible (as in a 1983) because those cars received a number of upgrades, such as the thermoswitches that control the radiator fans, better fuse blocks that didn't melt along with better fan circuit breakers, slightly better ACC system design internals, etc..etc....

I remember one day walking into DeLorean Cadillac in Cleveland, Ohio (dealer owned by John Z's brother, Mike) and talking to one of their DMC techs they had there and he showed me a car they had up on a lift which was an early car that had problems with the epoxy coating on the frame cracking, therefore lending the frame to rust out. He removed his pen from his shirtpocket and jammed it right through a section of the frame rail!! :O

Of course, what did I do? Went out and bought not one, but TWO early cars

I think that DeLoreans get an unfair bad rap. Most people just go off of heresay and have never actually lived with a DeLorean. They're really not bad cars, once they're sorted..just like any car of older technology, including early '80s Ferraris, guys. The Douvrin engine in the DMC is a stout powerplant and while it's not a 428 Cobra Jet at the drag strip, it'll haul the DeLorean along just fine. Nobody pulls along side of you wanting to race when you're in a DMC. Either they think it's really really fast or they're just too busy checking out the car and snapping pics with their camera phones

If there is any other info I can help you with, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at [email protected]

I have the full set of factory DMC service manuals which I'd love to sell if you're so inclined to have them..

Cheers,
Aaron
'82 GTSi

 

I agree with Aaron ...

I also own a DeLorean DMC-12 (VIN#04610 - okt '81). I've had it for almost 5 years now and I still enjoy it everyday. Offcourse, in performance, you can't compare it with a Ferrari or Lamborghini, but it has 'presence' in bucketloads ! Everywhere I go, people ask me about the car and want to know more about it ... It's a very fun and relaxing car to drive big distances in, you can drive it very relaxed. Also, I'm almost 2m tall (about 6ft ?) and I fit perfectly (witch I can't say about some Ferrari's or Lamborghini's). Personly, I don't care if it's 'underpowered' (to some people) ; I love the car fot it's looks and to me, it drives great !
As long as you maintain it as any other 25-year-old car, you shouldn't have a problem. The engine is one of the most reliable engines ever made and I have'nt had any big troubles with it.

Regards from Belgium

Andy

 

I've had the car for over a week now and I must say it has been a joy to drive. I didn't buy it for speed, I've already got the 348 and 300ZX TT for that purpose. I'm just a geek that loves futuristic looking cars.

Verbrugghe,
Since you have a Delorean, I do have a couple questions:
1) the screws around the headlights are all rusted out. Shouldn't there be a bezel around them?
2) I found two connectors by the driverside footwell toward the center console, one with a black diode and one with a red diode with nothing connected to them. But I did manage to find the other two connectors, purple/b;ue stripe & purple/white stripe that are supposed to connect to each diode but I don't know which set of wires go to which.

 

I remember reading about a cadillac northstar engine upgrade

 

I saw that car with the Caddy Northstar engine in it at the DeLorean Run X in Cleveland back in 2000. While I was cleaning my car for the display, this particular one rumbled by me so I had to go check it out. Sure enough, under the engine cover was a Northstar. Man, it sounded good and I bet the performance was right where it should have been with a DeLorean.

 

Julian,

I sold the one that we bought at the same time, I just picked up a low mileages Delorean two days ago. This is my third Delorean, it is a unique looking car and it a lot fun to drive.

Tony
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Pix of my son Nicholas sat in Julian's Delorean.
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I love Deloreans (huge BTTF fan). I intend to buy one eventually along with the Ferrari.

 

Cool pics Tony. Your yellow/tan 360 looks great. The Dolerean is cool also.
Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

PAP - Thanks! that is a nice 348 you have there

T.

 

Thankyou.

 

There should be a T-shaped piece around it to protect (and hide) the screws for adjusting the front lights. Offcourse, you will still see the screws that hold the T-piece in place. I personally am replacing all screws by stainless steel ones every time I work or replace something on the car, so in time every screw on the car will be stainless steel ...

Can't help you with your second question, since I'm not that great in electrics ... All I know that, in a DeLorean, there are a lot of wires that don't have a purpose, since the factory used existing (French) electrics in the DeLorean and didn't bother to remove the ones they didn't use. Mine has been 'cleaned' of all those non-purpose wires ...

@Tony2ta : looks like a nice and clean car you have there. What's the year and VIN ?

Regards

DeLorean

 

Thank You

VIN# 03120

Do you have any pix of your Delorean?

Tony

 

Mine's VIN#04610, okt '81, manual, grey interior.

Regards from Belgium

Andy
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Andy - It look like you're owning a nice & straight Delorean.