Transmission Selector Trim

Back to the fun stuff... I picked up this kit from DMOCO. I really like the way it turned out. It came with a new emblem for the shifter itself and a stainless trim piece with an etched logo at the bottom. Installation was 15 minutes tops.

Restoration Calculation

If you've been following this restoration blog, you'll know that my car is a rolling restoration project. This is NOT a frame-off, complete engine & transmission rebuild type of project (and fingers crossed it stays that way!).

That said, I've been working on a spreadsheet essentially as long as I've owned the car. On this sheet I've been adding to an ever-growing list of parts as I identify things needed. Since this sheet is dynamic in nature, the calculations aren't the gospel but should give a good idea as to where I am at least in terms of purchasing the parts needed to get this car where I want it.

Now a couple of things to mention before I proceed... First, I have not included any dash repair costs, mostly because I don't know how I will proceed (this includes the binnacle that houses the instrument cluster). Second, I don't have any AC repair costs included. I haven't yet determined what, if anything needs to be replaced. I've only found 1 disconnected vacuum hose thus far. More testing will have to be done at a later time.

My running total on estimated parts costs for the entire project is: $4,373.09. To date, I've invested $952.75. These costs do not include shipping or taxes where applicable. That means as the car sits today, it should be approximately 21.79% restored. This to be more precise:





I'm getting ready to drop another $350 in rebuilding the brake system this month. The car already has a relatively new master cylinder so I'm not planning on doing anything with that, yet.

The brake work will put me at 29.79%.

I've owned the car for roughly 297 days. 

At my current pace, the car will take another 701 days to complete (provided I don't add to the list, which I likely will).

Overall, the entire project will take 998 days.  (Legend: 3 years = 1095 days)

Overall I'm really pleased with these numbers. I had always held a 5 year vision on getting this car where I wanted it. Who knows, this list may grow and turn out to be much more. And those who work on cars understand that there's always some maintenance or repair to be made. It will never be truly "finished".



Now typically I wouldn't disclose these types of financials as I hold these matters private; however, I'd like to share this so that anyone with genuine interest knows what it takes to "spiff" up one of these cars, at least in general. There are certainly cheaper, faster, and more modern cars to restore out there, but I challenge any of those against the attention that a DeLorean generally attracts.

Also please take into account that this only shows the progress of PARTS PURCHASED. I still have to do the actual work, which takes considerable time and effort. Almost 1 year into this ownership and project and I'm not burned out and I'm pacing myself with the project.