1981 DMC Documentary

I really enjoyed this hour long documentary. It was filmed prior to the receivership and subsequent bankruptcy. It begins with a advertisement-like drive of one of the original prototype cars, which were very different than the production version.

Saturday Afternoon Drive

I worked on the car for about 10 hours today. Shaun came over and had probably 6 hours in the rear louvre. He made some good progress. Probably one more day of filler and sanding and it will be ready for primer and paint. I was glad to get something accomplished on that louvre. Big thanks to Shaun.

I worked on the overheating issue. Turns out the car was low on coolant. That was an easy fix. I also did some wiring cleanup. There were a couple of crispy wires (AC compressor and oil sender) that I replaced. I also put the interior back together so I could take it out for a spin.

Julie and I went around the block. The car ran well although it needs some fresh gas. Engine temp never went over 185 degrees.

Double DeLorean Saturday

A local DeLorean owner (Joey) came by today with his car. We fixed a bad ground issue with his rear tail light assemblies. We also made some hood adjustments. Didn't do anything on my car today but did snap a couple of pictures.

Marker Lights Part 1

I replaced all 4 marker light gaskets today. I thought I had a couple of bulbs burned out but as it turns out, the front marker light sockets were both rusted and destroyed. I'll have to order replacement sockets. I'm also going to need to order 3 new lenses (2 front ambers and 1 rear red).

The left rear lense had a tape-job connection. I corrected this with heat shrink and solder. 

These are the two rusted sockets from the front lenses. Perished completely.

New Headlights

I removed all the headlights and the grill. The driver side inner high-beam lamp had a blown seal and moisture had leaked inside the self-contained lamp. DMC Houston has a replacement 4-lamp kit for $20. It was a no brainer so I replaced all 4.

I also had a broken adjustment screw that needed attention. It was actually the plastic nut insert that the screw threads into. Without having a replacement plastic nut insert, I used a plastic spacer and washer along with the broken plastic nut. This seemed to work.

Various Updates

My apologies for the lack of activity here over the past month. I've been hammered with work-related and personal stuff that has taken priority. I really haven't done a lot on the car. I'm formulating a strategy with Shaun as to the completion of the louvre and rear pontoon repairs. While the repairs are complete, the finish is not. More on that to come soon.

I ordered a few parts today just to make some progress elsewhere while the other projects percolate. Got 4 new headlamps, new gaskets for the side markers, new bulbs for the side markers & new battery terminal stud (the positive side existing stud is stripped). When the arrive in a couple of days, I'll install the new parts and take a few pics.

I know it's early but my Christmas list really only entails a new grey carpet set for the car. I'll probably look at installing some dynomat sound proofing material too when I rip the old stuff out.

I'm sorry but I don't have any updated photos to share today. The posts will likely be sporadic from now through the holidays. This is a busy time of year for most folks including myself. Deer season begins in a month, which will eat into my weekend work time.

Tail Light Lens Replacement

Haven't done much on the car since late last week. More sanding, filling, sanding, prepping, and more sanding - trying to get the louvre and pontoon like I want it before paint. I'm getting close.

In the meantime I was able to pick up a used right tail lens for $72 shipped this week. That sure beats the $120 that most parts vendors want for a new one. I installed it last night and I think it looks great.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

Trip to DMC-H

Was down in Houston earlier this week and got a chance to stop by the DMC Houston facility, which is actually in a suburb called Humble. I met James Espey (VP over there) and he gave me a nice tour of the place.

The facility was outstanding. These guys have a plethora of parts and are extremely helpful. These pictures were taken in the storage area of the facility.

One thing that was brought to my attention by James was the fact that not only are many of these parts still in their original boxed crates but some are also contained in the bins and shelves, which are the original storage components used in the factory back in Ireland. The bottom picture is where all the engines and transmissions are stored.

These next two pics are from the mechanic area. In the bottom pic (sorta hard to see) James and I are walking back towards the showroom. 

These next several pics are from the showroom where they had a couple of cars for sale along with some other cool stuff.

This pic was also in the showroom and I thought it was pretty interesting.

And finally here is a pic of me standing outside in front of some of the cars on the lot just before we left.

It was a fantastic visit and I look forward to doing it again in the future. The folks were extremely friendly and helpful. Props DMC-Houston!

Crack Repair Update

I haven't been able to accomplish a lot this week for various reasons. But I completed one layer of filler on the bad crack that we fiberglassed last weekend. I've been hand-sanding it a couple of nights this week. It looks like it will probably need one more layer of filler for a couple of voids in the previous layer. Then another sanding before primer and paint.

I've been sanding and doing similar work on the louvre. Probably one more layer of filler and sanding there as well.

I'm hoping to wrap up the filler and prep work this weekend. Paint will come shortly thereafter.

Progress Report

The cooling fan circuit has been completed and works properly now using a rocker switch custom mounted to one of the blanks next to the window switches on the console. This pic was snapped before I ran the switch wires and the relay grounds.

The rear louvre now has 1 layer of filler+fiberglass on the top side. Apparently I didn't use enough hardner and it took 2 days to completely dry. This week I will sand it down and add another layer. Once this is completed it will be prep & paint time, possibly as early as this weekend or next week.

Shaun came over again yesterday and helped me tackle a bad crack in the underbody between the engine bay and the rear window on the driver side. Fortunately it wasn't cracked all the way around the pontoon. Someone before me had attempted to repair the crack and failed. When were prepping the area for new fiberglass it appeared to be JB Weld or similar. At any rate, Shaun did a fantastic job of building up several layers of glass and working it into the difficult contour areas. In the end with both sides reglassed the fix is now structurally sound and rigid. I still have some sanding and filler work before painting the exposed underbody area but I'm really happy with the near-finished product.

The first pic is a shot of the underside of the crack. I forgot to photograph the top (exposed) side prior to the repair. The second pic is a shot of the repaired top side.

 

Aside from the prep/filler/paint work aforementioned, this week I plan to make a list of electrical issues to start sorting through. 

More Glasswork and Cooling Fan Update

I've done some more fiberglass work on the rear louvre this week but ran out of disposable gloves. I'll grab some more in the next day or two so I can finish this part and post some updated pics.

In the meantime, I've completed my fan relay circuit as previously described. The nice things about this is I have not hacked into the original wiring. This is a plug-and-play solution that will plug directly into the 2 relay holders for the car's original fan relay circuit. Here's a pic of the finished product:

All I have to do is ground it, wire in the manual switch and plug it in.

I also got the title transfer knocked out today. Had to go to the downtown records building and file the paperwork. They wouldn't let me register it as an antique until I put insurance on it. Government stuff gives me tired-head.

I was watching Chasing Classic Cars this week on the Velocity channel and noticed a brief shot of a DeLorean.

Busy Weekend

Well I had a little time to work on the car this afternoon. With the help of my cousin-in-law Shaun, I removed the rear louvre from the car and we began the task of repairing the cracks and  breaks using new fiberglass material and resin after doing all the prep work.

We were able to prep and glass the underside once this afternoon. This week I'm going to cut, sand and apply another layer of glass before flipping the louvre over and doing the top side. The top side is going to take more work. It has a significant amount of sun damage. Once I get it prepped and glassed, I'll sand the whole thing down and use body filler where needed to smooth everything out. Then we'll prime it and paint it in hopes to get as close to an original look as possible. I'll post more info and pics this week as this part of the project progresses.

While waiting on the resin to cure, and with Shaun still helping me out, we found where the bad left radiator fan wire/connection existed. It was on a molex plug where the connection had actually burned.

This plug was up inside the housing for the windshield washer fluid reservoir. What I'll likely do is find a water-proof plug and rewire this one particular wire. Once I get that knocked out, I'll be on the home stretch of the radiator fan task.