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I purchased this earlier this spring. It's a color print of John DeLorean in March of 1979 with the car known as "Proto 1". Proto 1 is the first usable prototype DeLorean that was built by Bill Collins. Here it was being used for a promotional photo shoot just outside Palm Springs, CA. Later in the evening it was used at a promo event in a hotel lobby.

Proto 1 still exists today and was recently purchased by the DMC franchise in Bonita Springs, FL.

A second prototype car ("Proto 2") was built similar to this one and sent to Colin Chapman at Lotus where he would end up re-engineering the car to its production style we know today. Sadly, this car was destroyed circa 1996 by Lotus after it sat in their backyard lot for ~17 years.

I hung it in my work office today and I'm pleased with the outcome.

Progress Report

I'm still having trouble starting the car. I've replaced the warm-up regulator (WUR) hoping that would resolve the issue but still no change. The only way to get the car running is to manually push down on the air-plate to get the injectors to gas the cylinders. Too much gas and it floods. Too little gas and it stumbles pretty bad. I also replaced the primary pressure regulator (PPR) o-ring, which threads into the fuel distributor for good measure.

I checked the fuel pump components I replaced somewhat recently and noticed I had a kink in one of the elbows of the rubber pickup line. I took out the pickup line and carefully used a 9/16" screen door spring cut in two pieces and filed down to remove any sharp edges. I inserted these pieces into each end where the elbows are and so far so good. I was hoping maybe this was my fuel issue in starting the car but it wasn't.

At this point I'm thinking my problem is with my fuel distributor. I removed the fuel distributor over the weekend and set it on my work bench. I'm not really wanting to soak it entirely in B-12 or similar as I don't want to damage any of the internal rubber seals. I'm going to ponder on this the rest of the week and try to come up with a plan this weekend or early next week.

Engine Running Much Better

I picked up a set of 6 used fuel injectors from another D-owner who migrated to a non-KJet (non-stock) setup on his car. After soaking them in parts cleaner for about a week, I blew them out with compressed air. Then I did another fuel flow test with my existing injectors. I found one injector that was not passing the same volume as the rest. I replaced this injector with one of the used injectors and then performed the test again. This time all the injectors were passing the same volume.

At this point I did another test and visually inspected the spray pattern of each injector. All looked fine to me so I called it blessed and put everything back together.

I was able to get it running (after some issues priming the system --> more about that later). I heard a few misses in the first 30-60 seconds but then it cleared up and sounded great. I do hear a bit of a lifter tick maybe but nothing too bad. Here is a video of everything running last night.

My issue now is with starting the car. I'm having to manually push the air-plate and in-turn plunger down on the mixture unit to get enough spray to the injectors to get it kicked-off. It's a delicate process because too much floods it quickly. I'm not sure if this is a cold start valve, control pressure regulator, thermotime switch, or accumulator (rest pressure) problem. The accumulator was replaced ~18 months ago so and I'm getting pressure when I push down on the air plate with the car recently off so I think that's working OK. I'll have to research a bit more and figure this out.

I'm really pleased with where the car is right now. Finally making some much needed progress!

Engine Running & Headlight Switch Fix

Well after much tinkering, I got the engine running, finally. While this is a success, unfortunately I've got a bad miss in the engine possibly more than one cylinder.

My plan is to remove all the injectors again and do another flow test hopefully narrowing the problem down to injectors or the fuel distributor.

While troubleshooting this I went ahead got the headlight switch upgrade finished. Keep in mind the high-beams have never worked on my car since I've owned it. Fortunately, this upgrade fixed that problem as well as the switch hanging in between positions.

Fuel Distributor Cleansing

Within the DeLorean community, those folks who try to maintain the original Bosch K-Jet fuel injection system know not to take the fuel distributor apart in fear that it will always leak afterwards. Knowing this, and suspecting a stuck plunger for the past month or so, I was hesitant and nervous to even remove the fuel distributor from the mixture unit. A replacement would run me $500 and that's not something I want to throw money at unless I absolutely have to.

I took several pictures referencing where all the lines connect to the distributor and then took them all free. Three long flat-head machine screws attach it to the mixture unit. These came off without much fuss although they were quite tight. With the screws out, the distributor pulled right off revealing a small o-ring rubber gasket that surprisingly looked to be in good shape.

With the fuel distributor on the workbench, I examined and noticed some gooey fuel deposits near the lip of the plunger housing. Using some carb & throttle body cleaner, I removed all the visible deposits and attempted to pull the plunger with needle-nose pliers. This technique did not succeed and I decided to make a shallow bowl of parts cleaner, as I didn't want to fully submerge the assembly in fear of damaging the internal rubber seals.

After a couple of hours soaking, I was able to unstick the plunger by using needle-nose pliers in conjunction with some vice-grips clamping the pliers to the plunger. I cleaned and wiped down the bottom of the unit making sure most if not all of the cleaner was purged from the unit.

I then reassembled everything in reverse order of disassembly. At this point, I think she's ready for some fresh gasoline and a test run. I'll have to make a pre-flight checklist first but I don't see anything else at this point that would be considered an obstacle.

Lots of work here and there...

Last weekend I attempted to drain the oil. I had previously ordered the 8mm square 3/8" square socket adapter to get the factory plug out. What I found was the square plug all chewed up from previous mechanics/DIY-ers using the wrong tools.

First I tried to use a hammer to tap the square socket into the plug but this proved difficult if not impossible as the frame lip is just a couple of inches from the plug (thanks DeLorean engineers). Not wanting to possibly destroy a new tool, I took an old lag bolt and got after it with my bench grinder. I was able to create a slightly smaller square plug. Using a pair of vise-grips, I tried to break the plug loose but still to no avail.

Finally I made some very slight grinds on my 8mm square socket and got the socket to fit the plug. From this point I was able to get the plug out and drain the oil. I purchased a replacement plug with a traditional 17mm hex-head on it along with a copper crush washer. Installing the new plug took all of 10 seconds.

My next job was to replace the 2 oil senders. Yes I said 2. This car has a light and gauge, both for oil pressure. Getting the light sender out was a real pain. The catalytic converter from the exhaust was right in the way so a traditional socket and ratchet proved useless, both in the 3/8" & 1/2" variety. I pulled out my 3/8" butterfly impact along with a 6" extension and was able to get it connected just above the cat. It wasn't the easiest to get my hands on it but it was the best thing I could come up with in my garage.

The gauge sender is on the other side of the engine block right next to the oil filter. I removed the old filter, removed the old sender, cleaned the sender surface with some carb cleaner and a shop towel, and then installed the new sender and oil filter. This was much easier as there was more room to work.

With all the engine oil pieces replaced and buttoned back up, all that's left to do now is fill it back up with oil. I picked up some Castrol conventional 20W-50 per spec and community consensus. I'll put 5 quarts in it tonight. It calls for 6 but I'll need to get the engine running first to fill up all the components and check the level again.

Finally, here's a pic of the rear of the car with the newly refurbished rear louvre. It turned out slightly more glossy than I wanted but it is such an improvement at this point, I'm happy with it.

Rear trim panels & fuel system status

I purchased some replacement rear grey trim panels for the car a couple of months ago. I decided to take the old ones out because I was sick of looking at the cracked vinyl and worn + broken bolsters. After removing the old ones, I noticed one of the POs had installed some crappy 90s era Pioneer speakers. I trashed these and ordered some of the Infinity 529Is. According to the DeLorean gurus, these should be a straight swap with the original brackets, which appear to be in good shape and unmolested.

Once the new speakers come in, I'll wire up some leads, mount the new speakers, and install the replacement panels.

I've also gone ahead and installed the injectors and routed everything in the engine compartment (for now). I was going to do another fuel flow test but I'm sick of it and ready to bolt everything up to see where I am. I'm going to complete the following prior to test starting.

• Drain the oil
• Change the oil filter
• Replace the oil gauge sender
• Replace the oil light sender
• Fill with new oil
• Fill the gas tank w/ 5 gallons of gas and appropriate ethanol stabilizer 
• Check all connections
• Make sure POA has gasket and won't be a vacuum leak issue
• Have a fire extinguisher handy!

Now that deer season is over for me, I should have more time to work on this! Here's a picture of the engine bay a couple of days ago.

New Steering Wheel

Merry Christmas everyone!

While still waiting on return of the rear louvre from the local body shop (dropped it off in early November), and trying to find time to take care of a few preparation steps ahead of firing up the engine after a long nap, I came across another owner online who was selling some parts. One of the parts was a steering wheel in very good shape.

My old steering wheel had the leather wrap badly deteriorated so I had pulled it off with plans to get a local upholstery shop to recover at some point.

I decided I would instead swap it out with a good unit and sell my old one to someone who wants to get it recovered on their terms.

Here is the new wheel installed. It took me 5 minutes to swap out. This was possibly one of the easiest jobs I've ever tackled on this car. I had read where others had had tough times getting them off the tapered spine shaft.

You'll notice I still have some interior parts torn down for future/in-progress jobs.

And finally, here is a picture of the old wheel on my workbench.

Rear Louvre Give-up

Whilst in the middle of this never-ending fuel system rebuild/refurb, I decided to make progress somewhere else on the car. I took the troublesome rear louvre to a local body shop who I trust and have had do other work on different cars in the past.

If you recall, I worked many hours on this along with the help from family, one cousin in particular. After over a year of just sitting in my garage I was sick of looking at it.

We'll see how it turns out. More to come soon.

Cleaning the Fuel Tank and Components Part III

Today I completed the fuel tank cleaning and component reassembly. I was able to get everything reconnected and buttoned-up. Over the next couple of days I plan on filling the tank up approximately half full and doing a (hopefully) final fuel flow test at the injectors, again.

I feel like we're close here. More to come...

Cleaning the Fuel Tank and Components Part II

I was able to use the siphon pump to get out the remaining old fuel Friday night. I also used an old turkey baster to get the final little bit out. 

I picked up some acetone, shop towels, and a $1 grill brush at the hardware store today. I was able to make some headway on the fuel tank cleaning. Here's the last video I shot from inside the tank. I still plan on scrubbing it out one more time and getting the shop towel remnants out of the tank.

Over the weekend I also put together the cleaned fuel pump, hoses, replacement rubber boot (DMCH made it right and sent me a replacement within a couple of days), and so on. I also installed new wire leads for the pump as the old ones were in poor shape.

Finally I cleaned the baffle assembly and fuel basket. I realized it would behoove me to go ahead and replace the fuel pickup line (connects to the bottom of the pump), seeing as this is the only rubber line I haven't replaced on the fuel system since I bought the car! If I recall it's $18 at DMCH.

At this point it looks like a Part III to this part of the project is inevitable. I plan on having this wrapped-up in the next 2-3 weeks. 

Cleaning the Fuel Tank and Components Part I

This is going to be a brief post followed by a more lengthy post in Part II. Hopefully there will be no Part III.

As of now, I have started my initial attempts to drain the tank. I couldn't get a good vacuum to pull the fuel out of the tank so today I ordered a siphon pump, a new 5 gallon gas can, and a box of rubber gloves. I'll pick up some acetone this weekend.

Once the old gas comes out I'll scrub the tank several times over and take a few pics along the way. My goal is to get some internal pics as well. The tank is synthetic so hopefully it will scrub up nicely without any surprises.

Here is a pic of the original pickup screen that sits in the bottom of the baffle at the bottom of the tank. Next to it is a new replacement part from DMCH. I think this speaks for itself.