Success! it will cure overnight and then i will tape off for the black Image Unavailable, Please Login
I can't wait to see how the nose matches up with the stainless. Every DeLorean I've ever seen has a nose that has darkened over the years, so they all look slightly off. Steve says they got a great sample of the original untouched paint and spent a lot of time finding a modern equivalent (which is a lot more than just the color). Once it's mounted, hopefully we will see how they were supposed to look brand new. FWIW I've always wondered why that happened to the nose of DeLoreans. Porsche used a similar design with the early 928 nose and tail, and for the cars that have been cared for well, the paint is still an excellent match to the rest of the car.
These are trim pieces that go between the headlights on each side, mirror images of each other. One is good, the other is obviously broken Image Unavailable, Please Login
Its hard plastic an eight of an inch thick, the same thickness as this broken spare tire cover from a 68 corvette. Hmmmmm... Image Unavailable, Please Login
The stock ones are thick where two of the holes go. I doubled up small pieces and used epoxy Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Bench grinder, drill press, and a little trim paint finished it off. Only took a few minutes in between stuff. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Masked off for black Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have had a question about Deloreans for some time, so maybe you can answer it. Are the stainless body panel all stainless or are they a stainless skin over something else?
Answer from Steve. The panels on the car are pressed skins not unlike any other car, only in stainless steel. *The fenders for example are solid 100 percent stainless and look like any other fender. *The difference there is what they are attached to. *Rather than a steel body cage, the delorean is a fiberglass tub sitting on a more modernized version of an old x frame. *The hood and doors are skins on fiberglass framework instead of steel, exactly opposite of what a corvette is, fiberglass attached to steel. *Most modern cars are steel skins welded to a steel frame to make doors and hoods and then painted to look like one piece,whereas here and on corvettes bonding adhesive is used to mate the two different materials. *Probably tmi but i hope i answered your question. *Thanks, david!
Except for the prototype, the nose and tail fascias were darker from the start. At the time they felt an exact colour match between them and the stainless was more or less impossible, so they went for a purposeful colour contrast. What has occurred over the years is an upward "warping" of the front fascia, probably due to heat. Always in the same place.. over the headlights. Usually the passenger side. Gives it a "raised eyebrow" look to the car. There is an aftermarket fix for it out there i remember.. some sort of reinforcing bar that pulls it back into shape. Doesnt look like you need it though... GT Image Unavailable, Please Login
The Delorean would have been such a great car had they would have put a 250-300hp engine in it. I would love to see one with a 300hp turbo I-4 installed. I'm sure a hopped-up engine from a GTi could be retro-fitted or maybe from an old turbo 300ZX?
Agreed... one of its major downsides selling the car at the time... especially when you factor in price. $25000. At the time, that was over-Corvette price for waaaay under Corvette power. Didnt make sense. The cool design will only get you so far. For that much cash one expects some decent performance as well. One of the many things that could have been changed or fixed if the company had had more time... but that wasnt to be... GT
there are several swaps out there, caddy northstar, LS1, buick GN turbo v6, supra 2jz turbo....IMO logical swap would be a 911/930 turbo engine+trans, even the axles bolt up to them my favorite delorean engine swap seen thus far, has to be the guy who installed a lotus esprit v8 twin turbo.....a delorean with 500 hp! nice Image Unavailable, Please Login
Mark, loving this thread, seems you are helping quite a bit, hope you get to tell us the driving impressions once done. Any plans to beef up the hp in the engine at all ?
Actually you're going to be surprised by the next update. Steve and his paint shop got a perfect sample of the original paint from the bumper, untouched and un-faded from the years. It's got a very small amount of flake and is a serious attempt to match the stainless. In certain lighting it looks darker, and in different lighting it actually looks lighter than the stainless. I've got a big update to post with pics and you'll see what I'm talking about. Damn that is badass. Actually I'm just the post flunky, Steve is doing 100% of the work. So I'm following along just like the rest of you! Message from Steve: I love all the performance talk and i do get it - Over the next few months we are dropping the new 535 horse ls3 gm performance motor into a classic car. however, that is just not my personal taste. i undertand this is not a vintage ferrari, but with fewer than 8000 made in 2 1/2 years it is a unique piece of automotive history. Maybe not to the "preserving the sacred data of baseball" extent but it's really cool and probably will stay stock when we get to the mechanicals later.
We had a time capsule that had been sealed for 30 years. There is the real color in my hand and we had fine mettalic single stage made to match it. The metal flake is a very fine powder that makes up most all of what u see. It also is real metal and tarnishes over time. Our sample has never seen the light of day and the back side specimen is perfect. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The light and camera flash have a lot to do with it also, especially metalic. Here it is light and dark. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here is the sample up next to the car, look to just to the right of my fingers and ignore the ends bending up. And on the car looking darker. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The hood is on it now. Adjusting gaps and making some new shims using the factory as a model. These are the factory shims and they are all the same thickness (most vary). i was very careful to label and number each stack of shims and put it back just as is was. That still only gives you a good starting point because any time a panel is taken off a car there will be some adjustment (especially collision work). our car is close, just have to move a couple around and add a couple. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
