DeLorean restoration | Page 4 | FerrariChat

DeLorean restoration

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by shmark, Mar 30, 2012.

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  1. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

    Oct 31, 2003
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    Mark
  2. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #77 shmark, Apr 30, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  3. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #78 shmark, Apr 30, 2012
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  4. AJs autobody

    AJs autobody Rookie

    Apr 29, 2012
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    Joost
    love it, nice!
     
  5. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #80 shmark, Apr 30, 2012
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    One of the things people are curious about is how much space do you need to open the door on a DeLorean? The answer is a helluva lot less than a normal car. Steve checked it out:

    While working on the height by the door and it reminded me of a question i've had more than one person ask, "how much room do you need to get in and out of those gullwing doors." at it's widest point it's only about 12 inches out, much narrower than a normal door because the hinge is so far toward the center of the car.
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  6. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #81 shmark, Apr 30, 2012
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    For comparison, here is our race car (Mercury Cougar) at 12 inches, leaving only 5 inches to get in. Good thing there are no windows LOL.
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  7. jefffromcanada

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    #82 jefffromcanada, May 1, 2012
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    This picture was taken to show that I can open the doors while this close to a vehicle....with a few inches to spare.

    Keep up the good work on your resto!!
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  8. ferrariartist

    ferrariartist F1 Rookie

    Feb 21, 2003
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    Its the Libyans!! LOL

    Resto is looking cool! Lovin the updates.

    GT
     
  9. Spittybug

    Spittybug Rookie

    May 5, 2012
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    Humid Houston
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    Owen Malbec
    I'm watching this thread from another perspective... I'm a Delorean guy that thinks he wants a 308! If space were not an issue I'd have both. To have both however I need more garage. For more garage I need a new wife.............we know how all of these things are connected.

    Mine is an '81 with the desirable gas flap and grooved hood. While I still have all the bits and pieces I replaced, my K-Jet system has been replaced with Megasquirt. I used a Peugeot 604 manifold, some custom aluminum adapter work, an LT-1 throttle body and a couple of fuel rails. My reliability (hot start....sound familiar?) is now great and the ability to play with the tune through the entire spectrum is awesome. I chopped a broken set of louvers and modified a broken engine cover to make it out of clear plexiglass to show off the new engine work.

    The car is definitely iconic and who doesn't love the design... the problem was in build quality and reliability, even new. I've put the money and work into making it reliable and unique (NOT a movie prop), but retaining the principal design.

    You guys doing your restoration, if you need any help or maybe just some suggestions, don't hesitate to ask or jump on www.dmctalk.org where there are lots of helpful people.

    Good luck! Nice to see one of the "black sheep" painted cars coming back to naked!
     
  10. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #85 shmark, May 15, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Sorry it's been a while, but I have lots to update. Pics coming right up!

    Tried to get a couple pics with the light hitting the paint and the stainless so you get the idea on the paint. With the front of the car done its time to move on the other things finally.
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  11. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #86 shmark, May 15, 2012
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    The wheels are...interesting.

    I've heard some debate about this even in the dmc forums as to what the factory coating really was. I know the wheeler dealer guys (cool show) powder coated and i read in the forum paint, then powder coating on another thread. Truth is it looks like just plain paint, maybe thick stuff with a lot hardener in it, but just paint. We were going with powder coating because it's just better technology,more durable, and just plain cool. The center caps have a gold painted nylon material glued to them that have been cleared over. I'm going to try to save them without the ugly. The rears are 15x9, fronts 14x7.
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  12. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #87 shmark, May 15, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Our car was wearing its original tires and we will scrub them up and shrink wrap them to go with the car for fun. Also see on the inside a clue in the mystery of the undercarriage on this car. How does a 16k mile example (verified on mileage and top side condition) have surface rust underneath and the coatings coming off? looks like the warehouse where it spent the last 20 years was a little more than damp. You can see the waterline on the inside of all 4 tires. Luckily none reached the mechanicals and fluids, but certainly explains fasteners and underside.
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  13. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #88 shmark, May 15, 2012
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    Here are a couple different types of sandblasters. The principle each uses is the same - fill the canister with compressed air and media and start blasting. Takes a pretty big compressor to run a blaster efficiently because of the constant flow. The nozzles on the bigger machines are larger and have higher flow ranges. The blue one is a vacuum blaster and it actually recycles the media as you go which is really cool on smooth surfaces and can actually be used indoors even (without the dust cloud). the drawback is having to change attachments all the time as surface changes.
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  14. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #89 shmark, May 15, 2012
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  15. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #90 shmark, May 15, 2012
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  16. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #91 shmark, May 15, 2012
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  17. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #92 shmark, May 15, 2012
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  18. ferrariartist

    ferrariartist F1 Rookie

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    Wow. Looking really great. Wheels turned out sharp!

    GT
     
  19. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #94 shmark, May 20, 2012
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    The door panels and headliner on the passenger side came off like most any other door with a few more pieces. The window glass is anchored in with these little clips, then a thin bead of black window weld, and weather strip adhesive. I drilled the rivots and used a couple of putty knives to get this out in about 30 minutes. The glass and weather strip came out nicely and looks like i will be able to reuse everything minus the top door seal. Finally the top seal has ripped as with a lot of these cars. I'll drill out the rivots along the strip and order a new one.
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  20. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #95 shmark, May 20, 2012
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  21. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #96 shmark, May 20, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The doors are stainless on stainless and are very heavy. I went to the extra trouble of stripping it down because a already know what I'm up against with the scuffing and regraining on this car and now I can get inside the window frames with no worries. I will not separate the stainless skin from the door unless I find bondo or body work I need to get to from the inside. The passenger door and the roof panel cleaned up nicely. The only trouble spot is a small bit of bondo you can see on the front of the roof panel, about golf ball size and very shallow. With the panel unglued from the car this will be an easy fix.

    Then we got both the doors off and discovered the rear roof section has come unglued (metal on fiberglass). This is a common issue with the cars and is sometimes visible as a roof alignment issue from the outside. It is likely caused by the torsion bars that run through the back piece to help support the weight of some very heavy doors. The weight and torque on the bar are amplified by the fact they are being lifted vs just hinged sideways as most cars are. The rear metal section will be separated, cleaned, and rebonded. Modern panel adhesive is a step up from what they had then and will do nicely.
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  22. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #97 shmark, May 20, 2012
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    The roof panel and the passenger door both had a couple of dings in them that cost me a little time, nothing major. Will do a final graining on these panels, reassemble the door, and set aside till the roof repair is completed. With the doors off, there is a lot of work here and no good shortcut. First step is to clean all the old black silicone goo off and remove the hinges.

    The center support has to come out before the back. I drilled out the rivets, removed bolts from the bottom (headliner out), and scraped a lot of goo, mostly silicone. With the center support out we are down to the glass tub again in the middle. The rust crumbles are from the center support, surface stuff really. As bad as it may look I am quite pleased, better than most.
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  23. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #98 shmark, May 20, 2012
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  24. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    #99 shmark, May 20, 2012
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    Now the rear section of the roof support is off and you can see in my hand where the torsion bars for the hinges cracked the bonding agent. Also notice the color change in the front where the heat gun broke it loose - this is the only place the rear support was attached. Luckily the fiberglass is all in very good shape and the metal supports will blast and paint fine. I'll sand all the old glue away and use panel bond for the structure, paint, and then modern silicone to seal.
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  25. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

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    I'm really enjoying the progress of this car, great to see all the detail of how they were built. And just to reiterate, any time you see "I" in the real posts above, that's my brother talking - he spends his time on cars, not computers. I'm just the post flunky. :D
     

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