Daily DeLorean project (now with Jeep Wrangler "spared no expense")

[Justwatching]

4 hours ago, PhilA said:

Correct. Ford didn't use gas pressurized shocks at that time. 

They should offer a decent amount of resistance in both directions but there's a good chance they're pretty worn out. 

New ones never hurt.

Weak resistance, so still the correct decision to replace, even if arrived at through faulty logic. 

[High Jetter]

6 hours ago, PhilA said:

They should offer a decent amount of resistance in both directions but there's a good chance they're pretty worn out. 

New ones never hurt.

A bit like boobies.

[Justwatching]

Replaced the coolant header tank today as the original had perished with age.

Unfortunately, the only available replacement is stainless steel. This is a common theme with aftermarket DeLorean parts - everything must be stainless! It adds unnecessary expense and weight to everything. It's even less functional as I can't see the coolant level without removing the cap. 

Better than letting the original go pop I guess. 

Right, onto the Ford. 

The fuel gauge stopped working last summer. Got the sender out of the tank today and found a pretty obvious cause - the float doesn't float. 

I've ordered a plastic replacement. It was for a Triumph or something, but should be the same size. 

 

[Justwatching]

New dampers installed on the LTD today. They were listed as the heavy duty/improved handling option. Apparently 25% more damping effect than original equipment. 

Can't drive it yet as the fuel sender is still out awaiting a new float. 

[Justwatching]

New float arrived today. It was a close fit and only required minor adjustment to the float arm. Back into the tank with new seal and lock ring.

Success! I have a gauge reading. Not sure if it's accurate, but I'm pleased anyway. 

Took the LTD for a test drive and got some fuel to see if the gauge would move (it did). 

The ride definitely feels more composed after installing new dampers. I'm sure it sits better too - more level. 

[Surface Rust]

On 02/04/2023 at 12:37, Justwatching said:

New dampers installed on the LTD today. They were listed as the heavy duty/improved handling option. Apparently 25% more damping effect than original equipment. 

Can't drive it yet as the fuel sender is still out awaiting a new float. 

It looks absolutely mint under there, has it been restored, or is it a fabled dry state car?

Either way, it looks as good underneath as it does on top.

[Justwatching]

1 hour ago, Surface Rust said:

It looks absolutely mint under there, has it been restored, or is it a fabled dry state car?

Either way, it looks as good underneath as it does on top.

Spent most of its life in New Jersey/New York, but it was garage kept. 

Its not been restored, that's just me cleaning and painting under there. 

[Justwatching]

Installed a passenger mirror on the LTD. It's not exactly the same as the OE mirror on the driver's side, but close enough at first glance. Thought it would make the LTD easier to park/manoeuvre, but it's basically a magnifying glass that gives a postage stamp field of view. 

Brake light out on the DeLorean. Not had the rear light clusters out before. Easy enough - six external screws. I don't get the obsession with concealing nuts and screws on modern cars. It makes the car fussy to manufacture and repair, and doesn't really add much aesthetically. The DeLorean's rear end looks great, and uncovered screws don't detract in the slightest.

Anyway, back on topic.

The lamps are mounted to a PCB clipped to the rear of the cluster. I tested the brake light circuit on the PCB and lamps for continuity. All fine. I probed the connector to check for voltage when pressing the brake peddle. Also fine. 

I messed around bending the connector pins for better contact and swapped out lamps with known good ones, but still nothing. 

Finally, I swapped the PCB from the passenger side to the driver side and got brake light illumination. So, despite not being able to see or find any problem with the driver PCB, its the only component consistently associated with the issue. I've ordered a new one, so we'll see if I'm right. 

[2flags]

Well this certainly is a fleet worth mentioning. Superb choice. As to the rear panel on the LTD will you do it properly and weld in new metal or bodge it with fiberglass and pudding?

[Justwatching]

46 minutes ago, 2flags said:

Well this certainly is a fleet worth mentioning. Superb choice. As to the rear panel on the LTD will you do it properly and weld in new metal or bodge it with fiberglass and pudding?

Already part-bodged. The rubber seals were knackered, so I put 'em back in with a generous application of black mastic. That reduced the leak, but didn't sort it. 

My welding is appalling. Pigeon shit. I'd consider a proper repair if I knew someone that could do the work. I'm content to leave it as-is until then rather than fill it with wob. 

[2flags]

I know it's a giffer bodge, but even gaffer tape over the holes would at least slow, if not stop the water getting in and making matters worse. 

[Justwatching]

Minor update: a new PCB arrived for the rear light cluster. It fixed the brake light issue, which is what I expected, but also still kind of confusing. I don't get how the old circuit can have continuity but still not work. 

The parts supply for DeLoreans is amazing. Not only better than any classic car I've owned, but better than most moderns. I can actually get more spare parts for my DeLorean than my Saab 9-3. 

[Dave_Q]

Isn't it because lots of the original parts still exist? So the DMC had parts etc to make lots more cars when they collapsed, even including bodyshells?

And all that eventually got bought by the US outfit that now own the brand?

[Justwatching]

48 minutes ago, Dave_Q said:

Isn't it because lots of the original parts still exist? So the DMC had parts etc to make lots more cars when they collapsed, even including bodyshells?

And all that eventually got bought by the US outfit that now own the brand?

That's all true, but I'm also talking newly manufactured stuff like the PCB above, or the coolant header tank before it. For a car that was produced for less than two years by a failed start-up in the early 80's, I find the Morris Minor level of parts support incredible. 

[Justwatching]

Day off ruined by finding this. Yes, that's a puddle of ATF under the transmission I had professionally* rebuilt just four months ago.

My first thought was the sump pan gasket as everything above it looked dry.

Re-torqued the sump bolts (all of which were a good 2/3 of a turn under spec.), but no improvement. 

Used a mirror and flash light to get a top-down view and spotted a bead of ATF around the base of dipstick tube. The o-ring is definitely knackered, but that could have happened when I pulled the tube out. I'll replace it and cross my fingers!

[Justwatching]

Replaced the dipstick tube o-ring. Thing is, the anchoring point was mostly stripped out, so it wouldn't tighten down enough to seal. More butchery by The Automatic Gearbox Company. They used the wrong bolt (too long) with no washer. It probably bottomed out and then stripped. That's my theory, anyway. 

Using the correct bolt and washer, I threaded it slightly off square. It managed to get enough bite to tighten down. That will do for now - no more leak. The alternative (read: proper fix) was re-threading the transmission casing. 

Also changed the thermostat to address a cool running issue. It was somewhat involved as you have to remove a "w" shaped section of the intake manifold.

Didn't make a difference! Saw it coming when I fished the old one out and it was closed, not stuck open like I was expecting.

I felt a bit dejected, so thought I'd change the handbrake cable for an easy "win".

Big mistake. 

The handbrake cable pulls on an arm which pinches brake pads on the rear disc. The connection between the cable and arm had broken on the passenger side. 

The cable passes under the transmission, through the sub-frame and into the cabin where it connects to the handbrake lever. You have to remove the driver seat to get sufficient working room. You lift the carpeted box around the handbrake lever forward and up to gain access to the mechanism. 

I poked the cable through from under the car. Problem is, it passes through a hollow and needs to turn between going through the first and second hole, all of which is done blind. 

Attaching the cable is also awkward; you have to get just the right angle while pulling on the cable to slot it in the top of the mechanism, and then the cable for the driver side comes out the bottom, so you start again...

 Routed the cable all the way back to the start point to find I couldn't get it into the adjustment bracket. Deep Joy.

I got there with brute force in the end, but I think I must have installed it in the wrong order or something. The whole thing took about 4 hours and fought me every step of the way! 

[somewhatfoolish]

Buy a not-a-helicoil thread repair kit and fix it for about £25. 

[Justwatching]

On 4/25/2023 at 1:13 AM, somewhatfoolish said:

Buy a not-a-helicoil thread repair kit and fix it for about £25. 

I ordered a thread repair kit, but bodged it out of boredom while I waited for it to arrive. Cross-threading worked surprising well and it's stayed dry for two weeks now. I'm minded to leave it alone unless it starts leaking again. 

[Justwatching]

Replacing weather seals is on my to-do list this year. I started with the rubber blade attached to the door. It doesn't look much different; you'll just have to take my word the new rubber is more pliable.

As a bonus, I got the door marker lights working! They're controlled by a plunger switch in the door shut which had been disconnected under the dash. 

Before:

After:

[Justwatching]

On 12/12/2022 at 5:09 PM, Dick Longbridge said:

Interested to hear more updates! In the meantime, can you share a photo of the dash with the 'doors open' warning lamp illuminated? Quite possibly the coolest dash warning lamp ever...

[Dick Cheeseburger]

2 hours ago, Justwatching said:

Dash lamp porn right there!

[somewhatfoolish]

Looks like a lamp for car body odour alert.🤣

[High Jetter]

Ballet, first positon,

[Justwatching]

Pulled the old door seals out of the DeLorean, removed the old adhesive and cut the the replacements to shape/length.

I used duct tape to hold the outer seals in place while the adhesive set. The inner seals just push on and seat with a mallet. 

All went great until I tried to close the door...and couldn't. 

Many door slams and much lubricant later, the doors are now usable, but it's taken two weeks to settle in to that point. The doors still need a very deliberate shove to close properly. I hope they get better, but I fished the originals back out of the bin just in case. 

Took the Ford to Mavericks car meet on Tuesday evening and kept getting whiffs of raw fuel when I had the window down. The car only does 15 miles to the gallon, so I really can't afford to be dropping any!

Got it up on ramps and found the fuel return line was leaking just above the pump. Luckily the split was right at the end and I had enough slack to just trim it off and re-fit. I've brought the off-cut indoors with me to figure out what internal diameter I need to replace the whole section. 

Also noticed the car wandering around at speed, needing small but frequent steering corrections. I started tugging steering components while I was under there to see if any of them would confess. The idler arm had loads of play where a chunk of the bushing had fallen out. 

Rusty parts always put up a fight, but it wasn't a bad job; 30-40 minutes.

Should have painted the area while I had it out, but it was Friday evening after work and I just couldn't be arsed. 

 

[Dave_Q]

Was chatting to my neighbour about his DeLorean the other day and he mentioned the agreed value on his insurance is £55,000!

My reference of the value of them is the wheeler dealers episode where they buy one from the US for about £10k and sold it here for £20k but I guess that was probably 10+ years ago.

[Justwatching]

1 hour ago, Dave_Q said:

Was chatting to my neighbour about his DeLorean the other day and he mentioned the agreed value on his insurance is £55,000!

My reference of the value of them is the wheeler dealers episode where they buy one from the US for about £10k and sold it here for £20k but I guess that was probably 10+ years ago.

Yeah, values have really taken off in the last few years. 

[Dave_Q]

1 hour ago, Justwatching said:

Yeah, values have really taken off in the last few years. 

The fact that Rocket88 was the first to like this seems appropriate 

[danthecapriman]

Your door seal problem is purely down to the seals being new, and possibly because they might not be OEM. I had that exact problem on my Capri when fitting new seals and the doors were an absolute nightmare to close. Over time it does improve though. It’s been just over a year since I did mine and they’re loads better but even now still need a harder shove than you’d expect to close the doors properly. It just takes time for the new rubber to flatten out.

[Justwatching]

The Saab has gone to make way for my new winter whip. But can you guess what it is?

[High Jetter]

Yes.