Maintenance
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Won’t run, check the ballast connections
The last time I drove DMC #10515 was November 19, 2020. It was a “Dinner with the D’s” here in Vegas, and we met at a local golf center to grab a bite to eat, and maybe hit some golf balls. Of course, we never ended up hitting any golf balls. And truth be told, we didn’t eat either. We all stood in the parking lot, talking and sharing stories about our DeLoreans, and everything else under the sun/moon. As usual, it was a great get-together, visiting with other owners, and of course sharing the cars with fans walking by, who actually were going to eat, or hit some golf…
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Firing up the engine after 25+ years
No progress yet…
Plasti-Dipping DeLorean Rims
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Broken upper exhaust bracket
Left the Vegas “Dinner with the D’s” last night and heard a weird noise… like a rattling. Turned out to be the upper exhaust hanger bracket had broken, and was just slightly ‘resting’ on top of the alternator blades. The blades were just lightly touching the bracket, but not consistently… so the ‘rattling’ was confusing. I thought I hadn’t closed the engine cover, but it was clearly connected to my RPMs. It’s VERY lucky it didn’t break 3mm shorter, and drop/lock the alternator blades! Of course, when I called Chris Miles, he knew what it was before I finished my sentence. lol Looks like #DeLoreanGo has the bracket for $50,…
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ASI Radio Bluetooth upgrade
One of my biggest issues with driving the DeLorean has been the lack of audio / music / sound in the car. What that REALLY means to me is, not having a GOOD bluetooth connection in the car. Being that #10515 is a 1982 – and since the first owner parked the car for ~27 years – the car has the original ASI radio and speakers. While the radio functioned okay (and the tape deck even works,) I rarely listen to the radio, opting for my own music collection (I *love* Google Music!) and/or the numerous podcasts I listen to (including DeLorean Talk!) But, having 42,000+ songs in my Google…
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Plasti-Dipping DeLorean Rims
When I first bought #10515, one of the four rims had been replaced by the original owner because it had been damaged. But, the replacement rim was a grey rim, not silver like the other three. That’s been bugging me for a long time. That, combined with the paint starting to chip on a couple of the rims, got me thinking about replacing the rims. But, at $200+ for each rim, I’m not excited about that. So I got to thinking about Plasti Dip – the rubberized spray paint. People have painted $200,000 cars with Plasti Dip. Click the photo to the right to see a bunch of examples, then…
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No RunDisney marathon car show for me
A month ago, Disney put out a call for classic cars to join a RunDisney Marathon Weekend here in Anaheim. I submitted DMC #10515, as I love Disney and it would be fun. The only drawback was having to check in by 5am – A. M. ! Luckily, the location was only 8 minutes from my place, but that still meant getting up at 3:30a to get ready, eat something, pull the car out, make sure it’s cleaned up, and get to the location so I can setup the cameras and look at the other cars that were there. Everything went great until I got in the car and turned…
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Repairing the shifter boot
Since I picked up the DeLorean, the shifter boot has always been flopping around. It no longer stayed in place, so when shifting, the boot (also called the “gaiter”) would move around. Not only did it look bad, but it was a bit of a pain when the phone charging cable or wired ear bud cables would get caught under the edges when driving. So, it was time to fix it. The original DMC bracket is plastic, so after 30+ years it curled changed shape enough to bring up the edges and at some point the plastic clips broke off – which is why the boot just flopped around while…
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Door ajar light ‘fix’
Since I picked up 10515, the door ajar light has been on. Which is also how I killed the battery. The door ajar light illuminates based on one of the door switches (two switches on the driver’s side and one on the passenger side.) On the driver’s side, the top switch controls the key buzzer – if the door is open and the key is in the ignition, the buzzer will sound. I’m not sure if DMC CA pulled the wires or if the first owner did, but the buzzer doesn’t sound. The bottom switch is what controls the door ajar light – and the three door marker lights –…
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Firing up the engine after 25+ years
It’s been one month to-the-day since we picked up my dream car. Today, Danny and the guys at DeLorean California got DMC 10515 fired up after more than 25 years of sitting in a garage in Southern California! DeLoreans are no muscle cars, but Danny says the engine sounds great. My biggest fear was that they get it going and find out it’s got a cracked block or frozen pistons or some other sad issue that would keep the car in the shop for much longer than hoped. Apparently, things look good! I still haven’t told my friends or family nearby about the car, as I want to surprise them.…
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No progress yet…
Yeah, I’m giddy. Looking forward to hearing progress from DMC California… but none yet. I called again today but they said they’re still waiting on fuel pumps to do the make-run. Very disappointing. I was hoping after 2+ weeks they’d have some progress, but, I just need to learn more patience. I was again hoping they had put on tires or cleaned out the fuel tank, but it doesn’t sound like anything has been done. I asked Cameron if the general time-frame of ‘driving it before Christmas’ was still a possibility, and he said it is still a possibility, unless something crazy happens. So, I’m still waiting on a siding…
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Dropping off the key
When we picked up 10515 from the original owner, they couldn’t find the keys. They did find them a few days later, so I stopped by to pick them up. A few after that, I stopped by DMC California to give them the key, so that they wouldn’t have to take apart the steering column to steer the car during repairs. Danny came out to take a look-see and together, we replace the very first part on 10515 – the left side door strut. WOOHOO! I held the door up while he popped the old one off and put the new one on. The door opened perfectly. Then he opened…
