-
Hi Guest!
You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
does anyone know anything about deloreans
- Thread starter john76tr7
- Start date
Share this page
Banjo
Yoda
Offline
They were noted for major electrical fires (the total loss type) and water leaks (tops of the gullwing doors). The engine was underpowered and the signature stainless finish was kind of high maintenance if you wanted it spotless clean.
That said I still want one.
Beware any that have been painted. That almost always indicates body damage that has been covered up.
Think about it, theres no way to fix a dent without it being noticable (this is usually accomplished with paint on any other car) unless you replace the whole panal or take the cheaper route and paint the whole car.
I still want one
That said I still want one.
Beware any that have been painted. That almost always indicates body damage that has been covered up.
Think about it, theres no way to fix a dent without it being noticable (this is usually accomplished with paint on any other car) unless you replace the whole panal or take the cheaper route and paint the whole car.
I still want one
G
Guest
Guest
Guest
Offline
A friend of mine has/had one, but I haven't seen him or the car in several years so I don't know if he still owns it. To stand there and look at it was impressive, it's a cool looking car. To ride in it though was a total let down. Didn't handle particularly well and was very slow, all in all I've been in grocery getters that were far more exciting. IMO if you're into sports cars and performance driving you will be disappointed. Still though, it's a piece of automotive history and I think a part of me wouldn't mind owning one. I grew up in the 80's and the Delorean was a signature car of those times. My advise would be to drive one before you buy, that way you know what you're getting. If you have already driven one and you still want it then cool, have a blast.
I've also heard the door seals were a nightmare, the cars leaked like crazy even when new. I can imagine getting parts for them must be difficult. From what I've read and heard it was harding getting parts back when the cars were being sold and serviced. There does seem to be a large following for them though, lots of clubs and stuff. I would stay away from a painted car also, both for the possibility of hidden body damage and the non-originality. A car in it's original finish should be worth a bit more all other things being equal, and I think the painted cars just don't look as good.
I've also heard the door seals were a nightmare, the cars leaked like crazy even when new. I can imagine getting parts for them must be difficult. From what I've read and heard it was harding getting parts back when the cars were being sold and serviced. There does seem to be a large following for them though, lots of clubs and stuff. I would stay away from a painted car also, both for the possibility of hidden body damage and the non-originality. A car in it's original finish should be worth a bit more all other things being equal, and I think the painted cars just don't look as good.
G
Guest
Guest
Guest
Offline
They's 6cyl, hard to call it a sports car.
The later the production, the better the car is. Earliest cars were literally handmade with parts that were at best considered pre-production quality. Early cars had the the bulk of the problems with the door mechanisms failing, the ventilation systems dying and the engine fires. As production continued, they actually became fairly high-quality cars -- compared, at least, to other low-production vehicles of the time.
The worst problems tend to come from under-utilization -- so hydraulic seal failure, or being owned by people who abuse them (and this is very common.) People often buy DeLoreans expecting them to be sports cars, and they are not. They are GT cars. People buy them, beat on them, get bored, and dump them.
Paint is not necessarily an immediate indicator of damage. Later production cars sat on dealer floors for long periods of time. It was not uncommon for a new car to be painted red by a dealer. It actually looks pretty good.
Parts are available, but engine parts are much easier to come by than trim parts. Engines were PRV units, which appeared in hundreds of thousands of other vehicles.
The worst problems tend to come from under-utilization -- so hydraulic seal failure, or being owned by people who abuse them (and this is very common.) People often buy DeLoreans expecting them to be sports cars, and they are not. They are GT cars. People buy them, beat on them, get bored, and dump them.
Paint is not necessarily an immediate indicator of damage. Later production cars sat on dealer floors for long periods of time. It was not uncommon for a new car to be painted red by a dealer. It actually looks pretty good.
Parts are available, but engine parts are much easier to come by than trim parts. Engines were PRV units, which appeared in hundreds of thousands of other vehicles.
G
Guest
Guest
Guest
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
"Eighty eight miiiless an hourrr!!!"
"you biult a time machine?.....Out of a Delorean?"
Ok I'm done (even though I could quote a bunch more)
[/ QUOTE ]
I just want the Mr. Fusion, gas being as expensive as it is these days. And the flying thing might be cool to...
"Eighty eight miiiless an hourrr!!!"
"you biult a time machine?.....Out of a Delorean?"
Ok I'm done (even though I could quote a bunch more)
[/ QUOTE ]
I just want the Mr. Fusion, gas being as expensive as it is these days. And the flying thing might be cool to...
Classic Motorsports magazine had an article/buying guide about the DMC a few months ago. Might be online, or a back issue may be available.
I've heard that the paint can be hard to repair, too. Prepping stainless for paint is difficult, and hard to do correctly.
Oddly, there's a DeLorean parked in my parent's driveway right now.They're having some work done on the house and it belongs to the carpenter. He drives it around quite a bit.
I've heard that the paint can be hard to repair, too. Prepping stainless for paint is difficult, and hard to do correctly.
Oddly, there's a DeLorean parked in my parent's driveway right now.They're having some work done on the house and it belongs to the carpenter. He drives it around quite a bit.
sparkydave
Jedi Knight
Offline
If I was going to buy a Delorean, I would insist on the optional flux capacitor. The Mr. Fusion would be cool too, but since the engine still needed gasoline to run then I guess you would have to find a way to convert to an electric drive. I think it was in part 3 of "Back to the Future" when Dr. Brown pointed out that they still needed gasoline to get the car up to 88 miles per hour. Yes, I have wayyyy to much time on my hands 
.
.
JamesWilson
Yoda
Offline
Not to mention all those puny lil' roller skates with 4 cylinder engines...
Couldn't posssibly be a "real" sports car in the whole lot....
Couldn't posssibly be a "real" sports car in the whole lot....
R
Randi
Guest
Guest
Offline
the one I drove had a Volvo in it. The car was so HOT with the only available opening for air circulation was a mail slot shaped window & air conditioning was totally innadaquite- 15 minutes and you were roasting.....Randi
R
Randi
Guest
Guest
Offline
try and open the windows on a gull wing,mostly glass car in the summer in Louisiana.........no draft just heat. I drive 30's,40's,50's cars and rolling down the windows is just fine. Even the ones with air don't use it/too hard on car in slow traffic-I'm no sissy Randi
Howard_The_Duck
Jedi Warrior
Offline
I got an upfront look at a northstar-powered Delorean.
Boy that thing moved like stink and apparently the owner had made some suspension upgrades as well, because it handled amazingly well.
He did mention that he had issues with the door seals, but that he brought the car to a place in Houston that handles DeLoreans exclusively, and they fixed it no problem. He said that the same places has at least 60-80 DMC-12's that have been FULLY refurbished and are for sale as if they were brand new cars.
Boy that thing moved like stink and apparently the owner had made some suspension upgrades as well, because it handled amazingly well.
He did mention that he had issues with the door seals, but that he brought the car to a place in Houston that handles DeLoreans exclusively, and they fixed it no problem. He said that the same places has at least 60-80 DMC-12's that have been FULLY refurbished and are for sale as if they were brand new cars.