Fixing the old DeLorean smell

 From the first time I sat in my DeLorean when I bought it in 2011, I couldn't help but notice its distinctive "old car" smell. I didn't mind it too much as it was part of what made it what it was. However, I knew that I would eventually do something to alleviate some of the strong aroma since I would walk away smelling like the car anytime I drove it.

Like many other owners, I determined that some of the unique smell was coming from the original insulation material located under the carpet on the parcel shelf behind the seats. This material originally had a rubber covering on it, but the rubber on mine was removed before I owned the car. As you can see below, some of mine was already starting to come apart.

 

Some owners have removed the insulation, which looks suspiciously like carpet padding, and gone to such lengths as to cover their entire fiberglass tubs with Dynamat, or other similar products. I wasn't looking to go to such lengths at this point. As time went on, my wife and I happened to be adding new carpet to our house, and I decided to snag some extra padding to use to replace the padding on the DeLorean's parcel shelf. First, I took out the old stuff.

It was on there pretty good with whatever adhesive was used before, but with a little patience, elbow grease, and acetone, it cleaned up nicely for the new padding that I added. I just cut the new padding to size and stuck it on there. This was several years ago, and for the life of me, I don't recall if I even used adhesive to permanently adhere the new padding, or if I just laid it there loosely. If I ever go into that area again, I'll see what I did and take some "after" photos. 

I am happy to report that the strong stench did greatly diminish. It isn't entirely gone, but I imagine that some of the other old materials in the car either held onto the smell from the old insulation, or those materials themselves are also emitting their own stench. 

Several owners have completely removed their interiors and washed them down, including the carpets, which I imagine would be a tremendous help. If I ever have a need to completely disassemble my interior, I'll join that club.