Local Car Show June 2013

My wife and I entered a free and local car show that was just for fun with no awards. Got a free t-shirt out of it. Below are some pictures of how we set up our car for the show:

 

 

The next picture shows the current interior. Notice the nice floor mats, the refurbished cargo net, and the stainless steel shifter ball that I traded with another DeLorean owner:
   

It was a fun show without much drama. There were a lot more fingerprints on the car this show than in previous shows, despite the four "look but don't touch" signs on the car. We actually made it about an hour into the car show before someone mentioned a flux capacitor, although many had referenced the movie up to that point.

Below are some of the other comments that I heard:

•  It's a DeLorean!
• The Back to the Future car!
• These things are really heavy, right?
• DMC = Do More Coke

Those are the only ones I can remember off the top of my head. I'll have to take a pen and paper next time and write them down as I hear them.

First 2013 Car Show

Attending car shows has lost a lot of its appeal after only two years of ownership. They typically take place on a Friday or Saturday, which happen to be great times to do other things. I made it until June before attending my first car show of 2013, which also happens to be my favorite car show of the year around here.

There were over 380 cars in the show with another DeLorean. This is the first show I've attended where someone else brought a DeLorean. Here are a few shots of my car as the sun was setting:







My car didn't win any awards, but as usual, it definitely got a lot of attention form those in attendance. 

2013 Happenings

Some life-changing things have happened since my last update, but not much has happened to the DeLorean. We moved into a new home and are expecting our first child, so the DeLorean has taken a back seat to more important things.

Since replacing the driver side lower ball joint and restoring a rusty headlight bucket, I really haven't done much work to it. A few weeks ago, I drove the DeLorean to work for only the 2nd time ever. My daily driver was out of commission and I didn't feel like taking public transportation for nearly 30 miles one way. The car was a hit with my coworkers that hadn't seen it before. I snapped a couple of pictures of it in the parking lot. See if you can find it in this picture:

 

If you couldn't find it, here is a zoomed in picture:
 

I've also been trying to diagnose two problems that are not important, but would be nice to resolve: the interior lights not going on and off when the doors open and close, and squeaky door hinges when the doors are opened. I posted videos of the problems on YouTube and received some helpful insight that I have yet to try. Here are the videos explaining the problems:

Rusty DeLorean headlight buckets

While getting the DeLorean ready to work on the lower ball joints, I noticed some rust on the headlight buckets and screws. I decided to remove one of the passenger side headlights to get a better look as to what is going on there. After I took out the headlight, this is what I found:

 

The rust is just surface rust, so it can be cleaned up very easily. As I began trying to clean up this headlight bucket with a wire wheel, I decided that I might try using POR15 instead of just a rustoleum spray paint. I want the restoration to last for the life of the car, and sometimes rustoleum doesn't last. In order to get the other lights out easily, I may end up removing the front fascia. I haven't decided the best way to make these look nice again, but I'm in no hurry as it is now winter and I don't plan on driving the DeLorean until the salt is off the roads. 

Bad DeLorean Lower Ball Joint

I went to go have an alignment done this past weekend and the shop discovered that the lower ball joint on the driver side is shot. I found this odd since the previous owner had replaced these just a few thousand miles ago. I discovered that the batch of lower ball joints that the previous owner had installed were faulty and a poor design. This caused many to fail prematurely, as noted by many owners on the DeLorean forum at www.dmctalk.org.

In order to never have another lower ball joint failure, I purchased upgraded ones from the DMCUK club for $130 for the pair. I might as well replace both of them now. Below is a video that I took that shows how much play the ball joint has and why it needs to be replaced:

While looking through the list of past repairs on my DeLorean, I also discovered that the previous owner had replaced the original lower control arms with aluminum ones, which is great because I will not have worry about them rusting out like so many that I have seen.

Below is a picture of the front driver side suspension that I will be disassembling to replace the ball joint:

 

Since it's Christmas time and I just barely ordered the parts, the DeLorean may be out of commission for a while until the parts arrive. All I can do for now is wait. I'll post an update once I have these installed.

Replacement DeLorean Brake Master Cylinder

One of the first repairs that I did on the DeLorean after I first bought it was replacing the brake master cylinder. When I bought the DeLorean, I knew that it was in need of replacement. I had to pump the brake pedal to build up enough pressure to stop. This job was very straightforward and I didn't take any pictures. I just had to have something to catch the brake fluid that came out when I removed the two brake lines from the master cylinder. I then unbolted the master cylinder from the power/servo unit.

I then removed the original fluid reservoir and cleaned it out with brake cleaner before installing it on the new master cylinder. I then bench bled the new master cylinder before installing it into the car. I then hooked up the brake lines into the new master cylinder before bleeding the brakes at all four wheels. I prefer to bleed the brakes with someone else helping me by pushing on the brake pedal.

The brakes immediately felt better after going out for a test drive. Here is a picture from underneath the car of the new brake master cylinder:

DeLorean Cold Start Issue

Here in the Rockies, it can get pretty cold. Last fall and winter, when I would go to start the DeLorean when the engine and temperature were cold, it would just crank and crank. If I cranked it a few times, then left it alone for about 5 to 10 minutes, it would usually start up after trying again.

Dave at DMCMW thought that the problem was the TTS (thermo time switch), which basically tells the fuel system to deliver more fuel upon starting when the engine is cold. Well last winter came and went and I almost forgot about the cold start issue because it doesn't occur unless it is below about 50 degrees F.

It was cold here a couple of weeks ago and the car started showing symptoms of the cold start issue again. It just so happened that I was in Houston for business again and decided to use this as an excuse to stop by and pick up the part. I snapped a couple of photos outside the building again:



 

It was nice to save a few bucks on shipping for such a small part.

The old switch came out quite easily, but what I didn't know what that coolant was going to start gushing out of the hole where the switch goes. I had to quickly get the new one threaded in to minimize the mess in my garage. Here's the old switch that I took out:
  

Here's the new switch installed correctly:
   
I did the install on a very cold morning and did not attempt to start the car until I completed the install. When I went to start it cold, it fired up with no problems on the very first try. Problem solved!