Fix stuck DeLorean door

I finally fixed an issue I've been dealing with intermittently since I bought my DeLorean in 2011. The front latch of the driver's side door would sometimes not unlatch when trying to open the door. There really was not rhyme or reason to when it would and would not open. Up until I put it away for winter at the end of 2015, I could always get it open by pressing the lock switch further into the "unlock" position while pulling on the handle. That trick failed before winter and I put it away with a stuck door.

I got the upper and lower panel off with the door shut (total pain, by the way). This is what it looks like with the upper and lower panels removed and the door shut:

It turns out, the locking mechanism needed to be adjusted slightly. This was done by loosening the screw on the rod that goes to the front latch and moving it slightly so the electric door lock could pull it open more when in the unlock position. In other words, when it would unlock, it wasn't able to pull it far enough, thus causing it to stay locked, making it so I couldn't open the door. This picture shows the screws and rod that I needed to adjust:

I tested it dozens of times after adjusting it and it opens every time. I love having the ability to use the keyless remote to unlock the car again and I'm glad it was so simple of a fix. The worst part of the repair was that my previously working mirror switch came apart and I can't get it put together so that it works. I tried for well over an hour, but the mini ball bearings just get pushed out of their position when I try to put the two pieces together. I posted about this problem on www.dmctalk.org and another member offered to ship me one if I paid for the shipping. That should be arriving in around a week. I'm sure I'll have an update in the near future.

I also had to replace several fir trees that broke off when taking the upper and lower panels apart. My door easily opened all the way with no help when the internal panels were removed. It leads me to believe that new door struts with a bit more lifting power will help it open all the way with no help.

More repairs and upgrades to come.

List of things to fix on my DeLorean

There have been several things happen with the DeLorean lately that will require some TLC. Here's a list of issues that I'll address sometime soon, in no particular order:

• Broken driver's side bolster - need to remove vinyl piece w/ heat gun and repair from behind panel
• Radio antenna - don't know if it's the particular model of automatic antenna I have, but it doesn't go down on it's own. It has to be pushed down right after turning off the radio. It's a two man job to get it to go back down. 
• Driver's side door won't open - ever since I have owned the car, every once in a while, the driver's side door wouldn't open. The front latch would act like it was locked. I would have to push down on the lock so it was more in the unlock position, while at the same time pulling on the door handle. It would open fine most of the time. A couple of weeks ago, that no longer works and the door is stuck shut. Need to figure this out soon. I can't go anywhere in the car until this is fixed.
• Starter issues - sometimes the starter doesn't kick in when turning the key to start. It will be like the battery is dead and not do anything, even though the battery is charged. I suspect a bad ground or loose connection, but don't know for sure. I actually had to roll it down the driveway backwards and pop the clutch in order to start it in an emergency recently. Not cool.

There's more, but those are at the top of the must-fix list. Some day I'll dedicate time to the car. It doesn't get hardly any attention since we started having kids back in 2013.

I got paid to take my DeLorean to a local event

After having my car featured on more than one occasion this year, I was contacted by the manager of a local recreation center to see if I'd be interested in having my car on display outside the building for their "Back to the Future" themed Halloween party. I was paid with a $100 Visa gift card to sweeten the deal. Only a couple hundred more events like that and the car will pay for itself...

Terms for my participation included having the car fenced off so nobody would sit on or in it. Two of their employees dressed up that night as two of the movie's characters and posed for pictures with attendees. It ended up being a pretty fun event with a very large crowd attending. That was the first and possibly the last event where I get paid to bring my car.

October 21, 2015 - Back to the Future Day

I drove the DeLorean to work for the first time in years on 10/21/15 since it was the day that was featured in Back to the Future II. There was an impromptu photo shoot in our office parking lot and several people had a ball getting their picture taken or just being around the car on that day.

Unfortunately, a heavier set fellow I work with broke the driver's side bolster when he went to sit in the car. It doesn't look too terribly difficult to fix, but it's a bummer that I have to repair anything because I let people sit in it. I don't want to be a jerk and deny people a chance to sit in it, but it just plain sucks this happened.

I didn't take any pics, but was sent several pictures that others took.

 

We also had family come over that night to snap some pics near the car. I ended the night by falling asleep watching BTTF II. It was a memorable day, for sure.

 

Back to the Future event

I was invited to bring my car to a "Back to the Future" themed bike ride recently: http://antelopebymoonlight.com/ It is a family event and riders are encouraged to dress up in costume for the bike ride. My car was near the registration canopy for bike riders to have their picture taken next to the car. I had SIX "Look, but don't touch" signs on various places on the car, including on each door sill. I also had several DeLorean hot wheels on each seat, thinking that these would be enough to prevent someone from touching the car, let alone sit in it. Boy, was I wrong! At car shows, I think people generally understand that the cars are there for visual enjoyment only and people tend to be respectful and not put their claws all over other people's cars.

With the car being all by itself and not at an official car show, some people treated it like a free for all. I sat behind the car in my lawn chair, like an old man watching his lawn, and was very surprised at some of the behavior of grown adults. Throughout the entire event, people posing next to the car would touch it by putting their hand on the top of the door or prop themselves by their hand as they posed. Those didn't bother me too terribly much. What killed me was when several different people sat on the front fender at different times and when others fully climbed into the car to sit down, going over the "do not touch" sign and nearly smashing all the hot wheels on display on the seats. I had to become "that guy" that had to yell to get off/out of the car. Of the 6 or 7 different people that I had to yell at, only one came back to apologize for what they did.

For all of my time and for driving my car out to the event, I got a free t-shirt. Totally not worth it and I would only consider doing something like that again if the event organizer were to agree to rope off the car to prevent attendees from getting too close. I should have known that it wasn't going to be a pleasant experience the moment I pulled up to the traffic usher and he tried making me pull into a field and park where all the attendees were going to park instead of by the registration tent. Doing so would have required me to drive the car through a mini ravine, which would have required driving talents that I don't possess to not scrape the underside of the car.

The one bright spot of the event was seeing some really good BTTF costumes. Here's a pic of my favorite group:

Media interviews

While at the Ogden 25th St Car Show in early June 2015, I was asked to be interviewed by local television personalities. They recently sent me a link to the video. I have several different segments in the video starting at about 17 minutes in:

At the end of the interview, the lady asked if I would be willing to help promote this year's "Antelope by Moonlight Bike Ride" that is a 24 mile bike ride starting at 10 PM during a full moon in the summer time at Antelope Island State Park. This year's theme is "Back to the Future," which is why they wanted my help.

I agreed to help and two weeks later, we met near Antelope Island and my car was used as a backdrop to create several segments for TV:

I'll also show up for the event on July 3rd and let participants take pictures of the car. I thought this would all be fun as I am only getting a free t-shirt out of the whole deal. Luckily this bike ride event is no more than a 10 minute drive from my house.

Some things that I need to address on the car:

• Air conditioning stopped working since I converted to R134a and charged the system two years ago.
• Driver side door doesn't always open. Need to do a "lock & latch" procedure to adjust
• Driver side front suspension making squeaking noise. Suspect sway bar bushings on lower control arm. May buy and install poly bushing kit.
• Interior lights do not come on when doors are opened. Not a big deal, but would be nice for when there's less daylight.
• Want to refinish the rear louvre as it appears faded
• Still need to get an alignment as the steering wheel has been cockeyed to the left since I bought it over four years ago. When I went to get it aligned a couple of years ago, they discovered I needed a new ball joint before they could do the alignment. I replaced the ball joint over two years ago and haven't gotten back to get the alignment yet.
• Replace the carpet pad-looking insulation on the rear parcel shelf as it's likely the source of the old DeLorean smell.
• Replace old coolant with fresh coolant. It's overdue. 
• Figure out why the engine compartment light has never worked. Very low priority

I'm sure there's more, but those are the obvious things that I remembered. The to-do list has definitely gotten shorter over the years.

Car Show 2015

Besides the occasional drive now and then, I haven't done much with the DeLorean in 2015. I decided to take it to my favorite car show of the year at the annual 25th Street Car Show in Ogden, UT. I really like this show because of the huge number of people and I love how they shut down several city blocks specifically for the car show.

I washed it prior to the show to take off the layer of dust that had developed while sitting for several weeks. Here's a couple of shots at the show:

With a 21 month old and another one coming in a couple of months, I don’t plan on doing any other shows this year. I usually don’t like just sitting there for hours on end while people look at the car, but I really enjoy the atmosphere at this show with the music, scenery, and I see a lot of people that I know.

To top it off, my DeLorean won an award. It was picked by one of the sponsors and I won a free night at a new Courtyard Marriott that was recently gutted and remodeled. Sweet!