Interior: Wiring, Leaks, and Dried Upholstery...FUN!

This will take you from Late June to early July, even though I am only posting this in October. Like I said earlier, I have very little time to do these updates, and have been piling them up.

May, June, and July were EXTREMELY wet months in Fort Lauderdale. We went literally through almost 3 solid weeks of rain. After that, we hit our standard rain pattern of midday torrential downpours and heavy lightning. This is great for our drought situation, but horrible for the owner of a DeLo that has bad weather seals!!! This is the main cause for the state the interior was in when the car was purchased.

I could tell from day 1 that the windshield has to be addressed, because the A-pillar pieces are all pulled away, and i can see humidity build up from there. After a rain storm, I can see visible signs of fresh water, so therefore, the glass MUST be pulled and resealed. I will probably take this to DMCF to have it done.

Here are the general interior shots. Please note that I had not really done anything to this car as of this point. I had mostly concentrated on the running aspect of it. Alot of these electrical compartment pics were taken the day after the car was brought home, so sorry they are a little late getting posted. These are pics of what the car was like after coming off the trailer:













Now for actual interior shots:

I live in a parts store...

Late June/ Early July

This is only the stuff that has come in the mail. The boxes are surprises that I have had in storage that I have to go through. My apartment is also full of interior pieces waiting to be 'freshened'...

Does it drive?

Still from June 2009 journal:


Yes. :-D


This was first startup. This was a quick snap shot before oil pressure gauge even went all the way up. I hold just below 80psi when driving, and yes, the voltage gauge is accurate, unfortunately. There are a mess of grounds that I need to clean up.

The Brake Test... oh what a failure!

In June, my neighbor Vic and I decided to bleed out the brake system in order to drive the car. At this point we found out the hard way that there are no brakes!



I made a post on the forum about the brake issue and proceeded to make a parts order. With my first order, I purchased the following:



1. DMCH correctly proportioned brake master cylinder

2. Inner door seals, right and left side

3. Trunk gasket

4. Fuel filler hose closing panel

5. Shifter boot



One of the best surprises was my bro Mike sent me the new fuse box and relay update kit as a "car warming" gift. How bad ass was that?



The good news is I have a plethora of parts still in boxes from other car projects. I will keep a running tab of costs also.



I was also able to score three pre-owned parts from James at DMCH for a nice discount:

6. Used steering wheel

7. Used driver's side mirror.

8. Used fuse box cover



Being the awesome adventurer that I am, one cloudy afternoon Vic and I decided to take the no brake delorean for a test spin around the parking lot. Now, this is the first time this car has moved under its own power. Thankfully the E-brake works, so I was able to force stops. I don't recommend doing that, but we had alot of open area and decided that we were bored enough to be stupid.



But, eventually I wanted to get into the car and drive it. Early one Sunday, I decided to replace the master cylinder.





This is the factory master. In order to remove, use a set of FLARE NUT WRENCHES! If you try to use a standard wrench, you will succeed not in removing the lines, but in stripping the fitting, and being screwed. Right tool for the right job!



After both lines are removed and gently separated from the old master (beware of dripping brake fluid! Get some rags and place below in order to prevent dripping on painted surfaces!!!), you must remove the two bolts holding the old master cylinder in place. Do so with a ratchet with an extension and a socket.



You may have to do a bit of a wiggle to separate the old master and reservoir from the brake booster, so be gentle!


This is the brake booster (or servo if you wish) without the master. make sure you clean up the surface before installing the new master!

The old reservoir is held in place by two small cotter pins and two rods. Remove the cotter pins, slide out the rods, and gently pull up on the reservoir, being careful not to get any nasty old brake fluid on you. After separating, reinstall the reservoir onto the NEW master cylinder in the reverse order. This is a good time to CLEAN the old part before reinstalling!


Now don't let this fool you, the part WAS cleaned before reinstalling.


The DEEP end of the reservoir goes closest to the brake booster. Just a reference, in case you didnt know.

Now, at this point, do NOT install the new assembly into the car. Instead, bench bleed the new master cylinder. If you need directions on what bench bleeding is, Google and Wikipedia are your friend! It's basically a way to make sure you have primed the part to ensure proper fluid flow instead of huge pockets of air.

To install the part, do so in reverse order of the removal!


This will be the extent of my work on the car until Fall. I live in Fort Lauderdale, and it is WAY too hot and humid to work on the car. Instead, I will be going through parts and pulling some stuff out of storage to see what I need.

Testing... 1, 2, uh oh!

So im updating this blog now with more of my hand written journal entries. I started a checklist of things to check. Here are a few items and the results of the tests...

Brakes- Fail. Must add Master Cylinder to the list.
E-Brake- Pass (it's how Brandon, Laura, and I loaded the car onto the trailer!)
Headlights- One has water in it, but both work. Upgrade. Pass.
Parking Lights- Pass
Tail Lamps- Pass
Side Markers- Pass. Need gaskets
Horns- FAIL. Sounds like a choking mouse
Windows- FAIL. Switches work after beating on them; driver's side needs to be realigned.
Power Mirrors- Passenger: PASS. Drivers- FAIL. Need to replace entire driver's mirror
AC Panel- Lighting- PASS
AC Controls- FAIL. Mode switch hissing. Needs rebuild.
AC Temp- FAIL. AC is dead.


Parts list update:
62. Purchase brake master cylinder
63. Install brake master cylinder.

Let's Make a List!

I will be the fist to admit, I suck at updating things. I have a journal that I keep of the car on paper, so I will transfer that onto this site, making it much more permananent.

I made a list back on June 23rd of everything noticeable that the car needed. This is, of course, a work in progress, so I will continue to update it as time goes on.

This is not only a "to buy" list, but also includes the act of installation, because anyone can just BUY parts... eventually you have to take the time to install them too! This car is seriously a work in progress. It will remain so for a LONG time, as I am also making sure I do the smart thing and still put money into my savings account instead of just blowing every cent on car parts.

So, here is my June 23rd list of "what my car needs in order for me to feel warm and fuzzy."

"The List"
1. License Plate Bezel
2. Re-seal windshield
3. Bleed Brakes
4. Bleed Clutch
5. Test Power Windows
6. Remove all headliner material
7. Evaluate PS visor leak
8. Check motor mounts
9. Remove trunk carpet and backboard
10. Cut new trunk carpet backboard from plexiglass
11. Fuse Box Replacement
12. Relay update kit install
13. Right Rear Rim repair
14. Rock Guard restoration
15. Tune-up kit
16. Evaluate temp gauge function
17. Front Fascia reinstall/alignment
18. 3rd brakelight purchase
19. 3rd brakelight install
20. AC Evap Purchase
21. AC Compressor purchase
22. AC Lines purchase
23. AC evap install
24. AC compressor purchase
25. AC lines install
26. Cold start circuit check
27. Fuel filter purchase
28. Accumulator purchase
29. fuel filter install
30. Accumulator install
31. Antenna purchase
32. Antenna install
33. purchase new headliner boards (also evaluate current boards)
34. Purchase steering wheel
35. Install steering wheel
36. Purchase driver's side mirror
37. Install driver's side mirror
38. Purchase seat covers
39. Install seat covers
40. Refinish trunk and fiberglass
41. Primer
42. SEM Trim black
43. Purchase Simple Green
44. Wash engine bay
45. Pull intake manifold
46. Purchase POR-15
47. POR-15 VOD
48. Purchase missing fuel closing panel
49. Valve cover gaskets
50. VOD sensors
51. Purchase plastic primer
52. Purchase gunmetal paint
53. purchase matte and silver paints
54. Silverstar Low Beams
55. Silverstar High Beams
56. Door light toggle
57. Power Antenna Toggle
58. Purchase power window switches
59. Install power window switches
60. Remove tape from driver's window
61. fix hood release

Now THAT is a list! Mind you, not all of these are necessary, but what I want to make the car work the way that I want it to.

VIN #16336

After years of swearing I would never buy a DeLorean, mainly because i've worked on them too much and was tired of them, this one fell into my lap.

Originally, the previous owner (or P.O.) wanted to restore the car. He had quite a bit on his hand, as the car had been previously sitting in someone's back yard for quite some time. Attached are pics from his files when he first purchased the car:



Needless to say, it needed work. The p.o. was able to do quite a bit in the time he had it. Not only did he get the car to run, but he was able to redo the entire fuel system, flush out the brake system, and replace quite a few parts.


Getting the car home itself was quite an ordeal. Originally, I had intended to film the entire day, but due to headaches and frustrations, that quickly fell by the wayside. Instead, I only captured a few pictures.










These were taken in south florida right before I offloaded the car. Since I didnt get the car unloaded until late, I had to wait to fully document the car. This is the condition of the car the next morning in the sun:























My first priority was to WASH the car, because it is filthy. The car was stored outside, which shouldn't affect a car in any way, but because of the DeLorean's AWESOME open vented engine bay design, rain, dust, dirt, spiders, monkey's, volkswagens, etc... can all just land in that engine bay and make it dirty.

Here is a pic after a quick bath.