81 DeLorean, NMNA

This is my first post here, but I've been reading for a while.

NMNA. I just saw this and thought it would be something the GRM community would appreciate. Maybe even a project someone would consider. Expensive, and it's rough, but these things are rare! I would love to take one of these to 88 mph. I refuse to believe that nothing will happen.

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/4703646679.html

I like DeLoreans, but I don't really think of them as rare.

In retrospect, I guess finding a five speed might be a little difficult.

That is cool. Thanks for sharing. One day these will be worth good money, right?

Price is pretty fair for what he's asking for it.

Ooh, something right up my alley.

Though seeing the condition of the frame underneath would be very helpful (if it sat in a field for a long time, the soft steel frame may have serious rust issues...) I would tend to agree that's a really good deal. As a reference, that's very similar to the condition that mine was in when I bought it and got it for $3k less than that in an auction. You're definitely looking at thousands of dollars in parts and thousands more in labor if you can't/won't do the work yourself (which I expect most here would) but it's still a good deal.

Actually, it's not the 5-speeds that are rare, it's the automatics- the vast majority of DMC-12s were 5-speeds. The base model was a 5-speed and the only factory option you could get was to get the automatic- and few people opted for it. Most enthusiasts actually prefer the 5-speed though since with the fairly gutless engine you need the extra gearing to get it to perform more reasonably.

The interior looks bad, but replacement seat covers are readily available as are dash pads and carpets, though amazingly it looks like the dash and binnacle are NOT cracked which is very unusual. The front fascia looks like crap (rear is removed it looks like, but I imagine it's similar), but that's normal with lots of outside exposure- I believe it was about $1000 when I had mine stripped and repainted (though I had to pull them and re-install them).

The stainless looks to be in very good shape with no noticeable dents or damage. It's not one of the really low VIN-number cars since it has an ungrooved hood and no gas flap, but if it's an '81 it's going to be a good bit lower in VIN than my '83. Honestly, VIN doesn't matter a whole lot unless it's really low and then would have the original hoods and not the most common final version. Wheels look to be in good shape, and the doors are standing open properly so the torsion bars should be at least functional.

The engine will be a bit of a crap shoot. For cars that have sat a while and worse have had people who don't understand the fuel system trying to get them started and dumping lots of 'cleaners' down the gas tank, you're looking at $1k minimum in replacing K-JET parts. Or you could go the route I did and convert it over to a carb which is much simpler and depending on the condition of the car's K-JET can be cheaper.

Bottom Line: If you want a DeLorean and have the money, it's a good deal- you just need to be aware that it's going to cost at least a couple grand more to get it fixed up and running, and if you want it looking good will probabl end up costing half again what the asking price is.

If anyone is serious about it, I'll happily answer any questions I can- unfortunately it's a 6-hour drive one-way do I'd really not be able to go and look it over in person.

EDIT: Oh, and for reference, if you take one up to 88mph at least here in the US? What's going to happen is you're going to get a speeding ticket.

In reply to Ashyukun:

Wow, I just learned a ton about DeLoreans. Great information! I've always thought it would be neat to own one of these cars. Unfortunately it is out of my price range, but I thought someone else may be interested, since I personally have only ever seen a few of these for sale. As for the whole 88mph deal, knowing my luck, that is exactly what would happen.

In reply to Ashyukun:

Yes, very informative. Thanks.

This would be a good wheeler dealer episode if some one wanted to take it on.

Every time I see one of these I kick myself for passing on the 1500$ one I found before my first marriage.

Ash, thanks for the history/informational post. Good to know that one day I might yet get to own one.

That is the absolute worst engine I've ever had the misfortune of working on.

Swapping almost anything else in there would be a huge improvement.

I've always wondered if a LSx and a beefy transaxle (desert racing?) would fit in a DMC 12.

Trans_Maro wrote: That is the absolute worst engine I've ever had the misfortune of working on. Swapping almost anything else in there would be a huge improvement.

From my experience with it, the PRV itself isn't too bad of an engine- it's the ridiculously complex and fault-prone K-Jetronic system that makes working on a stock DeLorean engine a real pain in the ass. When I first started working on mine it shocked me that I couldn't even really remove the spark plugs because of the intake manifold horns. The engine gets a LOT easier to work on when you rip all the K-Jet crap off and convert the engine back to what it was originally designed for: a carburetor. With the carb manifold and carb on it you can access pretty much everything on the engine and even the clutch slave with only needing to remove the air cleaner.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: I've always wondered if a LSx and a beefy transaxle (desert racing?) would fit in a DMC 12.

Yes- but not without a lot of engineering. 2 years ago there was a kid who brought a LS3(? forget which exactly) swapped DeLorean to one of the Ohio DeLorean meetups and to the DeLorean Car Show. It had been his senior design project for his mechanical engineering degree. It was beautiful- sounded awesome and REALLY bumped up the performance. A normal DMC-12 can't really do a burnout on dry pavement- this one could.

The stock transmission (at least the 5-speed) is capable of taking a good bit of power if you get the upgraded 'bulletproof' transmission coupler- that's what the LS-powered one used along with the car's stock 5-speed transaxle.

My favorite swap, and the one that I'd love to do if my PRV ever gets messed up beyond the point of revival, is the one where they swapped a Porsche transaxle and a 20B 3-rotor Mazda wankel into a DeLorean (and painted it black, but I'll forgive that for now...). Though I'd likely want to do it with a Renesis and not the 20B since those are getting hard to come by.

My experience with K Jet is that if you can't get it running properly, the best alternative is to throw a carb on it. I didn't know this was possible on a DeLorean. Incidently, I saw one on the way to work yesterday. First one I've seen in the wild in several years.

It's the same garbage PRV V6 that was installed in a 1984 Volvo that I owned.

I never had a problem with the K-Jet.

My engine ate camshafts.

The fun part is, you can't get the cam out without pulling the cylinder head because the cam slides out from the back. Some guys have taken to drilling holes in the Volvo firewall to slide them out that way.

Oh, and it's a wet liner motor so when you pull the head, there's a good chance of shifting the liner, losing the seal at the bottom and dumping coolant in the oil.

You can't mill the heads, there was no tolerance built into them because milling the head screws up the cam timing.

And, to top it all off, the balance is messed up because they were originally designed to be a V8 and they changed it to a V6 but kept the 90 degree configuration.

They're also very thirsty for the power that they make.

That engine is a nightmare of bad engineering.

Man people really seem to hate the RPV engine over here. It seems to be like Jag's and other Euro cars. Loved and seen as reliable in Europe but derided over here.

I would love a DeLorean in my dream lotto winning garage.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

Quote from a Volvo forum, regarding the PRV engine: Volvo owners think they're unreliable and the French are masochists.