DeLorean “frame-off”
restoration.
The DeLorean has stainless steel body panels (which never rust) bolted onto a fibreglass underbody (which obviously never rusts), which sits on top of a steel backbone chassis. This chassis/frame is epoxy coated to prevent rust, but over the years, this epoxy coating can be damaged by scrapes, stone-chips, brake/clutch fluid leaks, which can allow the frame to start rusting. Unattended, this can destroy your frame and eventually leave your car unsafe and unusable.
I’ve known since I got my car that there were areas near the front of the frame which would need attention. The front section of the DeLorean frame is particularly susceptible to rust, as it is made from thinner metal, and sits below the clutch and brake master cylinder reservoirs – it is pretty easy for some brake/clutch fluid to end up on the frame during maintenance of these hydraulic systems, and this eats the original epoxy coating, and rust begins…
So, I’ve decided to remove the frame from my car, repair the rust damage, galvanise the frame to prevent the rust ever returning, powder coat the frame a nice silver colour, and rebuild the car again on the like new frame. The end result will be a completely rust-proof DeLorean! You can follow this restoration online here…
My brother Maurice and I took 2 days off work to start this restoration process, so, on Thursday morning February 24th 2005, we got up early, ate our weetabix, put on warm clothes (it was freezing outside!), and arranged our tools outside the back of the house.
I sat into the DeLorean in the garage, connected the battery, and even though the car had not run in 4 months, it started first time. A very reliable car! I drove it around the back of the house to start disassembly. The thought struck me that 23 and a half years ago, in September 1981, a team of Irish men and women put this car together, and did a fine job. I’m sure they would be happy to think this car is still cherished, and will be restored to as new condition over the next few months by a much smaller team of Irish guys!
|
These first few pictures show the DeLorean being taken out of its winter storage, and how it looks before I take it apart! I’m looking forward to having it all back together again soon.
|
Here you can see us beginning to loosen some of the 12 body bolts which attach the fibreglass underbody to the epoxy coated frame. Most of these bolts were only hand tight – they had worked their way loose over the years. During reassembly I’ll use some loctite! There are 2 bolts in the trunk on each shock tower, 3 on each side of the center console inside the car, 2 bolts going thru the engine crossbrace, and finally, 2 more bolts going into the frame on each side of the engine bay, close to the rear fascia. Also, don’t forget to remove the knob from the top of the gearstick or you will be needing a new leather shifter boot! It’s the little things that could catch you out in a job like this…
Next, we removed all the access panels in the trunk – there are 3 in total. Many of the screws were corroded, and had to be drilled out. I’ll replace these with new ones during reassembly.
|
