Back To The Past With A DeLorean

"Torque Affair" (torqueaffair) 06/27/2015 at 14:40 • Filed to: DELOREAN

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Who doesn’t love a DeLorean?

I’m sure some don’t – maybe because of the fact that some people just have to hate something for the only reason that most people love it. Like, for example - hating The Beatles. How can anyone hate The Beatles??

As much as people seem to enjoy the DeLorean I do wonder if it would be quite as revered had it never been featured in the Back to The Future trilogy.

It took only a few minutes for me to be standing next to the owner, B.J., of this beautiful DeLorean, when the masses started to gather around like we were a street act auditioning for “America’s Got Talent”. Just kidding – of course, this didn’t happen. Instead, people would drive by and scream things out like “Hey, get out of my way and stop loitering in a parking lot.”

No, we actually heard phrases like: “Awesome DeLorean”, “Love that car”, “ Great Scott! ”

I was surprised that most of these screaming fans appeared to only be kids no more than 16 years old – how do they even know about the DeLorean? ! Did they actually watch Back to the Future? Perhaps kids these days do appreciate things that go beyond just Snapchat and Tinder.

Even after 35 years of existence, the DeLorean still lives strong! The fact that teenagers today are noticing these DeLoreans might be an indication that these cars will likely be treasured for many decades to come. Buy one today and send me a 10% commission check when it’s worth millions 20 years from now!

Very few cars grab your attention quite like the DeLorean. It’s wide, hugs the ground and of course, has a stainless steel body that is impossible to ignore. You stare at it in awe as it’s driving by because you immediately start thinking - how do you wash this thing?

It’s actually quite easy. Grab your dishwashing soap, a sponge and have at it! Then towel dry. I’m assuming this works because how is the body any different from your stainless steel pot that you cook Ramen in every night?

After waxing and polishing my cars over the years, I would think washing a car with a steel body would be a relief. Waxing and buffing is entirely too much work. And after all that labor you stand back to admire what you have accomplished only to realize that you wasted the last 6 hours of your life because there are streaks everywhere .

The Stance

The car slopes down and has noticeably larger wheels in the back than in the front which gives it kind of a “drag racer” look. Unfortunately, it’s nowhere near as fast as it should be to win a drag race of any sort.

These are the little things that you don’t immediately realize about a car that you randomly come across every so often, until you randomly email someone on craigslist and ask them if you can drool over their prized possession in person.

Aftermarket DeLorean parts

I really had no idea about how much stuff exists with the DeLorean in the way of aftermarket parts and various “DMC” branded paraphernalia. Take a look at this backpack B.J. bought.

He carefully chose aftermarket DMC parts including pedals, the steering wheel, various pieces of upholstery along with many other needed upgrades like cameras. Believe it or not, the cameras are actually very important because you really can’t see much out of this car.

I suppose there are numerous compromises you have to make when the focus is primarily on the exterior and making it look as futuristic as possible. This meant having extremely…

tiny windows that can be rolled down.

I don’t think I ever thought about whether or not you could open the windows on the gull wings but it turns out that you can! There is a small section of the window that you can roll up and down but they’re so small that they are probably only to be used in case of an emergency where you’re feeling so claustrophobic inside the car that you need to stick your head out and puke.

So, how do you roll them down? By operating one of these humongous buttons.

These buttons are so gigantic that they were probably created this way to fill up all that space between the seats. Or perhaps DeLorean just had big hands and needed massive buttons.

The visibility is worsened by the fact that once you get inside the car…

you literally are laying down!

Because of the way this car is designed, once you try to sit down inside the car you realize how reclined the seat is - much like a lazyboy.

You could tilt the seatback up but then your head might hit the ceiling of the vehicle. And because of this, you have to make sure that your head isn’t sticking too far up because when you slam the gullwing door down, you might crush your skull.

The doors were my favorite part of the car as they probably are with most folks. It’s so cool to be able to enter and exit the car using doors that fly up. B.J. actually installed an electronic release mechanism so that you can open up the doors using a remote.

When the door opens, you’ll notice these floor mats with giant DMC lettering on it. It turns out that very few DeLoreans have these original floor mats.

Why?

Apparently, there was a problem with these mats with the white lettering fading in with the black carpet which resulted in a recall soon after the DeLoreans were sold to customers. Because the original owner of this car never replaced them, they are still here! I have to imagine that there must be some Delorean owners out there who would sell their home to get their hands on these original floor mats.

When driving around for a while, we never hit 88 mph and so we weren’t able to do fun stuff like travel back and forth in time. But, looking at the analog gauge, you’d never know where 88 mph exactly is because the speedometer cuts off at 85 mph.

Although we didn’t do time traveling of any kind, there are so many things about this car that take you back to 1981 – like this original spare wheel.

It was like looking at an ancient historic relic that has been carefully preserved over all these years. It has never been used and B.J. made sure to wrap it up in plastic to keep it in the same condition that it has been for all these years. The jack stand and tools have never been touched either. This car has less than 19K miles on it and judging by the condition of the car you can tell that the original owner barely touched it. This was true “garage royalty.”

Getting gas

For some reason, 1981 was the only year of the car where there was a lid you could lift on the front hood to access the gas tank. For the other years of the car, you had open up the entire hood to get to the tank which is more of a hassle.

The DeLorean has so many quirks that it’s understandable why it never quite caught on with critics or the general public. But because of the Back To The Future trilogy, the DeLorean will continue to be one of the most highly desired cars among a select group of people which apparently includes kids born in the late 90s.

I fall into the group of people that love this car and I’m glad to have gotten an opportunity to check out B.J.’s DeLorean. He has kept it in such great condition that it is actually a better car than his daily driver.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go look for a flux capacitor so I can check out the 1600s.

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jkm7680 > Torque Affair 06/27/2015 at 14:47

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I’ve sorta always wanted one, except slow.

Torque Affair > jkm7680 06/27/2015 at 14:49

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Yea, no speeding around in this one!

jkm7680 > Torque Affair 06/27/2015 at 14:52

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Also, that Momo wheel has go to go haha. Otherwise, great looking car. Kitchen Aid appliance polish and a shitload of cocaine and there ya go. Complete package.

904 GTS > jkm7680 06/27/2015 at 15:03

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JayHova > jkm7680 06/28/2015 at 11:58

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Extracting a few additional ponies shouldn’t be too much fuss as the PRV V6 got 20 years of additional development afterwards.

JimSlade > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 11:59

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What in Gods sweet name is that steering wheel. No, no, no, nooooooo

jimz > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 12:08

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nope, without Back to the Future it would have been just another Bricklin.

scribble > jkm7680 06/28/2015 at 12:14

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There’s a guy who put a stock Mazda Cosmo engine in one. That would be the 300 hp, turbocharged, triple-rotor 20B engine. Problem solved!

scribble > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 12:16

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The stance of the US cars was all screwed up by regulations which forced them to use taller springs to raise the front end of the car up. This car has the right stance. It makes a pretty big difference in how good the car looks.

Also, there have been some extremely nice-looking ones that have been painted, although part of the classic appeal is the stainless steel panels. I’m torn, because paint can really transform them and they still look great, but then it also makes it a little more like any other car.

Torque Affair > scribble 06/28/2015 at 12:19

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Interesting...makes sense!

TheDutchTexan > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 12:20

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I absolutely love DeLoreans. I have ridden shotgun in one around 2002-2003 and vowed I would own one. It never happened to this day. And the list of cars I want includes more than just the DeLorean. I hope to get in contact with an owner down the line that would let me drive and review it. That would check that off the bucket list!

Maxaxle > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 12:26

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This is actually kinda tacky.

jgold47 > scribble 06/28/2015 at 12:26

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No paint. Come on!

NeonBlaqk > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 12:52

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I adore these things and I happily coughed up $20 to the Michael J Fox foundation to sit in one at SLC Comicon last september. Of course it was totally done up in time machine regalia (I consider it heresy to do that to a DeLorean) but it was still getting to play in one and for a good cause so whatever. Anyway, I was immediately struck by the driving position. I’m used to a recliner style driving position, I have an ‘82 Vette, but pulling it off in a femme Loki cosplay gown slit up-to-here was unexpectedly tricky and I can’t even imagine how it would be to drive in that position.

ApriliaFutura > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 13:35

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Ours was kinda fun - it’s got acres of tire on it fooling you into thinking it’s a sporty handling car though. Push it to the limits though (mainly by just not slowing down for corners, the car doesn’t have enough power to really flog through the twisties), and you realize how poorly balanced the car really is; gobs of understeer, the feeling that it might snap oversteer if you step wrong etc make for an, um, exciting canyon ride.

You look UP at the door handles of most SUV’s, you can see the spare tires of most pickup trucks. The engine sounds like an angry sewing machine in the best of conditions. Resale value is ridiculous. All owners have DMC swag everywhere on various things for seemingly no apparent reason other than it’s got the DMC logo. You *can* fit a teenager in the package tray as a 3rd passenger, although riding there from SoCal to ‘Vegas got a bit uncomfortable.

Wish we still had it. :)

Skillbilly > NeonBlaqk 06/28/2015 at 13:38

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I was there!

Met Henry Winkler!

Dy-no-mite Jay > jkm7680 06/28/2015 at 13:39

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Swap?

Skillbilly > Maxaxle 06/28/2015 at 13:39

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The whole car is tacky

Duke of Kent > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 14:14

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My uncle’s neighbor bought one years ago and realized that he couldn't open the gullwing doors in his garage, so it had to be parked outside all the time.

mrbwa1 > scribble 06/28/2015 at 14:20

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Wheels have a bigger impact that people thing. Just think about how many truly awful looking right you have seen when some bout rims but onll bout based on price or bling or size rather that looking at what best compliments the vehicle as fas as size, shape, finish, backs pacing, etc.

Nice rims would do more than a paint job on a Delorean.

mrbwa1 > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 14:22

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I know a guy that has a DeLorean. He noted the roll down windows are for toll booths. It would be impractical to open the gull wing. Also, that can't be any bigger because the doors are so short (as opposed to a Subaru SCX where the did pocket windows because the side glass was too curved to roll them down any further).

vagvf > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 14:42

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Start working at home with Google! It’s by-far the best job I’ve had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail.

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+ http://www.netcash5.com

DoYouEvenShift > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 15:03

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I loooove those things! I will own one one day, and convert it to electric, seems like the right thing to do.

Also, while I dont hate the beatles, I dont see what the big deal is. Same with Dave Matthews, buts thats another subject.

jkm7680 > Dy-no-mite Jay 06/28/2015 at 15:18

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Fuck yeah of course!

DrScientist > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 15:19

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I don’t think I ever thought about whether or not you could open the windows on the gull wings but it turns out that you can!

dont think this necessarily has to do with the gull-wing opening of the doors, but more with the angles where window meets the door, and any curvature of the door itself, and/or thickness of the door.. lamborghini had this same problem:

Michael Zaite > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 15:58

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DMC texas makes a recalibrated gauge, but really you’d have to try pretty hard to get past 85

Michael Zaite > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 16:02

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The sides of the little door aren’t rolled. They can and do take a nasty bite.

Michael Zaite > scribble 06/28/2015 at 16:03

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Tinted clear coat?

LivetheDream > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 17:54

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The stance is not correct. It needs to be evened out. I took the front springs from my “D” and put them in the rear. I then took the rear springs and put them up front, with a slight cutting of coils. I found the fix in an old DeLorean Owners Association issue. Also, the mats are readily accessible at DMC. Amazing car, but sure takes a lot of patience.

Torque Affair > Duke of Kent 06/28/2015 at 18:01

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hah! That’s unfortunate

Torque Affair > ApriliaFutura 06/28/2015 at 18:05

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Thanks for sharing!

Torque Affair > NeonBlaqk 06/28/2015 at 18:07

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Awesome! Thanks for sharing your story.

Steve in Manhattan > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 18:20

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I love these guys:

scribble > Michael Zaite 06/28/2015 at 19:15

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That is a great idea, actually. I’ve never seen it done before.

scribble > mrbwa1 06/28/2015 at 19:20

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Oh, for sure, but the DeLorean wheels are just as iconic as the stainless steel panels, so purists are going to hate that, too.

Personally, I think the thing that bothers me the most about the DeLorean is the ugly interior.

soundman98 > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 19:38

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does this actually work to preserve spare tires? and if it does, why don’t oem’s do it?

if i drove the car at all, after nearly 30 years, i’d replace it anyways.. the last time you need to find dry rot is 60mph on the highway....

Torque Affair > Steve in Manhattan 06/28/2015 at 20:10

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Awesome, very cool!

mrbwa1 > scribble 06/28/2015 at 20:13

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I would keep the original DeLorean wheels in storage for the collectibility, but I’d sure rather see reasonable rims on a DeL than paint.

If you want paint, get a Bricklin. NOBODY seems to be worried about Bricklin originality.

scribble > mrbwa1 06/28/2015 at 20:33

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Eh... I think Bricklins do have some charm, but they’re just not nearly as cool as DeLoreans. Something about the body (or the doors, maybe) just isn’t quite right.

I’m not saying I’d paint it if I had one. I would strongly consider it. I’m just saying I’ve seen some that were painted and looked GREAT. Although I just went to Google to peruse some painted DeLoreans and found that I didn’t like them too much.

However! I will say that this glossy black one looks sexy! Just need to lower that front end!

Ricardo Landgrave > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 20:41

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That steering wheel looks awesome. It’s one of the cars I have always wanted to own. I’d like to buy one of the new ones that are being built out of spare parts with the same engine but turbocharged.

This, the 300SL Gullwing and a Morgan 3 wheeler are some of my desired cars that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to own.

NeonBlaqk > Skillbilly 06/28/2015 at 20:59

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I spent a large amount of time waiting to meet Stan Lee. Totally paid off when he complimented my gown though, it about made my life!

mrbwa1 > scribble 06/28/2015 at 21:11

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I’ve only even seen one Bricklin rp that was an original is quite good shape. Still looked like a shoddy assembly job. I’m pretty sure it was a 74 thought with the AMc V8 (not the one pictured above).

I find the Bricklin to look like a 70s vehicle and the DeLorean a very much 80s vehicle.

scribble > mrbwa1 06/28/2015 at 22:41

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Yeah! The Bricklin just looks cheap for some reason. It’s always looked way thinner than a DeLorean, which I think is usually good for a sports car, but the Bricklin doesn’t come off like a sports car, it comes off like an oddity. Anyone that knows what a Bricklin is knows that it was designed to be a safety vehicle. That’s just not that cool to a car person.

Your 70’s/80’s comment is spot on. Too bad the Bricklin is so late-70’s (even though I still think it looks pretty good). A very early-70’s Bricklin might look pretty stunning.

OutOfHere > Torque Affair 06/28/2015 at 22:42

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I thought you were supposed to “wax” the stainless steel with a Brillo pad.

scribble > mrbwa1 06/28/2015 at 22:46

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Bricklins kinda seem borderline kit cars. DeLoreans are production cars, as few as they were.

Skillbilly > NeonBlaqk 06/28/2015 at 22:46

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For 20 bucks I got a hard-cover children's book, written by and autographed by the Fonz! I was NOT spending the Stan Lee money haha.

mrbwa1 > scribble 06/28/2015 at 23:10

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The one I saw was white (pretty sure it was a 74). Reminded me a lot of a DeTamaso Pantera without the fit and finish. Give it a metal body or proper bondin technology for the plastic panels and it would be an interesting car.

Unfortunately, Malcom Bricklin kids swung and missed, just like the Yugo. He did bring Subaru to the U.S. Though.

Torque Affair > OutOfHere 06/28/2015 at 23:22

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Hah, yea maybe!

NeonBlaqk > Skillbilly 06/28/2015 at 23:58

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It was a little pricey, but my husband was paying, lol. This year I’m looking forward to seeing Morena Baccarin and I’m still trying to decide who to dress as. It’s a toss-up between Black Widow, Inara Sera, and Sarah from The Labyrinth.

Super Nintendo Chalmers > Torque Affair 06/29/2015 at 01:16

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Who doesn’t love one? Their owners. Who does love them? Everyone who doesn’t own one.

It’s like being in a relationship with a model. The idea is better than reality, especially when you’re trying to hold a conversation w/ that reality.

AsphaltAthlet > Torque Affair 06/29/2015 at 04:03

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Wonderful car! Great article! Thanks for that!

Torque Affair > AsphaltAthlet 06/29/2015 at 06:36

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Thank you! Much appreciated!

Torque Affair > Super Nintendo Chalmers 06/29/2015 at 06:36

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hahah, you know, that’s a great point!

Dy-no-mite Jay > jkm7680 06/29/2015 at 07:24

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That should fix the slow problem

jkm7680 > Dy-no-mite Jay 06/29/2015 at 08:17

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Oh Yeah.

TheSmokingTire > Michael Zaite 06/29/2015 at 10:05

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My delorean did a GPS verified 125 mph out in the middle of nowhere. My DMC sourced 140 mph gauge reads high by 10 at that speed though

TheSmokingTire > OutOfHere 06/29/2015 at 10:07

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The Brillo pad is for getting out scratches on the stainless, and I wouldn't recommend doing at home unless you have one of the DMC guys show you the proper method. Harder than it looks

TheSmokingTire > Torque Affair 06/29/2015 at 10:08

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My delorean has those floor mats too. Original to the car, had no idea they were rare

Michael Zaite > TheSmokingTire 06/29/2015 at 11:01

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Any car will EVENTUALLY make it to its Drag vs. Power equilibrium speed with enough road.

Your Stage 2, never in a million years would an 80’s pyramid scheme of a business building cars in northern Ireland manage to build properly, 215hp version of a 138hp doorstop I can buy making 125. Possibly even with a reasonable amount of road.

The typical beat to hell, I don’t know how to adjust the D-Jetronic, no I still haven’t gotten around to putting the euro springs on it, what do you mean it’s leaking something again, used 34 year old DeLorean? That engine is as done as a 270 pound 9th grader passed out in the gym in a pool of his own vomit after barely finishing a 30min mile for the presidential physical fitness exam by the time you’re at freeway speed.

Gonemad > Torque Affair 06/29/2015 at 12:00

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They are large so you don’t hit the time warping lever by accident. Duh.

Gonemad > Torque Affair 06/29/2015 at 12:02

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Well, somebody should be able to paint an 88 on this regular gauge.

N.Guise > Torque Affair 06/29/2015 at 16:54

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“Who doesn’t love a DeLorean?” Well.... My wife for one, otherwise i’d have one.

Torque Affair > Gonemad 06/29/2015 at 22:47

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haha, good one.

Torque Affair > TheSmokingTire 06/29/2015 at 22:47

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Awesome! Yea me neither, until the owner told me about them.

WillyWonka12 > Michael Zaite 06/30/2015 at 13:59

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“Any car will EVENTUALLY make it to its Drag vs. Power equilibrium speed with enough road.”

Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads...

Michael Zaite > WillyWonka12 06/30/2015 at 15:35

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Great Scott!

WillyWonka12 > scribble 06/30/2015 at 16:18

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I’ve always felt that a painted DeLorean is hiding something.

WillyWonka12 > Super Nintendo Chalmers 06/30/2015 at 16:21

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What are the two greatest days in a DeLorean owner’s life?

The day he buys it and the day he sells it.

WillyWonka12 > scribble 06/30/2015 at 16:25

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“Eh... I think Bricklins do have some charm, but they’re just not nearly as cool as DeLoreans. Something about the body (or the doors, maybe) just isn’t quite right.”

It’s that goofy front bumper. I’ve always wondered how that ever made it past the drawing board/prototype.

scribble > WillyWonka12 06/30/2015 at 21:02

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“I’ve always felt that a painted DeLorean is hiding something.”

1981. The paint is hiding most of the 1981.

Dan > Torque Affair 07/01/2015 at 07:59

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The “for some reason” part is the complexity, in 1981, of doing this without scrapping large numbers of hoods. They went from this to the louvered-only hood, then finally just a flat hood. Each time to save cost, complexity and time.

Dan > Torque Affair 07/01/2015 at 08:03

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The “for some reason” part is due to the complexity of the hood mechanism. Following years had louvered-only hoods, then for 82/83, only flat hoods. Each change reduced scrappage, complexity and time to press them. Made sense back then!

Torque Affair > Dan 07/01/2015 at 20:24

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Huh..interesting. cool! thanks.