DeLorean

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This is my 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, VIN 767, nicknamed Ein after both Ein, the dog in the anime Cowboy Beebop and Einstien, Doc Brown's dog in Back to the Future. I purchased it in April 2003 from a dealership in San Rafael, CA. The car has the rare gas flap, the rare yet useless windshield antenna, and the early grey rims. It is an automatic with a black interior

The exterior and interior of the car are in excellent condition. The inside leather isn't cracked or torn, save for a small tear on the driver's seat. The body has a few very minor dings that I haven't gotten around to having hammered out yet.

Unfortunately, the car's mechanical and electrical systems had not been very well maintained before I purchased it. Although it made the six hour drive from San Rafael to Los Angeles without incident, we found many problems when I brought it to my mechanic, California Automative in Van Nuys, VT. None of the recalls or upgrades had been done, with the original failure-prone lock module and fan fail relay still in the car. The cooling system was seriously hampered, requiring a new water pump and radiator, and many of the rubber hoses in the engine needed replacing. The car didn't always shift correctly, and the performance was pathetic until the automatic transmission finally failed completely. At this point I had it towed to DeLorean Motor Center in Garden Grove, CA to do these more specialized repairs. Here it was found found that the transmission was rebuilt once before, and incorrectly at that, including a torque converter for a different car entirely. A new transmission was required, which dramatically improved the car's performance.

Other DeLorean companies that have been a great help are PJ Grady, Special T Auto and Delorean Parts NW. In November of 2004 my car broke in down New Milford, Connecticut, where I found Auto Turismo Sport, Ltd, an exotic car repiar shop with previous experience on DeLoreans. In December of 2005, All Tech Electric in Danbury, Connecticut was able to rebuild my alternator and derust my start, plus fix some bad wiring to those components that was causing charging problems. Those parts were less than a year old; Vermont does some bad things to cars, it seems.

So far the DeLorean has had the following upgrades. This is probably an amazingly boring list unless you're REALLY into DeLoreans:

New silicone hoses to replace the rubber hoses in the engine.
New Renault R30 transmission (with the proper torque converter) after the original failed.
Replaced old lock module with Lockzilla.
Replaced old fan modules with Fanzilla.
Replaced the old radiator with a new triple-core design.
Replaced the cracked coolant bottle with a new stainless steel one.
Replaced door insulation.
Rebuilt brake master cylinder.
New brakes.
New door struts.
New engine compartment struts.
New rear license plate holder.
New driver's side window motor.
New fuel pump.
New fuel distributor.
New seal in fuel distributor (fixed hot-start problem).
New fuel injectors.
New water pump.
New rear right quarter panel and muffler after I backed into a short, cleverly hidden concrete barrier.
New fuses and relays.
Removed aftermarket car alarm.
Removed aftermarket CB radio.
Replaced broken aftermarket power antenna.
Repaired tail light boards.
Emergency trunk release cable installed by DeLorean Motor Center.
New headlight switch.
New speedometer angle drive, multiple times.
New fuel sender.
New fuel accumulator.
New Optima Yellow Top deep cycle battery.
New starter.
Second set of new spark plug wires (two years after the first set failed).
A final set of high-quality Magnecore performance spark plug wires.
New Goodyear snow tires.
New Michelin Pilot XGT H4 all-season tires.
Rebuilt steering rack, tie rods and rotors.
New front wheel bearings.
New tie rod ends.
New front Goodyear snow tires, after the failing tie rod ends ruined the original set.
New 180 amp D150 alternator from Special T Auto.
Had the alternator and starter rebuilt by All Tech Electric due to harsh Vermont weather

Various modifications to the DeLorean:

Installed Lockzilla remote door lock and keyless entry module.
Installed coolant self bleeder kit from Delorean Parts NW
Installed door opener actuators from Delorean Parts NW, wired into Lockzilla. This allows the keyless entry module to pull the door handles and thus open the doors (DeLorean doors raise on their own once the latch has been released).
Headlights are now switched with the ignition so I won't forget to turn them off anymore.
Cruise control installed by DeLorean Motor Center.
Brigher halogen headlights installed by DeLorean Motor Center.
Rear-view mirror replaced with an auto-dimming temperature/compass model with LED map lights.
Replaced original radio with a Sony stereo and an Ice>Link module for iPod interface and control. An IR remote for the stereo is mounted next to the shifter.
Installed two dash-mounted LCD monitors with mirror function and two blindspot video cameras as a prototype of a more advanced system I am planning.
Installed aftermarket cup holders.
Installed front license plate holder for DOT compliance.
Installed high-center tail light from Special T Auto, after a coat of black spray paint.
Modified the front and rear marker lights to act as turn signals for improved visibilty.
Installed backup sensors below the rear bumper near the muffler, although they report too many false positives at that height to be truly useful.
Installed a power inverter in the lock box behind the drivers seat, wired directly to the battery and switched with the ignition.
Added engine compartment louver brace.
Undercoated at DeLorean Motor Center to help resist Vermont winters.
Replaced all door lights and both dome lights with DeLorean Motor Center's LED kits. This required pulling the white lamp delay module so the lights wouldn't stay on forever when the doors close.
Added second fuse box and relay mount under the drivers side parcel shelf cover.
Added three extra, independantly fused cigarette lighters under and to the right of the steering wheel against the center console to keep my Palm and it's Bluetoothed GPS charged.
Added a relay to provide straight battery power to the starter when the ignition is turned, eliminating ignition wiring issues that have cropped up.
Installed Tom Nemczewski's heated, extended convex side mirrors.
Installed two Peak Deluxe Carbon Fiber Dual Temp Universal Heated Seat kits from Sports Imports Limited.
Installed factory DeLorean luggage rack, purcahsed from Delorean Parts NW
Installed heated wiper blades from Everblades.

Some of the following pictures were taken in California, and others in Vermont, hence the different license plates.

Front 3/4, driver's door open	Front with both doors open	Front with doors open
Rear 3/4, driver's door open	Head on	Rear Left Side, Driver's Door Open
Left Side, Driver's Door Open	Next to my old Honda Accord	Rear 3/4
Left side low	Left side high	In driveway at Jay from Loft
	Everything open
Interior and instruments	Interior and seats	Interior from outside
	Bumper nameplate
Armrest Switches	Center Console and LCDs	Shifter Area
Extra Cigarette Lighters		Blindspot Cameras