Chop Cut & Rebuild is doing a car like mine

[Liquifire 4/6]

Hiya Don and thanks for the compliment on the car. I purchased it about ten years ago with under 10000 miles on it and have put on about 14000 more miles since I bought it. It was originally owned by a guy in Arizona. It still has the acrylic finish (no paint) and is probably the best original acrylic I've seen on a Bricklin. I've been buying up NOS body panels for several years just in case I ever need them and now have enough to replace every panel on the car. It has the 351 windsor and runs fine. It does have a slight oil leak on the rear seal, but it's about a teaspoon a week and not bad enough for me to want to pull the engine out (it's not an easy car to yank the motor out of). The pics I've posted are not very good. Any decent outdoor shots I have of it are all too large to post in here. The owner of one of the local auto parts stores took a few pics of it last month and apparently it is going to be on his company's calender this coming year (I can't remember if he's a NAPA dealer or an Auto Parts Plus dealer). I can email you some better shots if you wish. I'll be installing fibreglass body panels on my project Bricklin because I want to paint it red and it too, has some good original acrylic panels which I don't want to waste by applying paint to them.

Pete

[Matt]

4/6: E-mail me your larger pictures and I'll put them up - jdsleds66@nac.net

[WinnipegStPaul9]

I'd love to see your pictures, send to bison1112002@yahoo.com Don

[JoeRainville]

4/6,

I actually have a brochure of the Bricklin SV-1, but not sure of which year it's from. Got to give Malcome Bricklin some credit for making his own car. After that he imported Subaru's, Yugo's and tried to make electric bikes and then tried to be the first to import Chinese cars to the US.

I think I have an old artical about them too. For those that don't know much about them, the frame is a perimeter frame that comes up to just under the door sill. That is why it had Gullwing doors. They are hydraulicly operated too. (Delorien used a cyrogenically wound torsion rod).

Pretty neat set of wheels. As for the 351 and EFI, lots of F250's from the later 80's early 90's had an OK EFI system if you can get a generic controller for it.

Good luck with your project!
-Rainville


B)

PS: Did you hear they are going to build new DeLorens from 80% NOS parts? Expecting to build 1 to 2 a month for a while.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Didn't hear about the Deloreans coming back but did hear that there was to be a return of Yugo. Supposedly they're going to make a Car, a Motorcycle, and a Multiple passenger van. They'll be called the Yugo, Igo, and We'llallgo. Don
(Rimshot please)

[Matt]

[Liquifire 4/6]

Good one about the Yugo, Don....I needed a chuckle this morning.

Joe, your info on Malcolm and his car is absolutely correct with one small exception. His Subura involvement was in the sixties before he got the idea to build his own car. He was actually the first US importer of Subura vehicles....bringing the 2 stroke 360 to North America. Apparently it wasn't a huge hit, but the story I heard is that he still made a fair lump of cash by selling off his Subura distribution rights. I guess, he then had lots of money, but not quite enough to develop and manufacture his own car. So he knocked on doors all over N.A. and even in Europe looking for some government funding. He managed to convince New Brunswick premier, Richard Hatfield, into investing millions of provincial dollars into the venture. The company might have eventually succeeded had the government put a few more million into the project (and if Bricklin Canada Inc could have resolved some quality control issues), but politics came into play and the Bricklin was stopped dead in it's tracks prematurely.

Speaking of brochures, I bought a 75 Bricklin brochure at a used bookstore in Minneapolis about 15 years ago.......and it was what eventually led me to buy the car. Perhaps, yours will have the same effect on you, Joe?

I've heard about the new DeLoreans. Evidently, they are going to be built in the US mainly out of left over spare parts. Apparently, they have enough components on hand to build 500 cars while still keeping enough spares available to satisfy future parts needs. I hope it's a go and that the new cars prove better than the originals. Seemingly, the DMC's had even more teething probs than the Bricklin. One of the Bricklin books I have makes a fair bit of mention about the Delorean and the author writes that the only worse place in the world other St. John, NB to build a car is Northern Ireland where the original DeLoreans were built.

Pete

[Mr. Deere]

WOW Look at that Doors that open themselves. Cool. Nice Car. BOB

[WinnipegStPaul9]

I've heard about the new DeLoreans. Evidently, they are going to be built in the US mainly out of left over spare parts. Apparently, they have enough components on hand to build 500 cars while still keeping enough spares available to satisfy future parts needs.

The GM fans should remember that Mr. Delorean was a former GM employee and that GM, especially Chevrolet used COPO (Central Office Production Options) for a lot of their high performance options, ie, Yenko cars, etc. Well I understand that the new Deloreans will also use the COPO designation also but it will stand for Cocaine Onboard Production Option. Someone may have to explain this to our younger board members. Don

[78440liquid]

Should add new meaning to 'high' performance! Joel

[WinnipegStPaul9]

LOL

[JDFanPa]

Bob-
Have you seen one of those Ford 454's? I bet they look awesome.

Its the youth Paul

[Mr. Deere]

Whats that mean? BOB

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Here's a story in this mornings Fort Wayne paper.
Back to the Future' at reborn DeLorean
Entrepreneur plans to build iconic car
By John PorrettoAssociated PressAdvertisement


HUMBLE, Texas ? In a nondescript warehouse in east Texas, mechanic and entrepreneur Stephen Wynne is bringing a rare sports car back to life. If he succeeds, he almost certainly has Michael J. Fox to thank.

A quarter century after DeLorean Motor Co. began making its glitzy, $25,000 two-seater ? an operation that collapsed after two years ? Wynne?s small automotive outfit plans to bring the vehicle back into limited production at a 40,000-square-foot factory in this Houston suburb.

The creation of renowned automotive engineer John DeLorean, DMC eventually made fewer than 9,000 cars, distinctive for their gull-wing doors, stainless-steel exterior and rear-engine design. An estimated 6,500 remain on the road.

Despite DMC?s flop, the car has persevered, gaining fame largely as the time machine Fox drove in the blockbuster 1985 movie, ?Back to the Future,? and its two sequels.

The trilogy?s enduring popularity on cable TV has exposed countless viewers ? and potential customers ? to a souped-up version of the DeLorean.

?There isn?t a day somewhere in the world that ?Back to the Future? isn?t playing as a rerun,? said Wynne, president of the new, privately held DeLorean Motor Co.

Wynne formed the company in 1995, when the bulk of his business was working on original DeLoreans at a Houston garage. Still, he needed a name, and because there was nothing legally preventing him from using the original, he decided to give it a shot. He even called John DeLorean, who wished him luck.

A dozen years later, Wynne hopes to parlay the car?s celebrity ? along with the world?s biggest stash of DeLorean parts and engines ? into a niche production business that begins hand-making two DeLoreans a month sometime next year. They?ve just started taking orders.

Already, the Humble operation will take an existing DeLorean, strip it to the frame and rebuild it for a base price of $42,500. Wynne?s staff can rebuild one every couple of months.

The company also handles routine maintenance, such as oil changes and tuneups, and ships between 20 and 50 parts orders a day to mechanics and individual owners worldwide.

But because the original models are roughly 25 years old, finding suitable candidates to refurbish has become increasingly difficult.

So Wynne figured: Why not use the thousands of parts and hundreds of engines sitting in his massive warehouse and build the cars from scratch?

?Everything seems to evolve around here, and that seemed to be the next logical step,? said Wynne, a Briton who began working on DeLoreans in the 1980s in Los Angeles, becoming expert in their mechanics and equipment. He eventually expanded to suburban Houston and opted to make his base here, in part because of the lower cost of living.

Like other DeLorean mechanics at the time, Wynne bought replacement parts from an Ohio company, Kapac Co., which had acquired the original inventory when DeLorean failed. In 1997, when Kapac wanted out of the parts business, Wynne bought the supply for himself, though he declined to say how much he paid.

A decade later, he?s decided to take the company to the next level: Niche automaker.

The handmade cars will feature about 80 percent original parts. The other 20 percent will be new, supplier-made parts from companies such Valeo SA and the Bosch Group, said DeLorean vice president James Espey.

The one limiting factor is the doors. The company has enough for about 500 cars, though it?s important to keep some in stock for repairs and such. Beyond that, Espey said, the company is studying its options.

Enhancements to the new cars will include an improved stainless-steel frame, a stronger but lighter fiberglass underbody and electronics upgraded from the disastrous systems in the early DeLoreans. A peppier engine ? the original cars? 135 horsepower was a downer for performance enthusiasts ? will be available as an option.

?After working on these cars practically every day for 25 years, we?ve identified most of the issues and replaced them,? Wynne said. ?If there?s a better part available, we?ll use it. If there?s a better way to install it, we?ll do it.?

The base price of a new DeLorean is expected to be $57,500 ? roughly the same price a 1981 DeLorean would have cost in today?s dollars.

The company will sell the cars from its shop in Humble and affiliate shops in Bonita Springs, Fla., Crystal Lake, Ill., Bellevue, Wash., and Orange County, Calif. DMC also has a shop in the Netherlands for European owners.

?It?s taken years to get the wheels moving, and they?re moving slowly, but we?ve got motion,? Wynne said.

Ken Baker likes the company?s direction ? so much so that the Bentley and Rolls Royce sales executive in Fort Lauderdale drives his own original DeLorean and heads that region?s DeLorean owners group.

A car guy to the core, Baker says he became enamored with John DeLorean in high school after reading DeLorean?s book, ?On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors,? the author?s critical look inside his former employer.

DeLorean was the antithesis of the buttoned-down auto executive of his day, sporting designer suits, dating models and moving in celebrity circles. While at GM in the 1960s, he created what some consider the first ?muscle car,? putting a V-8 engine into a Pontiac Tempest and calling it the GTO.

When DeLorean began making his own car in Northern Ireland in 1981, Baker says he fell in love with it. Of course, as a teenager, he wasn?t able to shell out $25,000. Now, at 41, Baker is a proud DeLorean owner.

?You have to understand it?s a car that never got to its full development because it was gone before it really hit its prime,? Baker said. ?And you have to realize it?s 25 years old. But understanding that, it?s fun to drive and very comfortable.?

Unfortunately, DeLorean simply couldn?t sell enough of the cars to sustain the business. The company folded in 1983, a year after DeLorean was busted in a drug trafficking sting and accused of conspiring to sell $24 million worth of cocaine to salvage the venture. He used an entrapment defense to win acquittal, but legal entanglements plagued him for years to come. He died in 2005 at age 80.

Kevin Smith, editorial director for the automotive Web site Edmunds.com, said he?s interested to see whether the Humble effort fares better than the Irish debacle. He said quality control is often an issue with limited production, ?but I?m always optimistic for people who want to make new and interesting cars.?

The newest version of the DeLorean will certainly be interesting and exclusive, Smith said, ?and for some people with means, that?s enough.?

Advertisement

[Liquifire 4/6]

I put over a thousand miles on the Bricklin this past weekend. My cousin who lives in St. Walburg, SK asked me if I'd consider coming up for their car show and I thought it sounded like a good road trip. I was hoping to find some interesting sleds along the way, but never happened upon any. On the way back, I unexpectedly found there was a car show in Saskatoon with somewhere around 900 cars, so I took that in too. Man, I was getting tired of people asking me where the flux capacitor was... or people coming up to it and saying "Doc Brown done created a time machine". Eight out of ten people think DeLorean and Back to the Future when they see the Bricklin. Having logged over 25000 miles on Bricklins, I've noticed a couple quirks about the cars. They are mobile bird killers. Honestly, I've probably hit over 40 birds in my travels with the Bricklins and I doubt I've hit more than three birds with all the other vehicles I've ever driven in my approx 2 million miles of driving experience. The birds just seem to come out of nowhere and dive right into the Brick. Even ones that appear to have flown past in front of you will often make an about turn and come right back at you. Most of them have been small birds, but I've taken out a raven with the left rear quarter as well as a full grown mallard duck with the headlight pod. Amazingly, none of them have inflicted any damage to the car. I'm guessing that something about the car's design makes a sound as it is travelling through the windstream which attracts the birds. The other thing that seems weird is that I'm beginning to think that the car is rather difficult to pick up on radar. Not that I do alot of serious speeding with it, but I do tend to push the envelope a wee bit....I've met many cops with it when going 10-15 mph over the limit and have yet to have one even give me a warning. Oh, and I've taken it up to precisely 88 mph a few times and I haven't ended up in the 1800's yet.

Pete