Alternator belt adjustment
The worrying 'battery not charging' light blinked on last weekend and it took some scrambling to debug the issue. Many thanks to the previous owner for continuing to be very patient with all my questions. I know the belt drives the water pump as well, but was continuing to run cool. A little prodding revealed the belt was tight, but not tight enough to spin the small pulley of the new alternator.
Loosened the alternator, and swung it further out on the custom adjustment arm built to hold it on the frame. Also added a new SS bolt long enough to put on a lock washer and nut out the other side of the alternator bracket. For insurance, I added a bolt on the mounting arm immediately below to keep it from vibrating down the arm like what I believe happened this time.
Anette's dad was a huge help as well, and thank to him, I have a big-ass pry bar to make the adjustment myself if I need too again.
Labels: Electrical
Stainless steel bumper letter insets
While most people recognize the Delorean, they want to be sure of it and try to read the read bumper name emboss. Tailgating all the while. These stainless steel letters look great, and improve visibility of the name, which could buy me a couple feet. Safety!

P.s Ignore the oil drips, those will soon be taken care of.
Labels: Exterior
Black trim, grill and bumper repaint. (Part 1)
Couldn't import the preffered SEM Trim Black, but did some research on Duplicolor's Trim Black and it seems like a good paint. Spent a few hours this weekend prepping the car and laying down seven layers on each area for a professional and dripless finish. 
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I hadn't painted a vehicle before, but after a boatload of reading about technique and prep, it was a really straightforward job. Over the next few days I'll get to the rest of the trim and lower front bumper.

Labels: Exterior
Driver side door strut replacement
A limp door is a sad door, especially in the Canadian Arctic. It took a ramp up in tools from my hand, to a screwdriver, to a big ass hammer to convince the old strut to get the hell out of there, but eventually the job was done.
Popped in the new strut, kept the old one as a spare and now the door flies open and bounces at the top once. Perfect.
Labels: Structural
Window tint removal
While I enjoy being 20% cooler than everyone else, aftermarket tint is the sole item which is keeping me from passing my draconion out-of-province crappy tire inspection.
Anette and I spent a notable wednesday night carefully removing the previous owner's scratched and battered tint. Thankfully the glue and tint came off under the sweat of a couple hours labour. 
Labels: Interior
Replaced driverside door seals
While the driverside door seals weren't in terrible shape, they were beginning to crumble. With cold, wet weather approaching, I wanted to take a stab at making sure no excess water was allowed to enter into the car. The passenger seals had already been replaced so I just reseated them to ensure a tight fit.
Stripped off the old outer seals, used a putty knife to scrape the old adhesive off down to the bare stainless and then re-applied with some 3M window seal adhesive. I'll be following up with a bead of black silicone caulking afterwards.
Labels: Exterior
Car Imported, and driven back from United States
Index of future restoration projects
And YO, the Delorean was deliverith, and the children sang.
the steel was pure, and good and the women danced,
projects were listed and details detailed, and the men were ready.
Cosmetic Interior:
Repaint Trunk Interior
Replace A beam trim
Replace Dashboard
Replace Dashboard kneepad
Driver/Passenger side seat leather refinish(Vendor) (Info)
Cracked speedometer binnacle (Vendor?) (Info, Info, Info)
Passenger Side knee cushion recover (Vendor) (Info, Info Info)
Stick Shift Knob Replacement (Vendor)
Driver side arm brace replacement
Cosmetic Exterior:
Front/Rear Fascia repainting (Vendor) (Info, Info, Info, Info, Info)
Repaint Louvre and engine cover (Vendor) (Info, Info )
All Black trim painted with SEM Trim Black (Vendor) (Info, Info)
Regrain stainless steel panels
Repair rear quarter panels
Replace turning light tint (Vendor) (Info)
Sand Down and repaint black rear trim
Structural:
Inspect frame, treat any rust with POR15 (Vendor) (Info, Info, Info)
Replace Driverside door gas strut with lifetime warrenty one (Info)
Become familiar with underbody and study parts/shop manuals (Info)
Repair trunk connection
Electrical:
Install replacement window switches (Vendor)
Mechanical:
Replace AC Compressor Clutch (Info, Info, Info)
Diagnose small coolant leak (Info)
Replace plastic coolant bottle for stainless (Vendor) (Info, Info)
Labels: Misc
The hunt for a stainless steel illusion.
The Delorean has become more than a vehicle for most people.
The eyes of owners glint as they talk madly about WolfHead grinder wheels, cryogenically created torsion bars, lament it's woeful engine power and group together as one of the closest knit communities you can find outside religion. Random people on the street stop and stare, as they see more than a car, but a movie, a time in their lives, a symbol that summed up a decade in ways both good and bad.
Life lists are often filled with goals and dreams we set before ourselves. Sometimes noble, othertimes banal or stupid, and occasionally outright bizarre. Regardless of the intent or end result, the journey of pursuing any goal, and achieving it is what pushes us forward to achieve the others.
This blog documents the achievement of a goal on my lifelist. In many ways it represents the hard work and sacrifice of achieving the goals prior, which at one point stretched far into the distance. A hunt for a Delorean has begun, and the restoration, use and stories of the journey that follows are what will fill this blog.
Labels: Misc







