A little hello....

[andyd]

Hello all,

I have recently undertaken the decision to stop overpaying the mortgage and put my wages into something more pleasing. My wife is, reluctantly, delighted...

So research started in ernest a month or so ago, and having lurked here for a while I thought I'd better say hi. I am watching what comes up, how often and how much, and I'm fairly confident that in a year I can put all spare cash I have in to buy a reasonably good example. (Scottish- cannot, will not, get a loan!! So I'm saving and waiting) Manual, MOT'd, in use, presentable (not too nice!), no other pre-requisites (yet!).

Me? I'm 32, a research scientist working at UCL in London, living in North London. Previous automotive experience is in British bikes (Nortons), a few seasons racing "supermonos" (big single-cylinder, GP250 chassis), and more recently bought a very late ('86) Reliant Scimitar- I had initially thought that as a first car a Delorean would be too expensive, too complicated, too unreliable etc. However, having had the Scimitar for a couple of years, most jobs are achievable (inc engines) and I have a tidy, quick(ish) usable motor. Only thing I dont trust is my welding and my painting. Like Deloreans they divide opinion, have a terrible reputation, but are actually pretty usable, well supported and (if you maintain them) reliable. Also, mine has a galv chassis, so that helps too...

I like simple handbuilt RWD V6's, with good handling, retro alloys, fibreglass floors, good looks, leather interior and rust free panels. Sound familiar??

Anyway, I hope to meet some of you, and pick some brains about the cars' foibles, what to look for, what to avoid. I have a few questions, and as a forum newbie is it better to chat offline than ask banal questions here?? I will also need some honest answers re. weak points etc and I know some clubs don't like discussing such "dirty laundry" on forums!

Cheers for now,

andy

[Guinney1971]

ayup Andy, welcome to the DOC-UK, we welcome all chat on here, be it Q&A's
or general banter, feel free to post away!!

If you're about in a couple of weeks, head on up to Brum for the big Classic
Car show at the NEC, we'll have a couple of cars on display for you to look at
and there will be plenty of us on hand to show you whats what with the cars.

If you cant make it, I'm sure we'll see you at an event in the new year, there's
always summat going on!

[andyd]

Thanks Claire,

Yeah, I think a trek up the M40 is probably in order!

Hope to see you then. Until then I will keep looking thru old posts. Can I ask, in general what are the most common "weak points" on the cars?

is. scimitars are front suspension (overworked) and rotten chassis. Silted up cooling systems due to lack of maintaince too. Same? Are the doors particularly troublesome? And what is generally not available or eye-wateringly expensive (ie window motors, etc?)

Andy

[Guinney1971]

hiya,

I guess one weak point of the car can be the electrics - as someone often says,
the wiring's fine, its the bits either end that are crap :lol:

In all seriousness tho, there are reliable modern replacements easily available
on both sides of the Atlantic for any weak electrical components, and we have
some excellent electronics experts in the club, including Richard H
and Martin Gutkowski (stunned monkey) is also very knowledgeable about
various aspects of the car.

Dont be afraid to dive in and get your hands dirty, and if you're ever stuck,
just yell and someone will always give you advice - and if you lay on mugs of
tea and bacon butties, then you could well get a raiding party to come down
and have a techy day on your car :wink:

[andyd]

Guinney1971 Wrote:hiya,

I guess one weak point of the car can be the electrics

Well, I'm kind of used to that with scimitars, earths are always a bit tricky, and the britsh parts bin raiding on them was usually done down to price...!

Guinney1971 Wrote:Dont be afraid to dive in and get your hands dirty,

Great, good to know. However diving in will be a reasonably long drawn out affair. Incidently, are most cars bought and sold thru the club/s, or similar contacts, or do many owners not join/ use internet resources? I just generally find you get better people and safer machinery via enthusiats and thus thru a club.

Finally (for tonight!) how many cars do you reckon there are in the UK (roughly). And am I right in thinking maybe one or two for sale a month??

cheers, info much appreciated!

andy

[Guinney1971]

Hiya,

AFAIK, DVLA know of 120-150 DeLorean's, however there are bound to be
more then that lurking in garages, private collections and museums, cars
that have either never been registered or have dropped of DVLA's radar.

This car http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/cla ... arno/62318 I think appeared
in an episode of Emmerdale Farm years ago. There is also a really nice car
which I believe is owned by a DOC-UK member in the Wirral - good price too.

If you're used to owning a Scimitar, a DeLorean will be a piece of cake - and
at least there's not paintwork to t-cut and polish on a DeLorean ! :wink: