Deloreon

[Pulsarbebb]

Just went to a scrap yard near whitchurch to look for a handbrake for my trailer (with no luck), and as I was walking out the yard there was a Delorean amongst all the other right off cars, and most off the panels had been ripped off which where fibreglass, such a shame to see but what if I ever get bored then maybe just maybe

 

[pedrobedro]

Deloreans were stainless steel bodied not fibreglass. Lotus Eclat used fibreglass and look similar but didn't have gullwing doors or possibly an old Lotus Europa with the breadvan sides.

 

[Pulsarbebb]

they had a fibreglass underbody to which non structural stainless steel panels where fixed

 

[Normsthename]

My brother had a Delorean, he is mad about them since seeing Back to the Future as a kid!
I bet the scrapyard ripped all the stainless panels off and weighed them in

Andy

 

[Pulsarbebb]

well as I said u could se fibreglass ripped near the underneath of it no doors on it, bt it was surrounded by dozens of cars so I couldn't see all of it

 

[pedrobedro]

You can buy all the bits here to fix it. It would cost a fortune though.

 

[Pulsarbebb]

I wouldn't have it bare stainless steel, perhaps a midnight blue or purple

 

[astro_al]

Did you ask them how much???

Al.

 

[Normsthename]

Always makes me smile when they talk about the Delorean lasting a lifetime because it wouldn't rust.
That was until they fitted it out with a Steel Chassis that the famous Colin Chapman designed because the original design didn't work

Andy

 

[brightspark]

Always makes me smile when they talk about the Delorean lasting a lifetime because it wouldn't rust.
That was until they fitted it out with a Steel Chassis that the famous Colin Chapman designed because the original design didn't work lol chapman designed the lotus 7 a brilliant car caterham cars took lotus over the new management engineers had a meeting to re design it and re launch it after a week hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm hum harrrrrrr errrr theres nothing we can add to it or improve just re badge it and re launch its now the caterham 7 . westfield kitcars brought one out copying it needles to say a few alterations had to be made the car is still a current winner the only alterations being the engines and tires

 

[Pulsarbebb]

no i didin't it was totally crushed up cars piled on top

 

[tigler]

Scrap yard is the best place for it !! Those things are utter junk. And the same applies to every Lotus after the original Elan.

 

[piman]

Hello all,

personally I could never understand why John Delorean went for brushed stainless over fibreglass, it must have weighed a lot and be very difficult to do minor repairs. But then the Americans were always big on the stuff that baffles brains.

Alec

 

[tigler]

Was for the unique selling point of corrosion resistance, also they saved the cost of painting a body shell which is considerable.

 

[piman]

Hello Tigler,

as was pointed out earlier, a mild steel chassis so the corrosion resistance is not valid, and painting a glass fibre body would be cheaper than the cladding, and of course the glass fibre is not a corrosion issue.

JD should have stuck to selling cars for GM, albeit at a very high position within the corporation.

Alec

 

[breezer]

Maybe he was off his head on coke?

Why not make it out of alloy?

 

[tigler]

Hello Tigler,

as was pointed out earlier, a mild steel chassis so the corrosion resistance is not valid, and painting a glass fibre body would be cheaper than the cladding, and of course the glass fibre is not a corrosion issue.

JD should have stuck to selling cars for GM, albeit at a very high position within the corporation.

Alec

I should have answered in more detail.
The corrosion resistance of the stainless body USP was more of a marketing ploy that would convince the average customer than a real feature.
Not having to paint the body was a big saving, not only on materials but production time and plant. GRP bodies are very labour intensive to produce and just not conducive to mass production compared with metal panel pressing.
All slightly academic though, the whole car was a joke !!

 

[tigler]

Maybe he was off his head on coke?

Why not make it out of alloy?

Why bother making it full stop !!

 

[Shox Dr]

I once saw one in Appleyards in Leeds. There was a barrier around to stop people touching it. As the finger prints stained the SS. ISTR I was in my teens at the time of production, and din't take much notice as you do when a teen. But I do seem to remember there was a lot of Government back handers going on at the time. And even then everyone was saying it was a pile of...

 

[piman]

Hello Dr.,

eighty million pounds, of government funding for the Northern Ireland factory IIRC.

Alec