[DML] The Resurrection of Vixen (#5927), pt. 2

["Dave Stragand" <dave.stragand@xxxx>]

(continued)

I got called to L.A. on business rather suddenly this week, so I took
the opportunity to visit DeLorean Motor Center in Garden Grove. I felt
like a kid in a candy store! There were 3 D's out front, at least 10 in
the yard, and another 10 inside the building. Parts galore everywhere,
too. Don took 2 hours out of his busy schedule to show me around (I
arrived right at closing). Sadly, the "World's Fastest DeLorean" (Banks
twin-turbo Buick V6) was in there -- minus the front end! The new owner
had smashed up the car pretty badly. Don is bringing it back to life
though, slowly but surely.

I also bought a used Centerforce Dual-Friction clutch from him... in
nice shape. He threw in a new takeoff bearing, too, so that was a
plus. Coming home, I didn't want to put it in my suitcase as it was
heavy and dirty, so I put it in the back of my carry-on computer case.
Now going through airport security with that thing in my bag was
interesting. I never saw one of the x-ray guards have quite the same
expression as the lady that day. She asked me to "please open the bag
-- slowly. Very slowly, please".

Trying to explain a) what a DeLorean was, and b) why I would have a
clutch for one in my carry-on bag was an excruciating process, but
eventually I managed.

(Just for reference, for any of you contemplating doing the same... a
DeLorean clutch pressure plate and friction disk has the same radar
cross section as an anti-personnel mine. Might be best to check it
through normal baggage.)

But back to the car itself. I also managed to get all of the hard lines
and such run on top of the frame, underneath the body hump-tunnel. Due
to lack of space, I have the car "jacked up". That is to say, the body
is resting on top of 2x4 wedges on the shock towers in the front, with
the shock towers themselves resting on jack stands. The rear of the car
has the frame resting on a 2x4 on the floor, while the body is supported
at the rear jacking points. This makes for a tight, but workable "V"
from the rear.

I've also had some trouble with removing broken body mounting bolts. It
seems that 3 of the square nuts had broken the sheetmetal cages they
were in, thus rendering them impossible to remove. The previous owner
simply cut the bolts to allow the removal of the body. Not having
access to welding equipment, I simply bent the cages back into shape,
and used a 1/2" nut and bolt to apply pressure to the cage on either
side, then epoxy putty to secure the bolt in place. Not exactly pretty,
but you can't see there anyway, and the repair looks like it will be
more solid than the original. The cage now has support on both sides
fromthe mounting bracket, as well as the original welds on the cage.

The DeLorean Restoration WebCam is now functioning, albeit in my den. I
hope to be running the wiring down to the garage soon, so all of you can
follow the car's progress. I plan to use http://www.camarades.com for
this, as it allows a really nice 'moving' picture, rather than a
static-but-changes-every-5-minutes picture. As long as it doesn't kill
my cable modem, it should be fun. I'll post the URL when it's up.

That's about all I can hack writing right now. I'll keep you posted of
any new developments. Oh, by the way... What do I mean by "Vixen"?
That's my D's temporary name. I'm one of those people who always names
their vehicles, and Vixen just kinda struck me. The stainless steel
fox, you know? =)

-Dave Stragand
dave.stragand@xxxx
Pittsburgh
#5927