[DML] Re: Rebuilding fascias

[Ann & Ed Thompson <RappaRivaRat@xxxx>]

> Matthias wrote:
> Somebody asked if there are any fascia rebuilds out there. I guess that there 
> is a safety issue though. Imagine getting sued by that pedestrian who gets all the 
> fibreglass into his spine on a collision! 

"Spine"? I believe it would be quite a rarity that a pedestrian would be hit in the
spine by a DeLorean. Other body parts perhaps, but I doubt the spine.

I don't think there is a liability or safety issue here. Corvette aftermarket suppliers 
such as Eckler's in Titusville, Florida, along with a host of others, have been offering 
replacement rigid fiberglass "bumper covers" for Corvettes for years. These rigid
fiberglass "restoration" components are identical in appearance to far more expensive 
urethane "reaction injection molding" process, or R.I.M. for short, bumper covers. As an
aside, it is far easier to correctly paint the fiberglass reproductions than it is to
correctly paint the molded urethane. Certainly it would be far less expensive to
reproduce DeLorean fasciae in fiberglass than it would be in urethane. The one and only 
downside to the fiberglass reproductions is that they are, of course, unforgiving to a 
"little bump" on the "bumper". That's the tradeoff. 

Years ago I installed fiberglass reproduction "bumper covers" on my 1974 Corvette roadster
(the first year for the federally mandated both front-and-rear "no-damage crash at 5 MPH")
and haven't had a mishap since! Caveat! I would not recommend fiberglass fasciae for any
"daily driver" where the car is subjected to commercial parking lots or parallel parking
on the street.

I don't know if DeLorean used the same R.I.M. process for the DeLorean fasciae as GM did
through 1982, but guess where JZD was when the R.I.M. process was originally developed,
approved, and adopted by GM? 

Regards,
Ed Thompson (#6419 since 1982)
Midlothian, VA