Re: [DML] REBUILD OF STEERING RACK

[Martin Gutkowski <martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So, Bill, what car, in your estimation, was actually "cutting edge" at 
the time and remains respected today?

The DeLorean was built with easily interchangeable panels so in the 
event of a dink, you could replace it. It didn't require paint, and the 
panels don't rust. Many years on the Smart car is considered innovative 
for this very reason (plastic panels, screwed on with self-tappers, FWIW!)

How many other 1981 cars suffer rust as rarely as a DeLorean? I do know 
know of another epoxy-dipped chassis (anyone?)

We're not talking "cutting edge technology" but intelligent design. 
Gullwings have all the advantages we know and love - it's not purely a 
styling cue (oh, and the production line for the door sused the first 
computer controlled spot-welding robots, IIRC). How many 1981 cars can 
you get into today and not get a huge nostalgia hit from the awful 
interior, early electronic gauges etc?

Having had some experience of older French cars, specifically Alpine, I 
LOVE the DeLorean's electrical system. I could scream for a detailed, 
easy-to-read wiring diagram with everything colour coded and very few 
clashes. Compare that to the GTA where everyone jokes that they must 
have got a deal on a bulk-buy of yellow wire (not to be confused with 
white wires that turn yellow after 10 years, or indeed the yellow wires 
with the white stripe that rubs off....

For all your moaning about the angle drive, I know you'd love the 
unreliable trip counter/electronic speedo/fuel sending system used on 
the GTA

Martin


content22207 wrote:
> Actually it's pretty pedestrian 1970's technology. The engine dates to the late 1960's. K-Jet was introduced in 1975. Lotus has been using backbone frames since the early 1960's. The list goes on: standard brakes, standard steering rack (albeit filled with oil rather than grease), standard headlights, etc. Even our substandard Lucas components were off the shelf.
>
> A plausible argument can be made that VARI was cutting edge. Even Lotus wasn't using it yet in 1981. 
>
> Torsion bars are not cutting edge -- Volkswagen had been using them in its suspensions since the 1930s. 
>
> Gull wing doors are a styling cue, not technology.
>
> That is why I smile to myself every time I buy gas and somebody off the street comments that DeLorean was "ahead of its time." If they only knew....
>
> Bill Robertson
> #5939
>   



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