Hot Wheels-ish Delorean

[Joe Handley]

Ok, I’m getting this Polar Lights Delorean started too now. I wanted to get the time machine stuff removed and and the stance set with the Big and Little Pegasus Hella wheels. Still need to fill in all of the holes for the time machine parts that were to be clipped on as well as molded in place, rebuild the portion of the center stack I cut off, and if anybody has a suggestion on how to get rid of this plating on the body, I’m all ears since the Purple Pond only seems to have removed the matte or semi-gloss clear from the plating I haven’t ground through to remove the molded in external wires. I don’t want to finish filling in those holes in the body until that’s gone.

Here’s the box for one of the 2 kits I have.

Then here’s my mock up with the Big&Little Hellas from Pegasus.

Now how it sits now, after removing most of the molded in time machine stuff then modifying the wheel openings to better clear the tires, though there may be some slight tubbing in the chassis plate’s future.

Finally, here’s the semi assembled interior showing off all the holes I need to fill between what won’t be needed and what holes I created cutting molded in things off……..as well as drew a little blood in the process there……..

[4 Pulsars]

i like it!  the turbine wheels that come with the DMC are good, but an update was necessary.

have you watched the you tube guys, salvage to savage. their lead fabricator has built an

LS turbo DMC thats quite the beast. keep on with tastefull customizing

.

[bisc63]

Interesting project, and looking good already. The wheels work beautifully, and change the flavor of the car instantly.

[Joe Handley]

3 hours ago, 4 Pulsars said:

i like it!  the turbine wheels that come with the DMC are good, but an update was necessary.

have you watched the you tube guys, salvage to savage. their lead fabricator has built an

LS turbo DMC thats quite the beast. keep on with tastefull customizing

.

Thanks, and I did see that after watching their Tesla powered C10 build. There’s some stuff I wasn’t crazy about, but liked the direction. Think if I were going to build a Delorean and keep if ICE motivated, I’d consider a 3.6l Pentastar V-6 with some sort of better transaxle. Reason for that engine is that they’re light, compact enough to fit in a minivan engine bay, have all 3 exhaust runners Siamesed into a single port on each head that would make exhaust much easier to build, even with mufflers and cats in the equation, plus make good power with the non-Hybrid versions. My 200 and Dad’s Grand Caravan are both rated at 283hp on plain old 87 octane, and these engines take well to boost as well as corn fuel too!

[Joe Handley]

1 hour ago, bisc63 said:

Interesting project, and looking good already. The wheels work beautifully, and change the flavor of the car instantly.

Thanks, I was surprised how well they fit the car and how much of an attitude change they made for it to!

[rightrudder]

Cool project!! Looks great on those wheels. Definitely do an engine swap, or turbo/supercharger upgrade, as the anemic stock PRV V-6 could barely get it to 88 mph!!!

[Joe Handley]

39 minutes ago, rightrudder said:

Cool project!! Looks great on those wheels. Definitely do an engine swap, or turbo/supercharger upgrade, as the anemic stock PRV V-6 could barely get it to 88 mph!!!

Thanks! Not gonna be engine swapping it though, it’s a curbside with a manual shifter molded in the center console floor pan and an automatic transaxle  as part of the chassis plate???

[Oldcarfan27]

2 hours ago, Joe Handley said:

Think if I were going to build a Delorean and keep if ICE motivated, I’d consider a 3.6l Pentastar V-6 with some sort of better transaxle.

To be absolutely correct, a Delorean should be Pontiac powered!

[Joe Handley]

Here’s a few pics of my build compared to the kit in the box posted to show the difference.  This body is far better than the body I’m using for the conversion and would be good for making into the movie car, just need to do something about the severely warped chassis!

And here’s how warped that chassis is!

Edited February 25, 2022 by Joe Handley

[Joe Handley]

7 minutes ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

To be absolutely correct, a Delorean should be Pontiac powered!

I’d rather keep the weight light back there, though a 2.4l Twin Cam engine or a 3800SC would be options here…….even if one is an Olds engine and the other is a Buick engine.

[slusher]

Terrific start Joe, you have my interest in this build…

[Jantrix]

I've always thought that the Delorean had a great profile. I'll be following along.

[Joe Handley]

6 hours ago, slusher said:

Terrific start Joe, you have my interest in this build…

 

3 hours ago, Jantrix said:

I've always thought that the Delorean had a great profile. I'll be following along.

Thanks guys!

[Joe Handley]

I got some yellow can Easy Off to strip the chrome of this Delorean and all it’s done is waste time an money!  It’s been soaking in it for over 20 hours now.

 

I’m about ready to try bleach at this point!

[rightrudder]

Aargh! Not So Easy Off, apparently. I hope the bleach works!

[Joe Handley]

42 minutes ago, rightrudder said:

Aargh! Not So Easy Off, apparently. I hope the bleach works!

It’s supposed to work on paint and chrome, but this chrome seems to be automotive grade, there’s hints of copper where I cleaned up the release lines, so I’m hoping that the bleach might actually work for this!

[Oldmopars]

From the looks of things, you may be dealing with "real" chrome. It looks like the car was coated in a copper coat then it was electro-plated with real metal type chrome. I am not clear on how it is done, but this is what the plastic chromed parts of your car are like.

I have no suggestions on how to strip it off. When you figure it out, let us know.

[stitchdup]

2 hours ago, Joe Handley said:

It’s supposed to work on paint and chrome, but this chrome seems to be automotive grade, there’s hints of copper where I cleaned up the release lines, so I’m hoping that the bleach might actually work for this!

If the bleach doesn't work maybe white vinegar would work (might be slow as the aim is to corrode the chrome and copper away) or one of the more abrasive metal polishes could be used carefully to thin the coating down so it can be sanded off

[Joe Handley]

2 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

From the looks of things, you may be dealing with "real" chrome. It looks like the car was coated in a copper coat then it was electro-plated with real metal type chrome. I am not clear on how it is done, but this is what the plastic chromed parts of your car are like.

I have no suggestions on how to strip it off. When you figure it out, let us know.

That’s what I was thinking after seeing that copper layer  too, looks just like what I’ve seen on How It’s Made for chrome plastic auto parts. I am kinda baffled why they went this far on this kit, but don’t appear to have on other kits though.

[Joe Handley]

53 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

If the bleach doesn't work maybe white vinegar would work (might be slow as the aim is to corrode the chrome and copper away) or one of the more abrasive metal polishes could be used carefully to thin the coating down so it can be sanded off

I may to try that if the bleach doesn’t work, otherwise, it’s a lot of sanding since this is a surprisingly hard surface and I don’t want to get too aggressive with the sand paper.

[slusher]

5 hours ago, Joe Handley said:

It’s supposed to work on paint and chrome, but this chrome seems to be automotive grade, there’s hints of copper where I cleaned up the release lines, so I’m hoping that the bleach might actually work for this!

I never had good luck with bleach on normal kit chrome. I super clean or brake fluid doesn’t do it, then it must be real chrome.  Plated chain had to be striped with acid.

[Joe Handley]

1 hour ago, slusher said:

I never had good luck with bleach on normal kit chrome. I super clean or brake fluid doesn’t do it, then it must be real chrome.  Plated chain had to be striped with acid.

I’ve had bleach work in years past, I’m beginning to think that I’m going to need to just bare down with sand paper on this one though.

[Mr. Metallic]

Why completely remove the chrome? Why not simply scuff it and then prime? If you're worried about paint reacting with the chrome try your proposed paint process on a test area or piece of the sprue that has been chromed? You have to do bodywork to fill the extra holes in the body anyway, no?

[Joe Handley]

2 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

Why completely remove the chrome? Why not simply scuff it and then prime? If you're worried about paint reacting with the chrome try your proposed paint process on a test area or piece of the sprue that has been chromed? You have to do bodywork to fill the extra holes in the body anyway, no?

I want a uniform surface for the filler, cement/glue, primer, and paint to adhere to.  I'm planning on use Evergreen engineering shapes as well as sheet to fill in all the many, many odd shaped holes that were either part of the kit or created when I cut/ground/filed/carved/sanded time machine stuff off of it.  I can't test any painting procedures on the chrome since the body appears to be a different, better chrome than used on the rest of plated pieces in the kit, or any other Round 2 kit I've bought from any of the different brands offered by them.

[Joe Handley]

I’ve had no luck with the Easy Off, then had the body blow away yesterday, luckily I found it this morning though! I’m getting connection issues with where I’m at and can’t load the pics right now.