Originally Posted By: skippy
The only thing that happens when I go 88 mph is strange blue and red flashing lights appear in the mirror
. One gets used to the time travel jokes. My favorites are those who ask if the car can also travel forward in time, to which I reply: "Of course. We're doing it right now".
Back in that day Congress, in all its wisdom, mandated speedos stop at 85. My car tops out around 115. Ironically the video in the first post is of a Stage 2 engine which adds 70 HP and significantly improves the car's performance. A stock US emissions equipped Delorean puts down only 100 hp to the ground. With the auto tranny it takes about 10 seconds to go 0-60. As I said it's not a fast car.
There were a handful of cars built for the UK. Right hand drive they, along with three that were gold plated, are the rarest of Deloreans.
Yes, they were built in Ireland. Belfast. Lol, same place as the Titanic. About 8500 were built. An estimated 6000 remain worldwide, most in the USA.
The doors are mechanical. They open and close by hand and swing outward only 11 inches. Many owners, myself included, have added remote controlled door openers. All that's needed for the door to fully open is to unlatch it. There are pull straps for closing. Very little stretching required.
The most technologically advanced parts on the car are the two torsion bars that provide force needed to balance those 100 pound doors. Designed by Grumman Aircraft they were made using a complex process that involved cryogenic treatment. The result is a stainless steel bar that gets twisted around it's long axis nearly twice when the door is closed. There's a tremendous amount of energy in the bars and adjusting them is a tricky and somewhat dangerous process. They've also been known to break. The driver side one is another part that's near unobtainable, typically going for about $1200 used.
Really? I thought the US Spec car made 140, and the Euro spec car made 170, and the Stage II brought it back up to 170.
