myth buster

Debunking the most common old wives’ tales

DELOREAN DMC-12

with controversy swirling around its strange evolution and troubled times, the rear-engined cruiser built in Northern ireland is a perfect maker of myths.

1Doors Jam closed after an accident

One urban myth that clings to the car – almost 9000 examples were built between 1980 and ’82 – states the gullwing doors would jam shut in an accident, trapping the occupants. We’ve yet to hear of this actually happening, although the doors can occasionally remain stubbornly closed if a linkage gets misaligned. Just in case those doors are still worrying you, just replace the gas struts every two years; the bits cost less than £100 and the task takes minutes.

2 Body panels can’t be cleaned

Anyone with clammy hands who touched one of these was likely to leave finger marks. The owners’ manual offered a simple solution: a gentle wipe-down with a little white spirit or a drop of petrol.

In fact, as DeLorean specialists will point out, the stainless steel has a grain to it, and if you use a stainless steel polish and work it in along that grain, anything gritty encountered actually adds to the sheen, while you’ll provide an extra layer of protection.

Wire wool-type pads should never be used – they wedge steel deposits, which turn to speckled rust! All body panels detach, so repairing dented metal is actually quite straightforward.

3 Delorean wasn’t Proven guilty

John Z DeLorean might have been arrested for conspiracy to obtain and sell cocaine in October 1982, but he was subsequently acquitted of those charges in August 1984. In later life, he was tried for fraud, but he was never convicted for drugs offences.