Filed under: Etc.
The ill effects of an overheating Flux Capacitor
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This is what happens when you don't get those 1.21 Jigowatts of power flowing cleanly. One unfortunate Delorean owner recently had a bit of a meltdown, but we don't think Doc Brown was anywhere in the immediate vicinity. An instant classic after its appearance in the "Back To The Future" movies, the Delorean was one of those "could have been" cars that captured a lot of people's imaginations. Among them is director Robert Zemeckis, who cast the Irish-built, French-powered, stainless-steel wonder in his films. The gullwing doors, naked stainless body and overall rakish shape promised so much more than the Renault V6 delivered, but the car still had quite a following.
The DeLorean still does have a following, as a matter of fact. Some people even use them as their daily drivers. This particular example was found near a pawn shop, and photographed for posterity. We see no evidence of a Flux Capacitor, so we can only guess that those modifications burned away during this sample's untimely demise. With nearly 130 years of wear and tear on it, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it might have had a few mechanical issues. It did manage to succeed in traveling from 1985 to 1955 and back again, with stops in 2015 and 1885 along the way, after all.
Thanks for the tip, aL!
[Source: Chalkline]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Troy 3:09PM (3/22/2007)
I had always assumed it was a 1.21 gigawatts, not jigowatts...?
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Viking 3:15PM (3/22/2007)
It is Giga watts (a Billion watts). Doc Brown had a speech impediment.
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DPC car videos 3:20PM (3/22/2007)
I just watched Delorean's documentary a few days ago and the man went through a lot to get this car to the public. Too bad he was short of cash and he had to do some illegal this.
http://www.dpccars.com
DPCcars
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Jace 3:59PM (3/22/2007)
Maybe this will help clear up the gigawatt/jigowatt debate.
http://www.deloreanmotorcar.com/ec/jigawatts.htm
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The Other Bob 4:37PM (3/22/2007)
I thought these things had Volvo engines...?
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jordan Merrick 5:43PM (3/22/2007)
actually, it's technically the correct way of pronouncing gigawatts if you say it like jigawatts - over the years it's been mispronounced so much that it's de facto now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux_capacitor#.22Jigawatt.22
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Spule 4 5:50PM (3/22/2007)
#5 Good point-
PSA, Renault (Eagle Premire in the US) and Volvo all used that motor, but the ones in the Delorean were to Volvo spec (including the wear prone cams), not Renault or Peugeot spec. Trust me, the shop where I worked 12 odd years ago had all three torn down at one time or another. The Peugeots did not have the cam problems as the Volvos for whatever reason, they were different cams, so maybe a different hardness spec?
Deloren fires...leaky (Bosch) fuel injection parts due to age was another problem I saw.
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Lithous 9:59PM (3/22/2007)
On a Clear Day You Can See a Burned Out DeLorean.
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Mike 1:14AM (3/23/2007)
Looks like it still has a few grand of clean body panels salvage...but seeing has it's all plastic under the stainless I'm guessing the frame is melted.
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Jason 3:43AM (3/23/2007)
Great Scott!
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Justin 8:32AM (3/23/2007)
That's one of the saddest things I've seen in a long time. Way sadder than the Enzo crash.
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BBR 1:47PM (3/28/2007)
It's back to the spoon and fork factory for you...
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