1981 DMCDeLorean Time Machine

About This Vehicle

Vehicle Overview

This 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 is not just a stainless gullwing with a movie-inspired body kit — it is a fully restored, highly detailed 'Back to the Future' Time Machine build with serious provenance behind it. The car was professionally restored and converted by someone involved with the restoration of the original screen-used Time Machine now displayed at the Petersen Museum, and it reportedly incorporates leftover and real-world components tied to that restoration. The result is a DeLorean that has the look, the details, and the presence that fans immediately recognize, but with the mechanical work already handled underneath.The DeLorean itself was restored from the frame up, with the frame stripped and restored before being reassembled with major mechanical updates throughout. The cooling system was upgraded with a new aluminum radiator, new rubber hoses, refinished aluminum pipes, a new water pump, and a stainless overflow bottle. The fuel system was also updated with a Delphi fuel pump and stainless injection lines, while the engine retains a mostly factory appearance and breathes through a Stage 2 exhaust system with headers and catalytic converters.The automatic transmission has been gone through with new seals, new cooler hoses, linkage bushings, and an upgraded governor shift-control module to help keep the shifts smooth and properly sorted. Suspension and brakes were also addressed the right way, including D-Europe shocks, correct-spec lowering springs, upgraded boxed control arms, sway bar and control arm bushings, new ball joints, Inconel trailing arm bolts, new wheel bearings, rebuilt calipers, stainless brake flex lines, and a new master cylinder. In other words, this is not just shiny for photos — the expensive stuff has already been handled.Cosmetically, the car has the correct gray interior, grooved hood, refinished bumpers/fascias, refinished carpets, new headliner, and reupholstered seats with correct headrest fitment. The wheels have been refinished in the proper light gray style and wear new Hankook Kinergy tires sized to match the screen-used look, with the original OEM spare also included. The HVAC system has been updated as well, including R134 A/C upgrades, a new condenser, new drier, and new evaporator core.Where this car really becomes something special is in the Time Machine conversion. The electronics are networked and functional, allowing date entry through the Time Circuits Display, with the systems communicating together for a time-travel event mode. It features a Flux Capacitor using real vintage 1960s glass HAM relay tubes and brass relay bases, correct resting and time-travel sequence sounds, movie music, LED 14-segment Time Circuit Displays, a TRW-style keypad, movie-style 1885 glitch mode, brightness and sound controls, a GPS-controlled digital speedometer, show/demo mode, and a detailed glovebox gauge cluster with Phaostron meters and a Simpson Roentgens meter.The exterior Time Machine hardware is equally impressive, using heavy-duty metal parts rather than cheap plastic props. Details include professionally TIG-welded metal vents, aluminum flux boxes, an aluminum wormhole emitter, aluminum Pesco cans, real ZERO aluminum deep-drawn enclosures, swaged Tyee green tubes reportedly left over from the original A-car restoration, metal Pac-Man parts, and a nuclear reactor core built around a Rolls-Royce jet engine Stage 2 turbine nozzle mounted on a 1963 Dodge Polara-style hubcap, just like the movie car. It also incorporates aircraft and military-inspired components such as a Cessna aircraft fuel pump, oil separators, Bell helicopter air intake hose, and F-16 fighter jet control linkages — the kind of details that make this car a conversation piece from every angle.The interior also includes authenticated autographed visors with COAs from major 'Back to the Future' cast members, including Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, James Tolkan, and Mary Steenburgen. For a collector, movie fan, or someone who simply wants one of the most recognizable cars ever built, this DeLorean delivers both the visual drama and the mechanical restoration to back it up.Key Highlights:1981 DeLorean DMC-12 restored as a 'Back to the Future' Time Machine tributeProfessionally restored and converted by a builder involved with the screen-used Time Machine restorationReportedly uses leftover components from the original A-car restoration projectFrame stripped and restoredCorrect gray interior and correct grooved hoodAutomatic transmission with updated seals, cooler hoses, linkage bushings, and upgraded governor moduleUpgraded cooling system with aluminum radiator, new hoses, new water pump, and stainless overflow bottleDelphi fuel pump and stainless injection linesStage 2 exhaust with headers and catalytic convertersUpdated suspension with D-Europe shocks, lowering springs, boxed control arms, bushings, ball joints, and Inconel TABsRebuilt braking system with rebuilt calipers, new master cylinder, and stainless brake flex linesRefinished light gray wheels with new screen-style Kinergy tiresFully functional networked Time Machine electronics with date input and event/show modesFlux Capacitor built with real vintage glass relay tubes and brass relay basesReal metal exterior Time Machine components, aircraft parts, and detailed movie-style hardwareAuthenticated autographed visors with COAs from Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, James Tolkan, and Mary SteenburgenThis is the kind of car that stops people in their tracks before they even know the details — and once they do, it becomes even more impressive. It has the iconic stainless DeLorean shape, the properly restored mechanical foundation, and a Time Machine conversion loaded with real-deal parts and thoughtful details. Cars like this don't come around often, especially with this level of presentation, functionality, and connection to the original movie-car restoration.