Screen Used BTTFIII Delorean is now online.

Got this from my friend Desi this morning. The restored BTTF Part III Delorean is now online. A good many members here all had a hand in the restoration of this car. It's taken a while, but she's now up in all her glory.

[FONT=Calibri]http://www.BTTF3delorean.com[/FONT]

Desi also sent over this press release for the restoration.

Congrats to all involved.

-Gary

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[FONT=Times, Times New Roman]Original Screen Used DeLorean Time Machine Used in Back to the Future III Brought Back From Extinction and Restored for Future Generations

There were several DeLorean cars used during the three Back to the Future movies, so where are they all? This is the story of one of the remaining screen used DeLorean Time Machines driven by Michael J. Fox in the movie.

San Jose, California – October 21, 2010 – Where are all the real DeLorean Time Machines that were used in the Back to the Future movies? Sadly, some of them no longer exist, and others are in need of extensive work. Of the seven cars used over the three movies, only three original cars are thought to still exist. One of those is in private hands and has been meticulously restored for future generations.

This particular car is one of two that were completely built for off road use. The DeLorean chassis was removed from the front and rear and replaced with high performance sand rail sections and suspension. The DeLorean engine and transaxle were replaced with a high performance VW engine and transaxle. The entire car had a custom roll cage built from the suspension up and into the interior.

After filming completed, the car sat on the backlot at Universal for about 11 years. In 2000, it was decided to put the car on display in the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles. The car was prepared by an auto customization shop for the display, however, the work performed did not do justice to this piece of cinema history.

In 2003, the car was acquired by ScreenUsed with a Certificate of Authenticity and a bill of sale for legal transfer of ownership from Universal Studios. Prior to this, it was abandoned outside, uncovered in the weather for many years on the backlot at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The gullwing doors were frozen shut, most likely due to use during the off-road scenes, which may have slightly twisted the understructure. In order for the car to be put on a trailer, it had to be dragged on. Once back in the shop, to start the initial restoration, one of the windows and inner door panels was removed, then the inside of the two door locks were drilled free and replaced.

Because of the terrible condition of the car, and the unprofessional handling of it by the customization shop after filming, ScreenUsed decided it would be best to do a complete ground up restoration. Typically, it is not preferred to restore screen used movie props in order to keep their original appearance as they were used, or whatever condition they ended up in after production. However, with this piece, it was in such a sad state, that it didn't resemble what it looked like on screen.

“The decision to do a full restoration was reached when thinking about a piece such as this and what impact it will have for future generations,” said Desi DosSantos, co-owner of ScreenUsed. “This car will at some time end up in a museum and be preserved for generations long after any of us are alive. For that reason, when someone walks up to see the car and asks "where's the Flux Capacitor" or "I want to see the Mr. Fusion", those items really need to be on the car.”

“Having the privilege to own and care for this piece of history has been an exciting undertaking for us,” said Jeff Castillo, co-owner of ScreenUsed. “Sharing it with the public after years of the restoration process is something we have looked forward to for a long time.”

To see all of the restoration details along with before and after pictures, visit the website at http://www.BTTF3delorean.com.

About ScreenUsed:

ScreenUsed was founded in 2003 by Desi DosSantos, a computer center automation specialist, and Jeff Castillo, a quality, custom home craftsman & fabricator. What began as a hobby for the pair, blossomed into a company now world renown as an industry leader in the field of original Film & Television production memorabilia sales (props, costumes, miniatures, special make-up effects artifacts, production artwork, rare documents, etc.). With a combined 34 years in the business of brokering historic Hollywood artifacts, ScreenUsed offers a wide range of special services to its clients, including research, preservation, exhibition, and to corporate clients specialized marketing, promotion & auction services. ScreenUsed maintains an in-house, museum-quality, plexiglass display case manufacturing facility that is well known for its high level of craftsmanship and display methodology. The company's established international network of collectors and entertainment industry sources is highly regarded by the field, museums and the media.

Contact:

Desi DosSantos, Co-Owner
ScreenUsed
408-268-1735
desi@screenused.com
http://www.ScreenUsed.com

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Wow Gary...That is just all KINDS of cool...

Thanks for posting that...

Jason

Awesome!!!!

I always wondered whether or not anybody had an original.

After reading the story on the website, I really can't believe what those did to that car, before these guys got it, and what kind of - very obvious - bull story the original "restorers" think they were told, or even passed on as being accurate. What they did when it was "restored" for that museum.. WOW. If I was part of the studio, i would've sued them for that. Unbelievable!!

Good to see passionate people putting an A+ effort into proper restoration projects like these!

I wonder if studios - today - realise the potential value of these props and try to keep more of them around or in good condition, or do they still think the same way as they've done for decades? Not a hard one to answer, I'm sure..

That's an amazing story. I'm glad to see it told in detail, and with so many pictures. Thanks to the folks at ScreenUsed for treating this piece of history with respect and restoring it so that future generations can appreciate it.

That thing is simply beautiful! I hope it goes to a good home.

That's great. I'm glad to see this survived and is looking great and ready for the future.

Wow, what a great site too. Thanks for the link and good luck!

Fantastic read, the best documented original movie car restoration I've ever read (and I've read quite a few and restored my own original VW from the Herbie films).

Un-doing Barris' "improvements" is a common theme of those I know restoring original Herbies and Knight Rider cars as well.

Fantastic job all around.

--Brian

Reading that just made my day.

nick-a-tron said:

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Reading that just made my day.

And mine!

I CAN NOT, repeat CAN NOT believe how this car was 'restored' (its humorous to note the inverted commas on Barris' own documentation).

Whats worse, the barris restoration, or the hoggle restoration?

(I sware the hoggle one haunts me!).

Wonderful job guys. Thanks you so much for doing this.

Weequay

Back when I was at Dreamworks (we were located right off Riverside) we had access to the Universal lot at all times and we would take carts up in the hills where the cars were parked - I remember Biff's car had pieces of the hover conversion sections sitting the back seat- and there was actual grass growing in the car. There were at least 4 Deloreans in and around the lot - in the parking lot on Barham there was one Delorean cut in half - the front sat there and there were still original parts inside - we opened it up a few times and messed with the time input thing - the flux capasitor was long gone - but those vertical lights were still there behind the driver's side seat. There was also a fiberglass Delorean up near the Ubu offices that was in flying mode (meaning the tires were positioned downward and there were small tires underneath). Wish I'd had the right mind to just take some of the stuff from the car - you could have, it was totally out in the open and nobody cared. A buddy of mine took some stuff off of one of the INGEN jeeps from Jurassic 2 and stuck it on his truck.

WOW, great read and a beautiful job done!!!

Really makes you think....the love we have for these props are just...used items to the movie studios. Once the movie is done they don't want to put money into this unless it makes them more money....which you can't really blame them for.

So rather than throw it out....give it to someone who will give it the attention it/they need.

Bob Burns and the Aliens collection is a great example....and now this can be added to it as well.

Once again - GREAT READ AND GREAT PROJECT!!!

Yes, thank you so much for sharing this. Really makes me feel happy that at least small parts of Hollywood history will be around for some time to come. I had no part in any of this. But it is part of our childhood memories. And I am happy to have learned of some of the back story as well. Very well done.

WOW! Great site indeed! Great pics, and story.
mike

the car looks awesome that was some good work

That's all kinds of awesome. The rest of Desi's collection is also amazing, including the original SoC fedora from Raiders.

It's great to see this car back to life from what it was when Barris had his hands on it. Nice work Desi!

Thanks for all of the compliments everyone, it is really appreciated!

Desi / Jeff

I haven't had so much fun reading a whole web site in a loooooooooong time !

Well done guys, hats off to you

One question, is it now also licenced to drive on the road too ?

Looks great!!

Really enjoyed going through that site.

So is the hood box really held on just by leather belts?

Yep, that's how it was held on in the movie (there are 5 straps total), in the desert scene you can really see it bouncing off the hood!

i saw some early concept art for the hood box online a while back. the original design was supposed to be a crude flux capacitor, with the gadgets forming the large Y-shape. it was such a cool design... i wonder why it was changed...

LOVE the restoration. i completely revert back to a geeked-out ten year old when i see videos of BTTF DMC replicas with the whole light/sound treatment. so cool!

i'll never forget how disappointed i was when i found out that real DMC doors don't make the noise from the films. the BTTF car had a KILLER sound design.