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How Much Does It Cost To Make Your Own Back To The Future DeLorean DMC-12?
One of the beauties of today’s day and age is that if you have enough money you can pretty much buy what you want. Let’s take Back to the Future’s DeLorean DMC-12 for example, the iconic car is the budding time traveller’s dream vehicle and now you can have one for yourself.
It won’t allow you to travel through the fabric of time and space unfortunately but how much will it cost to have your very only DeLorean Time Machine?
First of all, you’ll need your base vehicle – of course, the DMC DeLorean. Nowadays in the United States am unmodified DeLorean will cost you anywhere between $20,000 for one in bad condition and around $50,000 for one in great condition. You’ll need to pick very carefully here as the quality of your time machine will depend heavily on the quality of your unmodified DeLorean. If you really want to be sure you can buy totally new and refurbished DeLorean’s for around $75,000.
For anyone wondering what is under the bonnet, you’ll find an aluminium V6 made by Renault, Peugeot and Volvo called the PRV-6. The PRV-6 uses a mechanical Boshe fuel injection system and sounds amazing when properly tuned. The DeLorean also comes in either an automatic as well as a 5-speed manual transmission.
So that is just the start, you’ve got your DeLorean and you’re already $50k down – so whats next? Well now you need to convert your DeLorean into the time machine it deserves to be. That is where Bob’s Prop Shop comes in.. the Texas-based dealer can convert the right cars into your favourite film vehicle and the cost? It’ll set you back about another $60,000.
Whether its Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers, Knight Rider, The A-Team and of course Back to the Future – Bob does it all. You can take a further look at his DeLorean on his YouTube channel:
It’s an impressive offering, but how can you be sure that your beloved DeLorean will be in good hands? Luckily Bob has a very impressive resume and has everything covered:
“I started my quest to do this project in 2004. I made multiple trips to Universal Studios Hollywood to visit the real screen used DeLorean Time Machine. I used my connections in the entertainment industry to gain access to the car where I obtained detailed photos and measurements of every part of the car. I also developed a professional relationship with Kevin Pike who was the special effects supervisor that built the cars for the films who helped me with information and build techniques. I worked with peers and fans to gather information, parts sources and schematics so that we could build exacting replicas of the Time Machine.”
So with all that said and done, we’re happy to let Bob crack on with our conversion. It’s a pretty hefty job for Bob and his team and there is an extensive list of what the standard conversion contains, including:
- Aluminium rear bulkhead
- Flux Capacitor
- Spectrum Analyzer display
- Torin Blower (to the left of the flux)
- High Voltage selector (behind passenger seat)
- Misc. heat sinks and other props on bulkhead
- Time Circuits (programmable)
- Plutonium Gauges
- TFC Drive Switch
- Upper Console
- Speedo
- Internal wire harnesses
- Aluminium rear window cover
- Aluminium engine deck cover
- Aluminium rear vent system
- Aluminium riser for Mr.Fusion
- Mr. Fusion
- Misc. hoses from vents
- Dual oil separators with cross over tube and hoses
- Green tubes on right side
- (2) Rear Pontoon Box enclosures
- (2) large blue capacitors
- Aluminum cooling grid
- (3) large red capacitors
- (3) large pontiometers
- (3) mounted elbow connectors
- (2) front fender boxes
- (2) top flux boxes
- (2 rear flux boxes with mounting brackets
- Worm hole emitter and mount (on top of car)
- (6) Cable connections
- Flux bands and mesh with brackets
- 2015 License plate
Quite a lot of kit to go in right? Well yes, but you can also get a number of optional extras for your time machines including exterior lighting on the bands, a remote-controlled fog machine, sound effects and engine/mechanical upgrades.
So how long will it take before your DeLorean is the time machine that you’ve always dreamt of? Not too long to be honest, with Bob explaining it often takes less than a month:
Our experienced team can do the conversion in less than a month. We have completed cars for rush jobs in a little as 10 days. Custom options and other factors such as ordering parts from over seas can add to the build time.
It looks like you can get your hands on your time machine pretty swiftly by the looks of it, but how much does one of these cost? Well assuming you paid around $50,000 for your DeLorean and $60,000 for your Time Machine conversion, you’re currently footing the bill to the tune of $110,000. Assuming you’re going for few optional extras on top you can assume you’ll need $115-120,000 knocking around.
Best get saving those coins then right? It’s an expensive project for sure, but when it comes to bringing your favourite film car to life – you’re going to want it done right.
