5
 
 
 
3:02 PM, Monday, April 7th, 2014:
 
Never in my life... absolutely exhausted. This could've been 5 entries and I can't even see straight 'cause I have slept 45 minutes in 2 days. What the hell just happened?
 
So I had asked Danny some questions Saturday night and hadn't heard back from him all day Sunday. I know it's Sunday, people take a day off - but in this 24 hour world, a simple 20 second response would've been awesome. I'm spending, I believe the technical term would be, a FUCKTON of money. He's charging $45,000 for the restoration alone and the only decent DeLorean I can find around here is $30,000? It kinda spooked me and I started looking around. I had seen a guy in Texas who did it, but it's in Texas. Half the "fun" of this was having it done here so I could watch it and chronicle it for the next 6 months...
 
...but for the money? It looked like I may be able to save a bit - so I wrote to him and asked some of the same questions I asked Danny.
 
The man wrote back pages. Granted, some of it was probably cut and paste, but he replied specifically to my questions, knew Danny personally (had nothing but good things to say) explained he simply had a lower overhead and a full crew at his shop (Danny does it by himself) and can turn it around in... you ready for this? 4 weeks.
 
Ahem.
 
He said call anytime, he'd be up until 4am Central time, it was 10pm my time and I knew I wasn't sleeping after that email. So I called.
 
At 4am we finally stopped talking. Yes, 6 hours later. 4 of it on the phone, 2 of it online trading videos, looking at Deloreans and then I couldn't sleep so I stayed up longer watching more videos. It was feasible I could pull this off for $55k. Everything, Delorean included. Maybe even less. I could use some of the money I saved on more props, etc. and I explained to him my situation: I don't want to have to sell this car. I made a promise to Karen and WILL absolutely sell it if we can't seem to make money off it, but if I get this car low enough? And now that I'm gonna have it an entire 6 MONTHS early? I think I can do it. If I'm past getting half my money back by fall 2015? Uhm, I think you just keep it. 'Cause when the hell is that not gonna be a hot car for shows, etc.? When are people not gonna want to pay $10 for a picture in it?
 
Yes, the market will be flooded - but if I can make the majority back at the peak? I could take 5 years to make the rest back... who cares? In the meantime? All the other stuff I talked about in the last entry: how it helps get GolfKon on the air. This can't and won't lose. It couldn't and wouldn't lose at $20k more... but now? Whew. That just gave me one helluva bump. My personal line in my head by fall 2015 was $35k. I now feel comfortable hanging onto it if I make $25-$30k. That will mean we're only out $25k AND WE HAVE THE CAR. And I reiterate, again, at what point is that car not gonna blow people away? If it's this big 29 years later... it's an icon. The only caveat here is - a LOT of people are gonna do this next year. Right now, there are probably 25 legitimate replicas out there. Sure some people do it themselves and paint fucking water bottles and it can trick some people but the ones that make it in car shows? 25. In my area? 2 or 3. However a lot of those are celebrity collectors that aren't gonna be hustlin' these things at shows to make $10 a picture. Case in point?
 
The guy in Texas (Bob) just finished Tony Parker's. Yup, the point-guard. What the serious hell. In fact, here's Tony's Car and I'm gonna straight up pimp Bob's work because it's unbelievably exact.
 
 
There are other shops that do more, but it's generic mod stuff. Disco lights, blue blue blue everywhere and it is indeed eye-catching... but it's not the Time Machine. It's as if Biff had pimped out the Time Machine. And honestly?  I can do all that myself if I so desire down the road - what I can't do, and what most people can't do, is create the pieces as perfectly as a licensesd Universal prop guy can. He got ahold of the original pieces and made casts of them. He chips paint the right way to make it look authentic. He uses the same dirty screws that Doc Brown used because it's supposed to look REAL. I appreciate those details a bunch.
 
He can also deliver this to me BEFORE Memorial Day and I never have to deal with Paul Nigh. Listen brother, if you're reading this, I know your heart's in the right place but when someone asks for directions to your place and you just say start driving and then call? That's a problem. If out of the blue you tell me "Im a mentalist and can blow your mind" when we're talking about a $100,000 transaction? That's not good. When you tell me you'll sell me the car now, but you need it for like 3 gigs until October? That's maddening. This is a $100,000 purchase, I should be the eccentric YOU have to deal with to get MY money, not the other way around. Which is why I moved on to Danny... and now we're here.
 
And nowwwwwwww? As of 5:30pm? Less than 24 hours later? It is done. The deposit is down, I am IN. I am absolutely stunned. We also may have found a DeLorean around $15k (though probably needs $5k worth of work) that I'm gonna go pay cash for tomorrow. If I pull that off, with the work it will need plus the conversion - I can pull the whole thing off for $55k (plus shipping the car there and back which adds around $2k). What an amazing adventure this is. Karen is thrillllllllled because she was ready to do this when we were gonna be trying to get Paul's for $80-$85k. Then she was happy we could get it for $75k and now? I did my research man. I worked my butt off and I now get to bug the fuck out of Bob to make him do something with THIS car he's never done before. We both have healthy egos and we're gonna have a fun ride for a couple weeks arguing over what is and isn't possible. ;-)
 
It also means I get to check this everyday and watch my time machine being built:
 
 
And hell I guess you can too if you're reading this in real-time. :-) Oh and I have to build that fucking garage which in actuality? Is a freaking showroom for the time machine and it will look as if it's ON the course. Can't wait to show off my design.
 
Tony Parker and then Adam Kontras. That's awesome. These are the little things I'm going to enjoy. That's where the fun of this is. Being in company I have no business being in... but believe me - I have one goal and one goal only. To make Karen's money back and hustle my ASSSSSSSS off for the next 18 months. And on my 40th birthday? I want my present to be that I made enough to keep this in the family.
 
Now how on earth has my life become THIS? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
 
Adam