(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Michael McElhattan owns Crystal Lake’s DeLorean Midwest, one of the few shops in the country that specializes in working on DeLoreans. Over the years, he’s seen his fair share of the discontinued car in his shop. His latest find, though, was something special.
It started with a message to call back a man who said his 90-year-old uncle had an unmodified DeLorean — with less than 1,000 miles on the odometer — sitting in a barn about 35 miles west of Milwaukee. Shortly after, McElhattan made the trip to the owner’s 60-acre property.
“We finally pulled up to the barn where the DeLorean was,” he said. “There was a big, sliding barn door that was open. Sure enough, the DeLorean was back behind his lawnmower, an ATV and a pickup truck in the corner.”
McElhattan said the car was sitting on four flat tires and sinking into the gravel floor of the barn. The tread on those tires, though, was one of many signals that the odometer was accurate.
“I’ve seen quite a few DeLoreans,” he said. “I’ve seen many a mouse nest, many mouse droppings and remnants, but this is the first one I can ever remember seeing live mice running around in.”
It was a find he didn’t expect so close to home. Out of the 9,000 DeLoreans that were made, the car’s vehicle identification number suggested it was the 571st DeLorean ever produced.
McElhattan said it was a little odd that he hadn’t heard of the car before, given that he’s been fixing up DeLoreans for so long. He chalked that up to its owner never bringing it in for service.
Although shops specializing in DeLoreans are rare, for McElhattan’s kids, he said it’s just something their parents do for work.
“Kids got older, and they start talking to their friends about it,” he said. “They come over and they’re like, ‘Your mom and dad do what?’”
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