I Like Stainless Steel. Duh.

I loves the stainless steel. I guess you could say I collect it. After all, it's arguably the most recognizable feature of my favourite car, the DeLorean. Many people would argue the gullwing doors top the list of notable features. For me, it's a tough call.

Regardless, it was my love of stainless steel that first lead Suz and I to DCS in Lexington, Kentucky this June. And my love for stainless steel which, when the show ended, lured us west to St. Louis, Missouri.

The Gateway Arch is a magnificent stainless monument towering over the Mississippi. I had been excited to visit it for a long time. When I encountered all 630 feet of it in person I was stunned even further. Each stainless panel has its own unique characteristics. Reflection of light, colour, and even the names and graffiti scratched into the surfaces.

I couldn't get enough. And so I sat there, day after day taking photos, often alone because my poor wife couldn't handle my obsession. I snapped every angle I could possibly imagine, and a few I couldn't.

On a few occasions I was able to convince Suz to take my picture with the arch. The arch didn't mind. It enjoys its celebrity. You will notice I'm wearing the same blue shirt as featured in my recent post, The Rare DeLorean Spare. The shirt is not available for purchase, but inquiries are welcome.

What's more amazing is how modern the Arch is. Futuristic even. Completed in 1965 from plans developed in 1947 and utterly full of mathematics, the Arch makes the CN Tower look like a bulky pile of concrete crap. Which says a lot, because the CN Tower is waaaaaay neat-o.

Underground, I took more pictures, shocked at the magnitude of the vast museum, memorial, shops, theatre and trams. What was I expecting? A little elevator in the side of one of the legs? Embarrassingly, yes.

Looking back at my pictures, I know I didn't take enough. I know I'll go back one day. Maybe I'll have to go alone. Maybe it's better that I do. Did I tell you that I love stainless steel? Don't act like you didn't know.

The Rare DeLorean Spare

While I've always had a curiosity to explore, I've never found anything valuable. However, that may have just changed. In preparing my DeLorean for DCS 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky, I discovered something that was previously unknown to, quite possibly, the entire DeLorean community.

I was skeptical at first. After all, thousands of DeLorean enthusiasts have literally pored over every scrap of paper that ever left the factory, and cars have been dissected and each part scrutinized. It is quite possibly the most documented car in the world.

So, I asked around. Other DeLorean owners checked their spare tires. Even people who didn't own one looked through old DMC documents. In the end every single response was the same. Nobody had ever seen a spare wheel like mine.

With my curiosity piqued, I brought my spare to Lexington Kentucky so the experts could examine the wheel, and possibly give me an answer. The first to check out the wheel was a super-jolly ex-DMC employee named Neal Barlcay. He had never seen the wheel, and suggested I speak to Nick Sutton, ex-DMC Parts Purchasing Manager. Unfortunately, the brilliant Nick Sutton was also baffled. He recalled only purchasing one wheel, the wheel everyone else has - a blank one.

Nick asked Jeff Synor, ex-DMC Technical Director (POG) to have a look. People gathered around my unusual spare and read the stamping aloud - "For use on DMC-12000 series cars only". There was lots of speculation. Was it a prototype wheel? Was it intended for the Pilot cars only? Nobody knew. Nick offered to buy my bizarrity. I laughed nervously. Was he serious? Did I really have a one-of-a-kind wheel?

Curious, someone checked a photo they'd taken of a pile of spares days earlier in their shop. Among them, shockingly, was one identical to mine. But that still doesn't answer any questions and Mr. Sutton, owner of a library of DeLorean Motor Company logs, promised to look through them. He apparently has every documentation of any stampings and tooling equipment used by DMC.

With any luck I may have an answer when I see Nick again at DCS 2012 in Orlando, Florida. And with any really great luck, my wheel will be one of only a very small handful stamped prematurely, before the company decided what the car would be named.

If you own a DeLorean and have a spare like this, please send me your VIN# and build date. I'll compile a list and give it to Nick and we'll solve this mystery!