The Villages - June 2018 - 54

Mike Hawks' 1981
Never

to Stop For Pictures in The Villages
story By Mark aNDErsoN | pHotos By roB WilkErsoN

or Mike Hawks and his 1981 DeLorean DMC12, it's all about "the power of love."
Originally purchased in 1989 with only
4,000 miles on the odometer, Hawks' DeLorean has since
been refurbished and updated with new and fully restored
parts.
Hawks, hailing from the Village of Briar Meadow, has
long been a collector of classic vehicles. Before moving to
The Villages, he maintained a garage full of cars he enjoyed
working on and then reselling after a few years.
In 1988, Hawks had a friend who collected Studebakers.
At an auction, the friend came across a 1981 DeLorean
with low mileage and placed a bid on a whim, thinking he
likely would be outbid.
"He really did not want to buy it but must have thought
he would be outbid," Hawks said. "But he was not (outbid)
and won the car. Not many people had ever even seen one
at that time."
Hawks helped his friend get the car running again,
since it previously was in storage and looked like it had not
been driven for a while.
Six months later, the friend contacted Hawks and said
he was looking to sell the DeLorean to raise funds for two
Studebakers he wanted. Even though he was not in the
market for a DeLorean, Hawks negotiated a price
for it and purchased it from his friend.
Over the next few years, Hawks
spent time and money restoring
the DeLorean to top condition in
the interest of making it a better
investment, including one bumperto-bumper restoration in 1996 to
make it like new.
"That was an investment of about
$16,000 which put me in a position where I
had to keep it," Hawks said. "I now had almost more in it
than it sold for new, and they still were not a well-known
car in public."

54

JUNE 2018

It turns heads everywhere you
go. I can't stop and put gas in it
without several people wanting to
take a picture or sit in it. The kids,
along with their parents, always
yell out 'Back to the Future!' or
'Marty McFly!' It's loads of fun.
- Mike Hawks

mar1koff/istock/thinkstock

Behind the Wheel



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - June 2018

Contents
The Villages - June 2018 - Cover1
The Villages - June 2018 - Contents
The Villages - June 2018 - 1
The Villages - June 2018 - 2
The Villages - June 2018 - 3
The Villages - June 2018 - 4
The Villages - June 2018 - 5
The Villages - June 2018 - 6
The Villages - June 2018 - 7
The Villages - June 2018 - 8
The Villages - June 2018 - 9
The Villages - June 2018 - 10
The Villages - June 2018 - 11
The Villages - June 2018 - 12
The Villages - June 2018 - 13
The Villages - June 2018 - 14
The Villages - June 2018 - 15
The Villages - June 2018 - 16
The Villages - June 2018 - 17
The Villages - June 2018 - 18
The Villages - June 2018 - 19
The Villages - June 2018 - 20
The Villages - June 2018 - 21
The Villages - June 2018 - 22
The Villages - June 2018 - 23
The Villages - June 2018 - 24
The Villages - June 2018 - 25
The Villages - June 2018 - 26
The Villages - June 2018 - 27
The Villages - June 2018 - 28
The Villages - June 2018 - 29
The Villages - June 2018 - 30
The Villages - June 2018 - 31
The Villages - June 2018 - 32
The Villages - June 2018 - 33
The Villages - June 2018 - 34
The Villages - June 2018 - 35
The Villages - June 2018 - 36
The Villages - June 2018 - 37
The Villages - June 2018 - 38
The Villages - June 2018 - 39
The Villages - June 2018 - 40
The Villages - June 2018 - 41
The Villages - June 2018 - 42
The Villages - June 2018 - 43
The Villages - June 2018 - 44
The Villages - June 2018 - 45
The Villages - June 2018 - 46
The Villages - June 2018 - 47
The Villages - June 2018 - 48
The Villages - June 2018 - 49
The Villages - June 2018 - 50
The Villages - June 2018 - 51
The Villages - June 2018 - 52
The Villages - June 2018 - 53
The Villages - June 2018 - 54
The Villages - June 2018 - Cover3
The Villages - June 2018 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/thevillages/TheVillages/ContinuingTheDream_Vol6
https://www.nxtbook.com/thevillages/TheVillages/ContinuingTheDream_Vol5
https://www.nxtbook.com/thevillages/TheVillages/ContinuingTheDream_Vol4
https://www.nxtbook.com/thevillages/TheVillages/DreamALittleDream-RRO
https://www.nxtbook.com/thevillages/TheVillages/ContinuingTheDream_Vol3
https://www.nxtbook.com/thevillages/TheVillages/ContinuingTheDream_Vol2
https://www.nxtbook.com/thevillages/TheVillages/ContinuingTheDream
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com