1981 DeLorean...resto project
Discussion
Hi all, to my deep shame, it's been a few years since I was last on PH...
So, 2016, my DeLorean chucked it's toys out of the pram when it suffered the infamous block rot in the 'valley of death' and it started ejecting oil at some velocity from behind the water pump.
We decided that fitting another near 40yr old PRV6 was not an option, as the same could/would eventually happen again.
As we've also got a Renault Avantime V6, we thought about going the L7X ES9 route, and bought a tatty W reg Pug 406 Coupe as a donor. It became apparent, to engineer the Peugeot engine to fit the De would be an utter PITA and expensive, so we sold the Pug on and went back to the drawing board.
We then got chatting to a friend who was putting a Rover 3.5 V8 into his Defender and we were impressed at how compact the RV8 was, and after a lot of measuring decided it would fit easily.
As my De needs chassis repairs, we had some friends in the DOC-UK over one day, and separated the body from the frame. We located a 3.9 V8 from a 1994 Disco, and also picked up a custom bellhousing to mate the RV8 to the UN1 gearbox. We also got an Offenhauser manifold and Holley 4 barrel carb to replace the EFi setup.
We'll do other upgrades including power steering, electronic water pump & electronic air conditioning.
Sadly my husband suffered a leg injury 16 months ago (I have osteoarthritis so not much use anyway), so work on the car has stalled, but hopefully we'll have her on the road for the Eurofest (International DeLorean meet) meet in Belfast in 2026.
Hubby's De is almost ready to go back on the road after a similar length of layup, his has had all new brakes & some electrical upgrades.
So, 2016, my DeLorean chucked it's toys out of the pram when it suffered the infamous block rot in the 'valley of death' and it started ejecting oil at some velocity from behind the water pump.
We decided that fitting another near 40yr old PRV6 was not an option, as the same could/would eventually happen again.
As we've also got a Renault Avantime V6, we thought about going the L7X ES9 route, and bought a tatty W reg Pug 406 Coupe as a donor. It became apparent, to engineer the Peugeot engine to fit the De would be an utter PITA and expensive, so we sold the Pug on and went back to the drawing board.
We then got chatting to a friend who was putting a Rover 3.5 V8 into his Defender and we were impressed at how compact the RV8 was, and after a lot of measuring decided it would fit easily.
As my De needs chassis repairs, we had some friends in the DOC-UK over one day, and separated the body from the frame. We located a 3.9 V8 from a 1994 Disco, and also picked up a custom bellhousing to mate the RV8 to the UN1 gearbox. We also got an Offenhauser manifold and Holley 4 barrel carb to replace the EFi setup.
We'll do other upgrades including power steering, electronic water pump & electronic air conditioning.
Sadly my husband suffered a leg injury 16 months ago (I have osteoarthritis so not much use anyway), so work on the car has stalled, but hopefully we'll have her on the road for the Eurofest (International DeLorean meet) meet in Belfast in 2026.
Hubby's De is almost ready to go back on the road after a similar length of layup, his has had all new brakes & some electrical upgrades.
Not got many on my phone, as I cleared a load of stuff off.
However the V8 has been cleaned, it appears in good condition with no significant signs of wear.
Going to change the camshaft though, standard one is about £70, or a Kent Cam (fast road cam) is around the £250 mark.....
The gearbox is out, and we'll be fitting a new clutch. The bellhousing, which was a bargain at £250 is in a box in hubby's Man Cave.
Next job is to strip the suspension, etc, off the chassis, and flip the chassis over to get to the rusty bits under where the engine goes, on the trailing arms, and up the front where the fuel tank goes. However, for a 43yr old car, overall, its not that bad.
However the V8 has been cleaned, it appears in good condition with no significant signs of wear.
Going to change the camshaft though, standard one is about £70, or a Kent Cam (fast road cam) is around the £250 mark.....
The gearbox is out, and we'll be fitting a new clutch. The bellhousing, which was a bargain at £250 is in a box in hubby's Man Cave.
Next job is to strip the suspension, etc, off the chassis, and flip the chassis over to get to the rusty bits under where the engine goes, on the trailing arms, and up the front where the fuel tank goes. However, for a 43yr old car, overall, its not that bad.
Ah, this should be interesting.
I assume the bellhousing is available because of people using the V8 and UN1 combo in things like GT40 replicas?
How does it work with being rear rather than mid engined, is the gearbox used "upside down"? I've seen that done with Porsche gearboxes to be able to use them with a mid-engined design.
Are there a lot of "while you're in there" improvements that are worth doing? I seem to recall something about the rear trailing arm pivots/mounts being less than fantastic.
I assume the bellhousing is available because of people using the V8 and UN1 combo in things like GT40 replicas?
How does it work with being rear rather than mid engined, is the gearbox used "upside down"? I've seen that done with Porsche gearboxes to be able to use them with a mid-engined design.
Are there a lot of "while you're in there" improvements that are worth doing? I seem to recall something about the rear trailing arm pivots/mounts being less than fantastic.
InitialDave said:
Ah, this should be interesting.
I assume the bellhousing is available because of people using the V8 and UN1 combo in things like GT40 replicas?
How does it work with being rear rather than mid engined, is the gearbox used "upside down"? I've seen that done with Porsche gearboxes to be able to use them with a mid-engined design.
Are there a lot of "while you're in there" improvements that are worth doing? I seem to recall something about the rear trailing arm pivots/mounts being less than fantastic.
Spot on, the UN1 was the gearbox of choice for many building GT40 replicas.I assume the bellhousing is available because of people using the V8 and UN1 combo in things like GT40 replicas?
How does it work with being rear rather than mid engined, is the gearbox used "upside down"? I've seen that done with Porsche gearboxes to be able to use them with a mid-engined design.
Are there a lot of "while you're in there" improvements that are worth doing? I seem to recall something about the rear trailing arm pivots/mounts being less than fantastic.
IIRC, the final drive in the gearbox is flipped, to make it suitable for rear engine use, rather than being up front in a Renault 30.
A lot of people said "oh just put a *insert engine & gearbox here* in it", and we grew tired of pointing out there were very few suitable gearboxes as otherwise you'd have one forward gear and 5 reverse ones. A lot suggested a Porsche gearbox, however I don't have £6k lurking down the back of the sofa, and our friends 3.6 Porsche engine won't even fit in the engine bay.
I had new Iconel 410 Trailing Arm Bolts fitted in 2003, they will outlast the car tbh.
It's been a lengthy project, but health problems, building work & other projects have got in the way, but she'll get there eventually.
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