[DML] DeLorean and Bill Robertson Thoughts

[Martin Gutkowski <martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wasn't going to get involved in this, but following on from several 
replies, and several replies to those replies (each personally addressed 
by Bill), here goes...

I'd firstly like to acknowledge Louie's post praising Bill and his car. 
It was that post that got -me- thinking. Do I have a problem with Bill 
personally? No, we've never met. Do I have a problem with his modifying 
his car? Certainly not! I came to one simple conclusion: I have a 
problem with the way Bill constantly presents his 
modifications/upgrades/changes as "improvements" moreover accompanying 
the statements with constant criticism of the original vehicle.

Was the car flawed? Sure! No car isn't! But a newbie joining the list 
and reading Bill's posts might be forgiven for running away from the 
"dream" at 100mph!

Often, Bill proudly states how he has overcome an original design flaw, 
seemingly never stopping for one moment to wonder why it was done that 
way in the first place. Two piece headliners are much easier to install 
on a mass production line; the hose to the bottom of the blower motor is 
not a drain hose but a vent hose; the trailing arm bolts are like that 
because Lotus lifted the design straight out of one of their other cars; 
the radiator "bleed" hose is not meant as a one-stop-shop to bleed the 
entire system, but to prevent small bubbles accumulating in the 
radiator. And here's the biggie: K-Jet was required to allow fine 
metering of the fuel enabling the use of a catalytic converter. 
Naturally aspirated Alpines were all carb'd. The non-cat K-Jet B28E was 
within a few hp of the carb'd 2.8 in the Alpine GTA. Carb's are not 
"better" - they're just an open book to Bill. K-Jet (and EFI)  is 
evidently not, based on several absolute howlers (the cold start valve 
acts like a carb...?!)

As Marc pointed out some months back, it's not the constant praise of 
carb's that winds people up (well, him and me at least), but the way 
Bill responds to someone trying to fix their K-Jet system by saying 
they're better off binning the whole thing and going with carbs, rather 
than actually trying to help with the problem.

Bill recently wrote about oil viscosity... I read it and agreed with 
pretty much everything - until making some crack about how the PRV isn't 
a race engine and therefore treat it as a " balding and paunchy middle 
aged father would" (paraphrased). Why not just say it's an older engine, 
and doesn't benefit from modern "performance" oils...? after all, the 
same oil pump in the same block with the same oil passages happily keeps 
a 400+hp Venturi engine healthy.

I modify DeLoreans... I'm now offering a 2.5 turbo engine conversion, 
4-pot and vented brakes all round. I've been installing door launchers, 
better speakers, upgrading suspension components, altering aligment 
specs, better radiators, better headlights, better fuel hoses, better 
angle drives, better door seals... but I don't do it because the car was 
crap to start with, simply that we can do better now.

...which is, in a nutshell, probably why I think carbs are a bit of a 
waste of time. That said, all power to those who want to go that 
route... just please don't keep presenting it as an "improvement".

Martin </soapbox>
www.delorean.co.uk






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