Re: [DMCForum] Engine swaps / upgrades

[Ryan Wright <ryanpwright@xxxxxxxxx>]

Chris:

> So after my starting troubles, I bought the book "Bosch Fuel Injection and Engine
> Management" by Charles Probst (ISBN 0837603005).

I'll check that out. Thank you.

Joe:

> But to each his own I guess. You'll be better off financially &
> mentally learning how K-jetronic works.

Financially - absolutely. I understand that. Mentally? I don't know.
Driving a DeLorean with the acceleration of a Lamborghini could really
improve one's mental status. ;-)

Marc:

> Considering I have been "working on" my swap since
> 2001, I can tell you there is not a whole heck of a
> lot out there for a DIYer looking to do a swap on a
> DMC.

That's what I'm finding. See, swaps in a Fiero are a fairly common
thing. You can buy complete kits for various engine types and swap
things out in a weekend if you're good. I realized the DeLorean would
NOT be this easy, but I also overestimated how many swaps have been
done. I figured I could find several Northstars, at least, along with
some basic parts lists and info on solving common problems.

> seen.  I did not look that hard though, because for my
> own swap I ruled out using a V8.  The NorthStar swap
> was a turn-key solution being sold by a guy out in
> Colorado (I think), so most of what he did was not
> published at all.  You may know the guy, most of he
> work was on Fiero's.  He seems to be out of business
> now.

"V8 Archie" (http://www.v8archie.com/) is the most popular Fiero swap
setup from the research I did.

Question: Why did you rule out a V8?

> One of the goals of my project has always been to make
> it easy for others to copy.  Frankly, being copied is
> the best compliment someone can give.  :)

Agreed!

> Sounds like you underestimate your ability! Selecting
> the parts only requires you to set your goals (and
> limits), and then spend LOTS of time researching parts
> that will fit your needs.  The research will help you
> determine what works with what.

True. I suppose I could pull it off. It would require a lot of
research, you're right. I'm not familiar with all of the various
engines & transmissions available, so I can't just pick out of my
head, "Oh, well, x might mate with y, and - actually, it would be
better to use z because, ...". It would be a long process. :)

> To do EFI now (and be a real DIYer), I'd get a
> MegaSquirt and set it up to run the DMC engine.  Much
> less expensive than the commercial aftermarket EFI
> systems, with lots of "open source" support on the
> Internet for both the hardware and software.

I might check that out. Thanks for the info.

> Because I opted to do a full engine swap, I did not
> spend too much time going down this path.  If you
> decide to do it, I would be glad to help out however I
> can.

Thanks Marc, I appreciate that.

> http://www.deloreanmidatlantic.com/scrapbook/members/levy/mark14.jpg
> http://www.deloreanmidatlantic.com/scrapbook/members/levy/mark15.jpg

Wow. That's a beautiful thing. Makes me want to do a Northstar swap
even more. Looks like a nice installation. Who did this, again? Also
looks like that car was for sale - did he ever sell it?

You weren't kidding when you said it was tight. It's not that much
worse than my Fiero swap was, though:
http://www.ryanwright.com/fiero/86se3800sc/car8.jpg

I wonder what kind of gas mileage this thing gets.

> Speed cost money..... blah blah blah.

Yeah, I know. ;-)

> I had the same initial desire.  Any of us would love
> to own a 400HP DeLorean..  But, I am more practical.
> How much are you willing to spend on 400HP?  And even
> if you could do it, could the rest of the car SAFELY
> handle it?
>
> Before I went for the conversion, I spent a lot of
> time investigating PRV modifications and variants for
> the DMC.  I found I could import a used PRV-6 from a
> Venturi at a cost of about 10K, that is a USED engine.
>
> If you have deep pockets like that, give Don a call
> and tell him you want a Twin-Turbo Buck 3.8
> Conversion.  He has already done a few.

I'm guessing such a conversion would run $10k-$20k, mostly in labor.
That's a little out of my budget. I was thinking I could pull off a
Northstar swap for +/- $6-8k if I did the work myself. Plus, I'd know
the car inside and out, which is important if I'm going to service it.

> Did you read what I wrote after this??  about the
> VQ35?

Yep. Sounds like it would be a nice swap. I've just got the itch for
more. A 250hp DeLorean sounds neat, but I drove a Fiero with nearly
that much power every day for a couple of years. While fun, it quickly
wears off. It's not "amazing" powerful. It's just peppy.

I think a car like the DeLorean deserves Lamborghini acceleration.
Half of the people I talk to seem to think it's a hundred thousand
dollar car. It might as well accelerate like one.

--
- Ryan
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