Upcoming Purchase/Engine swapping & history lesson/Zilla Stuff

["Farrar Hudkins" <smeghead79@xxxx>]

Hello, gang!

Farrar here, future DeLorean owner. (I think.) I enjoyed reading 
the responses to my original post and I can't thank you enough.

An update on my situation:

The VIN for the car I am thinking of buying is SCEDT26T4BD000980. 
The guy has photographs posted at the following URL: 
http://pike.thedial.com/~pat/Jason/new.htm
The first 10 photographs are for a 5-speed which he is selling, and 
the rest are the automatic I'm thinking of getting. If any of you 
guys/gals have the time to browse through the (somewhat fuzzy) photos 
and let me know if $9,000 is good for this, please feel free! You 
may also e-mail me privately if you wish not to clog up the list.

Completely different topic: I am reading the archives in another 
browser, and in the digest dated 02Jul1996 somebody says something 
about the Eagle Premier using "a 3.0L version of the DeLorean 
engine." Interestingly enough, this is the same engine that was in 
the 1992 Dodge Monaco. 

Here's how it works. "When Chrysler bought AMC, it agreed to sell a 
certain number of Renaults. (Iaccoca also reportedly promised not to 
end the AMC name, which he did shortly after the sale went through. 
Instead of AMC, he chose the name Eagle for the division, after the 
4,000 pound 4WD-capable, bulging-tired, oddly-styled AMC which can 
still be found in snowy and hilly areas. The Eagle's sister, the AMC 
Concord, eventually found a namesake in a Chrysler LH car, for 
reasons unknown to outsiders). The need to sell Renaults led to the 
AMC/Renault designed four-door, five-passenger FWD Eagle Premier. It 
was a pleasingly designed cross between a sleek European road car and 
a spacious American sedan. Built in Bramalea (Ontario), it was the 
roomiest car in its class and quite aerodynamic. Its 3 liter MPI V-6 
(no relationship to the MMC 3.0) and four-speed automatic were 
reportedly quite nice to drive, with 150 hp @ 5,000 rpm and 171 lb-ft 
of torque at 3,600 rpm. (Compression ratio 9.3:1, 3.66 x 2.87 bore 
and stroke). - Gaston Chouinard noted that the engine was a PRV 
(Peugeot, Renault, Volvo joint venture), 90 degreeV-6, 182 cu.in. 
Eventually, due to slow sales of the Premier, Chrysler added a Dodge 
version, the Monaco. This also languished, however, along with 
everything else but minivans on Chrysler lots." - from allpar.com 

There are photographs of this engine at this site:
http://www.geocities.com/eagle_premier/layout.htm

Why did I dig all of this up? Simple -- I saw a little information 
on the 1992 Dodge Monaco, which led me to believe had the same engine 
as my current Plymouth Duster. Then I found out that the Premier had 
the same engine as the Monaco, and I thought to have the same engine 
in MY cheap little Plymouth was impossible! Well, until I found a 
photograph of the engine (see above) I had no idea whether or not it 
was true. Sure enough, it's a different engine. (As this guy stated 
with "no relation to the MMC 3.0".)

What does this mean to you? Simple. Anyone who wants to "upgrade" 
their 2.8 to a 3.0 can look at the photographs on the Eagle Premier 
link and see that it looks like it would be a fairly straightforward 
job and a nice fit. Somebody mentioned this in 1996 as I mentioned. 
Now, I imagine you could get an old Premier cheap, but you can get an 
old (91-92) Monaco ever cheaper!!! (Although they may be harder to 
find.)

Why do I know all this stuff? Besides being a DeLorean nut, I'm a 
Chrysler fan. :P

And this is what single guys do. *chuckle*

ON ANOTHER COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TOPIC:

Does anybody know if the "FanZilla" and other Zilla stuff I have been 
reading about in three year old digests is/are still available? I 
have done a websearch and also gone to PJGrady's website and found 
nothing.

Okay, on with our lives.

Regards,
Farrar Hudkins
New Orleans, Louisiana