Need some help regarding a V-8

[easy now]

Hey guys, great forum ! I bought a Delorean 7 years ago, that was sitting in storage for over 10 years prior to that. I have finally decided its time to do something with it. Being a Ford specialist, I am contemplating on putting a 302 sbf in it. Tamir said he knows this swap has been done before, and I was hoping someone could give me some advice or help as to a job like this would be. I am looking for an adapter or bellhousing and release bearing info. and obviously any thing that wouldn't be straight forward. If there is a thread on this already, I apologize in advance, thanks guys, looking forward to hearing from someone.

[Chris Burns]

A few years ago there was a Delorean built with a 302 V8. Here is a video clip of it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAmHeuYUlFE

[easy now]

would u know know if this guy is a member?

[Chris Burns]

It was sold on Ebay awhile back I think. Not sure where it now.

[Kenny_Z]

I hope they tuned it and fixed that horrible exhaust before they sold it. That 302 sounded sick and not in the good sense of the word.

I'd love to see this swap completed. A properly built and tuned 302 is a real monster. What sort of power are you looking to put down because you may have to swap your transmission?

[easy now]

I haven't decided on how much power I will build. I have enough parts laying around to build 500 + hp. I would really like to find a bellhousing and clutch set up and mock everything up before I finalize how I will build the 302. I'm hoping some one will chime on with a used one or point me in the right direction.

[nullset]

Is there a reason to do the swap? I'd try to get the existing engine/transmission going before contemplating a swap.

If you still want to do a swap, you can probably sell your engine/transmission to someone here once you're sure that they're working.

--buddy

[Chris Burns]

Just from my experience it's usually best to leave the factory setup alone and modify with a Stage 2 upgrade or a turbo. Delorean's with engine swaps are typically just show cars.

[delornut]

Hey guys, great forum ! I bought a Delorean 7 years ago, that was sitting in storage for over 10 years prior to that. I have finally decided its time to do something with it. Being a Ford specialist, I am contemplating on putting a 302 sbf in it. Tamir said he knows this swap has been done before, and I was hoping someone could give me some advice or help as to a job like this would be. I am looking for an adapter or bellhousing and release bearing info. and obviously any thing that wouldn't be straight forward. If there is a thread on this already, I apologize in advance, thanks guys, looking forward to hearing from someone.

There were Ford Gt40 replicas that used the same transmission as the DeLorean with Ford V8's. You may want to research down that avenue as they did have bellhousings that you're looking for. No idea if they're still available. Bruce Benson

[easy now]

Like I said, I'm a sbf guy. I just cant justify spending thousands of dollars on the prv engine to try to make it something it is not. I have tons of parts laying around in my shop to put a combo together to make 300-500 hp. I've alwayed loved the styling of the car and the performance of a 302. In my opinion this would be an awesome combo. I am really looking for a bell housing right now to mate them together. There are companies in the UK that offer these, but I was looking to see if anyone on this side of the world had something, used-new, whatever. My intentions are not to cut up or butcher anything, I want to make everything as bolt in, as possible. And yes, I am willing to sell all the engine and related stuff to help offset my cost on this project. I listed it already on this site last night.

[nullset]

As far as I know, the transmission bellhousing on the Delorean is one of few parts that's proprietary to the Delorean.

If you're going to swap the engine, you'd might as well do a transmission swap at the same time.

--buddy

[easy now]

From what I've been able to find out, the trans is a Renault un1, not Delorean specific.

[propony]

Not sure about a Ford adapter, but I have heard about Kennedy engineering making an adapter for a Porsche transaxle to other engines.
Good Luck,
Curt

[DMCMW Dave]

From what I've been able to find out, the trans is a Renault un1, not Delorean specific.

It is.

I sold a complete manual trans to a guy putting it in a GT40 kit car, although I cannot be sure he wasn't changing the bellhousing. So there is something out there. . . .

[DMC5180]

Most of the Non-Eagle motor engine swaps are usually done with a custom one-off adapter plate to go between the bell housing and engine rather than a special made bell housing casting. Back in 80's there were custom made bell housings that adapted to small block Chevy's. Never heard of anything like that for the 302 though. Like Dave said, the GT40 Kit market would be a good place to look though.



I did a quick search and popped up this: http://www.tornadosportscars.com/Performance/6speedgearbox.html

The company also does Ford bellhousing adapters for the UN-1 Read Post #2 :http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-tech-powertrain-transaxles/35180-un-1-ford-bellhousing-vs-adapter.html

[DMC5180]

another search also found this 5552

[easy now]

Thanks for the tips,,,, I've gone ahead and removed the engine,,, if anyone is interested in buying my engine complete, and or pieces, let me know

[sdg3205]

Off topic I know, but where are you in Ontario?

[easy now]

Mississauga, just outside of Toronto

[dn010]

Let me know what you find out as far as the UN1 -> 5.0 bell housing is concerned. I have a few 5.0's laying around from my Mustang days....

[easy now]

found out today that the bellhousings from all the guys in the UK has the dimple for the ring gear on the wrong side because they have the trans behind the motor and the ring is flipped to the other side. The older versions had the provision on both sides, like our bellhousings do. I think I'm going to try milling and welding the two together, like I saw the guy with the toyota swap did.

[ramblinmike]

found out today that the bellhousings from all the guys in the UK has the dimple for the ring gear on the wrong side because they have the trans behind the motor and the ring is flipped to the other side. The older versions had the provision on both sides, like our bellhousings do. I think I'm going to try milling and welding the two together, like I saw the guy with the toyota swap did.

Can't wrap my head around this. What would be backwards/flipped? Why would it matter?

[easy now]

the differential ring gear. the gt 40s are mid engine, the motor faces forward and the trans sits behind. Deloreans are rear engine, motor faces backwards and so does the trans in front of it. Just picture turning the motor and trans, around and think about which way the wheels would turn

[ramblinmike]

the differential ring gear. the gt 40s are mid engine, the motor faces forward and the trans sits behind. Deloreans are rear engine, motor faces backwards and so does the trans in front of it. Just picture turning the motor and trans, around and think about which way the wheels would turn

Right. What does this have to do with the way the engine mounts to the trans bellhousing?

[easy now]

The ring gear sticks out out the trans. The provision for it is on the pass. side. The bellhousing wont bolt to the trans, unless you mill a pocket for the ring gear and close it back up to clear the gear that is on the drivers side on the Delorean.

[dn010]

The original bell housing has an area on both the left side and right side that allows the ring gear to protrude out further than the case [only one one side]. This allows the ring gear to be installed either way - my guess is in the instance if you were running an engine that rotates the opposite way you'd flip the ring gear around in the trans case. If they didn't do this in the bell housing and only had one pocket for the ring gear, I wouldn't have had to take my transmission apart a second time after rebuild when I found out I had 5 reverse gears and one forward... Without the area allowing the ring gear to protrude, it is useless. I'm sure if you took it to a machine shop they'd be able to fab something.

[easy now]

my dilema is spending 13 hundred bucks on something that I have to modify and weld. I might as well modify and weld what I already have.

[DMCMW Dave]

- my guess is in the instance if you were running an engine that rotates the opposite way you'd flip the ring gear around in the trans case. .

This trans was used in some front-wheel-drive Renaults with the ring gear flipped and the trans facing the other way. That's also why the shift pattern is backwards and has to be inverted with that crossover linkage inside the frame.

[dn010]

+1


my dilema is spending 13 hundred bucks on something that I have to modify and weld. I might as well modify and weld what I already have.

[ramblinmike]

The original bell housing has an area on both the left side and right side that allows the ring gear to protrude out further than the case [only one one side]. This allows the ring gear to be installed either way - my guess is in the instance if you were running an engine that rotates the opposite way you'd flip the ring gear around in the trans case. If they didn't do this in the bell housing and only had one pocket for the ring gear, I wouldn't have had to take my transmission apart a second time after rebuild when I found out I had 5 reverse gears and one forward... Without the area allowing the ring gear to protrude, it is useless. I'm sure if you took it to a machine shop they'd be able to fab something.

I put I a clutch in my car seven years ago. For the life of me I can't remember a bump for the pinion gear. Makes sense though. $1300 seems like a crazy amount of cash for a bellhousing. Is there a disadvantage to using the adapter plate? Is the end of the trans input shaft long enough to engage the end of the crank with the plate installed?

[DMC5180]

I put I a clutch in my car seven years ago. For the life of me I can't remember a bump for the pinion gear. Makes sense though. $1300 seems like a crazy amount of cash for a bellhousing. Is there a disadvantage to using the adapter plate? Is the end of the trans input shaft long enough to engage the end of the crank with the plate installed?

There are 2 ring gear clearance pockets in the bellhousing casting. Which is why it is possible to accidentally install the ring gear the wrong way. It has happened at least once that I know of. Imagine the guys face when he realized he had 5 reverse speeds and 1 forward.

The pros and cons to the adapter plate question can be found in this link: http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-tech-powertrain-transaxles/35180-un-1-ford-bellhousing-vs-adapter.html

[DMCMW Dave]

Which is why it is possible to accidentally install the ring gear the wrong way. It has happened at least once that I know of.

Just to keep things interesting, the drawings in the DMC manual were apparently lifted from a front-drive Renault manual and are backwards. If you assemble a DMC trans exactly as shown in the DMC manual, you will have 5 speeds in reverse.

[dn010]

magine the guys face when he realized he had 5 reverse speeds and 1 forward.

I am one of those who has made this mistake. It was not a very happy looking face whatsoever. I think it took an additional 8 hours for me to remove, split, flip the gear, rebuild/reseal and reinstall-by myself with no lift.

[easy now]

finally got the bell housing finished.

[dn010]

So did you just cut & weld the 302 bell housing to a cut UN1?

[easy now]

no, I used a piece 3/4" 6061 aluminum plate and transfered the pattern to that. I didn't want to cut the D bellhousing, just in case, for future consideration. The 302 bells, on the other hand, are plentiful.

[Nicholas R]

How do you intend to seal off the differential gear since right now there's just a slot in the bellhousing? If you bolt it on now, you'll end up with gear oil all over your clutch/flywheel/pressure plate etc.

[DMC5180]

Most likely a Cap will be pocket machined then welded over the slot.

[easy now]

I am waiting to get the hydraulic release bearing assy, once I see what the outer diameter is, I will mount the bearing and close up the pocket