how to judge a speed shop or mech.

[08087]

I started saving (once again) for my delorean (about $500 per month), I've started to look around for places to get eng work done once I get the car. I'm not sure I want to ship my car out to one of the known places here on the boards or have a local speed shop do some of the upgrades for me.

What I'd like is to bump the 130 HP eng. up to the 200 HP range. I haven't figured out yet which method I'd prefer using, turbo, exhaust, cams, or a little of each.

I'd like to know what you think will gain the extra HP without doing any damage to the eng. and what cues I should look for in an auto shop that should make me turn tail and run like hell.

Next question is once I hit the 10K mark should I grab a car and make payments or sit tight until the absolute right car comes along and then pick it up? My max budget will be 20-25K with the 25K being a car in cream condition with everything I want.

Questions, comments? Any help puts me closer, thanks!

[opethmike]

Absolutely wait for the best car you can get, unless you are specifically looking to go through the restoration shop. With rare exception, a cheap DeLorean (or really any car of this vintage) is going to be filled with issues.

[nullset]

Wait till you get the car and drive it to think about changing the engine.

It's a cruiser. It's meant to be seen. Honestly, I wouldn't mess with a car that has a working engine!

--buddy

[08087]

Wait till you get the car and drive it to think about changing the engine.

It's a cruiser. It's meant to be seen. Honestly, I wouldn't mess with a car that has a working engine!

--buddy

I don't want to discount your opinion/advice as it has a good amount of value. No doubt I will drive the car I select prior to doing any eng. work, however I have driven a Delorean with a stage 2 (5 speed), and it wasen't the quickest thing I've driven (my fastest car is my Toyota Corolla). not that I'm looking to burn up the road or smoke anyone off the line but the extra power might be nice to have.

I will however pay careful attention to the way the car drives before doing any work. If I feel it isn't needed then I save myself a few K and have a very good car.

Thanks!

[timothymoore]

to up your car to 200hp, get a set of cams from dmcca for 700 i think

[Roman Legion]

I would like to make the exhaust less restictive and add a CAI to the car, that alone would work wonders.

[Renee_1632]

to up your car to 200hp, get a set of cams from dmcca for 700 i think

They're $600, and add 62 hp. This is probably your best bet for more power that is the most likely to fit the DeLorean with the least risk of damage.

http://dmccal.com/102707hp_high_performance_cams.html

[opethmike]

The thing that bothers me about the various cams offered by the vendors is that no one has shown before/after dyno graphs to prove their claims. Nor will anyone release the specifications of their cams.

I've heard it countered that if they did that then people would just have their own cams ground. I call crap on that; I'm a member of the Corvette community, and in the LS engine world, damn near every single vendor publishes the specs of their cams. It seems like a heck of a thing to me to expect someone to spend $600+ dollars to put something into their engine that requires "major surgery" without any real information about the product.

Also 60+ horsepower is A LOT to expect out of a cam change; and it absolutely isn't going to happen without having a free flowing exhaust first. That kind of power gain out of a cam is going to require a very aggressive grind.

[dmc6960]

With regards to DMCCa's cams, Don has specifically said you need DMC's Stage I exhaust to get the full increase. It may not be advertised like that but I have heard him verbally say it.

[opethmike]

With regards to DMCCa's cams, Don has specifically said you need DMC's Stage I exhaust to get the full increase. It may not be advertised like that but I have heard him verbally say it.

Yeah, that's going to be the case with any cam upgrades - breathing in deeper isn't going to be of much use if the engine can't breathe it back out.