Clarification: only bearings #2 and #3 are cross-bolted. (Source)
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
Clarification: only bearings #2 and #3 are cross-bolted. (Source)
3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Posts: 942
Don't know if you noticed Farrar's tagline: "DeLorean status: awaiting engine replacement".
He and I are working on a carbureted 3.0 swap of his own. It differs from your project in that we aren't looking to build a performance engine -- we are working on proof of concept for a low impact conversion. Our goal is the least engineering and labor possible to get a 3.0 installed and running in his car (his current 2.8 is very sick, potentially not worth salvaging). Towards that end we will reuse his existing 2.8 intake manifold and carburetor, adapted to fit differences in the 3.0 intake valley. We hope to mount a hall effect equipped ignition distributor to the front of the engine, sending timing info to his current Bosch ignition module. Rather than swapping out lower engine castings, which requires unbolting the main bearings, we intend to adapt the 3.0 lower casting already on the engine to fit a DeLorean crossmember (I've already done something similar on my own PRV engine). Sanden 5 chamber 3.0 A/C compressors are available that will accept his DeLorean back and hoses (3.0 compressors bolt up totally differently from 2.8 ).
We're still in the planning phase. Actual work is scheduled for late spring/summer. If our project works as hoped, the final result certainly won't be the most powerful 3.0 conversion, but it will be light years ahead of his current sick engine.
That said, there are certain advantages all 3.0's have over their 2.8 predecessors, irrespective of installation particulars:
- Even firing order
- Slightly larger displacement
- Hydraulic self adjusting valve lash
- Potentially better aluminum (there's an Internet rumor that Douvrin changed their casting formula in the mid 80's)
Bill Robertson
#5939
Location: Lynden
Posts: 8
I had a pair of IDA-3 carbs on a three liter in the '90s.... It was fun.
Made an unbelievable amount of intake noise... Not enough power to justify dumping injection for it + carburators icing anytime weather conditions are right for that. At the time I was commuting to Seattle so many wet days that were just-so for carburator icing. Throttle seems stiff under my foot and it won't decelerate... Stomp on the gas to break up the ice.
We're I to do that again I'd get the throttle bodies and run injection with 50mm throttle plates.
Need lots of static compression, fancy heads, exhaust (headers ect) and big cams to make it worthwhile.
Posts: 942
Farrar lives in New Orleans -- I really don't think ice will be an issue.
Rust definitely, but not ice.
Bill Robertson
#5939
Location: CLE/PHX
Posts: 2,592
My VIN: 5646,5080, 5880, 10234, 3639, 2518, 10586, 1538
www.deloreanindustries.com Every Detail Matters
Posts: 942
Humidity in New Orleans is outrageous. Farrar can't use metal coat hangers because they leave rust stains on his clothes.
Bill Robertson
#5939
Location: CLE/PHX
Posts: 2,592
My VIN: 5646,5080, 5880, 10234, 3639, 2518, 10586, 1538
www.deloreanindustries.com Every Detail Matters
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
To be fair, that was after Katrina when my apartment had no power, and therefore no air conditioning/dehumidifying, for over four months.
But yes, rust is a problem. We don't have road salt here, but #2613 has acquired some frame rust since it moved to southeast Louisiana in 2007. And my tools, which were rust-free for decades in North Carolina garages, have acquired some surface rust in my garage here over just a few years. I have taken to saving those little containers of desiccant from pill bottles and putting them in my toolboxes to try to slow the rust by absorbing some of the humidity. Time will tell if it was a good idea or just wasted effort.
I'm in NC right now to visit my folks over the Independence Day holiday. The difference is amazing -- it can be the same temperature, but the heat index is a negligible increase. In Charlotte, it can be 95°F and feel like 98°F, but in New Orleans with the humidity so high, 95°F can give you a heat index reading of 110°F. It's ridiculous. How anyone survived down here before air conditioning is beyond me.
Happy Independence Day!
3.0L, automatic, carbureted
Posts: 942
Don't sweat rust on your tools. Unless you bought them at Harbor Freight, they are made of high carbon alloy steel. Surface rust won't slough off or penetrate any further. They are basically like railroad track rails (nobody paints millions of miles of train tracks to prevent rust).
Bill Robertson
#5939
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 4,740
My VIN: 02613
Club(s): (DCF)
I know this is reviving an ancient thread, but in case anyone finds this and wonders what the answer is to that question...
Yes. Bill and I discovered that the 2.8L camshafts and the 3.0L camshafts are interchangeable. On my 3.0L carb build we used the 2.8L camshafts to drive a distributor and fuel pump, because the 3.0L camshafts did not have a gear for a distributor or a lobe for a fuel pump. Used the sprockets from the 3.0L.
3.0L, automatic, carbureted