Another fire, this time with non-K-Jet swap

[Dangermouse]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DeLorean-DMC...3D142051996359

Don't think I have seen this car before, but it had a Chevy short block transplant that then suffered an engine fire, again from a faulty fuel line.

[Nicholas R]

Is this Darryl Tinnerstet's car? I seem to recall him having a supercharged Chevy V6.

I also remember hearing about a guy named Duke who I believe had the same swap but with a Porsche transaxle.

Major bummer; hate to see a loss like this.

[content22207_2]

Is that a fuel pressure regulator sitting on top of the air filter housing? If so, that is why I argue against leaving a high pressure (extremely high pressure in Delorean's case -- 75+ PSI versus ~50 PSI in EFI) pump in the tank on carb conversions.

Carburetor on this car is an Edelbrock (Carter AFB). Fuel inlet is right next to the distributor (top left -- hoses on the front are ported vacuum and PCV). If this car had any sort of fuel leak at the inlet, it would drip or spray onto the distributor (GM distributors are in the back of the engine, basically same place as a PRV). If this car had a high pressure fuel leak, it would spray lots of fuel onto the distributor. Remember that fuel spraying onto the coil pack is what set Darryl Givens' car on fire (3.0 EFI conversion). I've had carb cleaner flash over while looking for vacuum leaks when it hits the distributor. Any flammable substance on a 20,000 plus volt device is a potential problem (GM HEI is closer to 40,000 volts).

For comparison: 2100 carburetors I use have fuel inlet in front (adjacent to the water pump). I had a low pressure fuel leak on a 2100 once (I pull the hose on & off several times a month test driving carbs, stressing it's clamped end). Leak dripped drops on fuel onto the intake manifold, where it promptly evaporated, so I didn't even know it was leaking until I saw it at the next carb swap. No telling how long it had been dripping before that.

No fuel leak is good, but a 6 PSI fuel leak is less bad than a 75+ PSI fuel leak.

For any owner considering a carb conversion, I recommend replacing the high pressure fuel pump in the tank with a low pressure fuel pump specifically designed for carburetion. I usually provide a universal carrier that sits in a stock tank boot and accepts any pump with 1/8 NPT threads (I also provide an electromagnet low pressure pump that emulates a mechanical pump diaphragm, not a rotary vane pump).

Bill Robertson
#5939

[81dmc]

Wow, another fire...

IMHO, this car is perfect for a DMCH honeycomb underbody swap.

[81dmc]

Listing was removed for some reason.

[Dangermouse]

well, that's odd

[81dmc]

well, that's odd

I know.

Also the listing didn't have too much information... That's a little fishy to me.

[FABombjoy]

Is that a fuel pressure regulator sitting on top of the air filter housing?

Looks like an inline fuel pressure gauge.

[DMCVegas]

Is that a fuel pressure regulator sitting on top of the air filter housing? If so, that is why I argue against leaving a high pressure (extremely high pressure in Delorean's case -- 75+ PSI versus ~50 PSI in EFI) pump in the tank on carb conversions.

It doesn't matter. It's a carbureted system, AND it still caught fire which is now physical proof that your argument about how carbureted vehicles are somehow less prone to engine fires is positively false.

Is this Darryl Tinnerstet's car? I seem to recall him having a supercharged Chevy V6.

I also remember hearing about a guy named Duke who I believe had the same swap but with a Porsche transaxle.

Major bummer; hate to see a loss like this.

Duke had done a conversion with a 4.3L block as well, but it was naturally aspirated. Darryl's car DID have the same chrome trim around the engine compartment, and the exact same supercharger, air cleaner assembly, water pipes, caps, filters, and braided hoses.

Last time I saw it was in Montgomery, TX when the owner was a temporary neighbor of mine. The only thing the new owner did was install some LEDs around the top of the engine bay.

But I gotta tell you, with all of the similarities, I'm pretty certain this is the same exact car.



Can we get an updated link on the eBay auction? It's not working for me.

[Mark D]

The listing was taken down a couple of hours ago and I haven't seen a new listing show up yet in my search. Did anyone save any of the other photos before it went down?