Problems with Carbureted DeLorean

[sdg3205]

Bill R (who made that set up) is on the DeLorean fanatics Facebook page. Best direct your questions to him.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I agree to start with the ignition checking. I see in your photo you are not using any ignition resistance. To run without the resistors you need an ignition coil with a primary resistance of 1.5 ohms or higher. Also you would want an ignition ECU with current limiting and smart dwell changing like the GM module provides. This is what I have done on my D.

What I would suggest is to go back to using the ignition resistors and see if that helps. You may have damaged the coil and or ignition ECU running without resistors but just try it with the resistor wired back into the circuit.

[DMC-81]

Thanks for the details. You have done a lot of work so far. I would definitely follow the electrical advice already mentioned. Plus, here are some troubleshooting thoughts:


- On the Motorcraft 2100, can you confirm that it has an electric choke? if so, I would check the wiring, and that it has power. My thought here is that a non-functioning choke on a carb can also cause hard cold starts and rough running until warm. A picture of the choke setup would be helpful.

- Check for vacuum leaks. The 6 fuel injector ports are blocked off. You can check for any leaky/ incomplete blocks. Although the manifold is home-made and reportedly tested, you can check for any obvious gaps in the welding (unlikely but worthy of mention during your troubleshooting).

- Since you mentioned addressing fuses popping out, did you replace the fusebox, or the ones that had the issue. A picture of the fuse area would be helpful.

- Although not likely to be causing your issues, I'd check the veracity of the connection that is zip tied near the passenger valve cover. Is that connected to a microswitch or something else?

[Rich_NYS]

For starters, the manifold is hokey, it's a bunch of welded pieces. It has difficulty starting and cuts out when I step on the gas. Here is what I'm dealing with: Attachment 53602Attachment 53603

That's one of Bill's manifolds; appearances aside, it's a proven design so I'm guessing it's not part of the issue. Bill's carbed DeLorean is the fastest stock PRV I've driven.

There's some good advice here already. I'd only add that whenever I have an issue, I always "go back to basics" and confirm the usual stuff (spark, fuel, compression.) Something I also find helpful: is there something you can do to "keep it going?" That info is usually significant, i.e. can you keep it going if you pump the gas pedal, or hold it at high idle....etc? I haven't solved many issues without the help of others, so I've gotten pretty good at gathering intel....it's helps others to help solve the issue.

[DaraSue]

Does that setup still use the warm-up regulator and idle speed motor? When I was having starting problems it was a double-whammy of those two items that were responsible. (Mine is K-Jet though.)

[opethmike]

Does that setup still use the warm-up regulator and idle speed motor? When I was having starting problems it was a double-whammy of those two items that were responsible. (Mine is K-Jet though.)

No, neither would be used on a carb setup.

[louielouie2000]

That's one of Bill's manifolds; appearances aside, it's a proven design so I'm guessing it's not part of the issue. Bill's carbed DeLorean is the fastest stock PRV I've driven.

Bill's personal car has either a Renault or Peugeot cast manifold. DeloreanGirl's car has one of Bill's hand welded manifolds. I know a couple of his early hand made manifolds didn't seat properly, and he compensated for this with fatter o-rings. I'm pretty sure he ended up replacing Farrar Hudkins' manifold due to this. Point being, it's possible the manifold is the culprit, especially as the o-rings age.

[DeLoreanGirl]

The electric choke is working fine, and the fuses are new. However, there is phone wire, speaker wire, & extension cords in the wiring:

20170925_125623.jpg20170925_125653.jpg

[Lwanmtr]

Cool...I havent seen a redneck wiring harness since my friend's 70 challenger. His dad had used extension cords for the spark plug wires.....hehe

[Dangermouse]

That looks top notch.