For awhile I had been toying with the idea of upgrading the motor. The idea first started out with a Stage II from DMCH, then I thought about doing something custom with some of the parts from Ed Uding (High Compression Pistons), etc, etc.
When I finally decided to go ahead and do the motor upgrade, the attractive package at the time was the DPI Spec II package, but I still wanted to add some custom flair to it, and I wanted to do the work myself in order to learn all that I could about the motor. So, with the idea, motive, and time to do the work, I went ahead and did the drive-train upgrade with the help of two very generous DMA members.
First, a general list of the parts (many other new parts and while-you-are-in-there parts happened along the way):
High-Compression Pistons from Ed Uding in Europe (The DPI over-sized high compression pistons were on back order)
Aggressive Cams from DPI (the most aggressive they offer)
Port and Polished Heads from DPI
UK Stainless Polished Exhaust with Test Pipes
Fully balanced rotating assembly
Polished Crankshaft
Re-surfaced Flywheel
Re-built Transmission from PJ Grady (The car has never shifted better)
Powder coated parts
Yellow Zinc Plated brackets, etc (Done through DeLorean MidWest)
A picture of some of the new parts:
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Honed cylinder liners
High Compression Pistons
Balanced and polished crankshaft
Cleaned up block
Blasted engine cradle
Clutch Kit
Resurfaced flywheel
Powder coated parts:
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UK Stainless Steel Exhaust:
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So, with an idea of the parts I wanted to use, it was time to remove the motor.
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With the motor out of the car, it was time to disassemble the motor.
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Upon taking the motor apart, a few things were found.
1.) My clutch was so heavy, and the squeal/squeak I would have was found. The pilot bearing was practically rusted to the point in which it would not spin, and the pressure plate and clutch were just about rusted together. No wonder the clutch pedal was so heavy. We also found a mud-bee nest between the trans and the motor. The clutch fork boot was folded in towards the clutch, allowing water and insects into the bell housing.
With the motor out of the car, it was time to clean the frame and repair frame rust.
Frame after the motor was removed:
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Frame after using Simple Green, a brush, and a power washer:
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Engine cradle rust that was ground away and POR-15ed
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Next it was time to clean and paint the engine bay with SEM Trim Black.
Masking the engine bay for painting:
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Painting complete:
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There was alot of painting of parts that happened throughout this project, here are two more. The rear louvre and the back fiberglass piece of the rear fascia.
Before:
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After:
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Repainted louvre:
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Next up was to start putting the motor back together. I first started by using POR-15 and Engine Enamel to paint the Valley of Death.
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After that, it was time to start putting the crankshaft back in and to start installing the pistons.
Installing the main bearings:
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First piston installed:
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Pistons installed:
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Pistons installed:
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Once the pistons were in place it was time to put the heads back onto the car.
First head installed:
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First head installed:
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Both heads installed:
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Test of how the new powder coated valve covers will look:
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After putting the time chains and gears back on, it was time to install the powder coated oil pan, along with the stainless hardware from DPI.
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The next step was to install the clutch and then the transmission, allowing for it to be put back into the car as one piece.
Flywheel installed:
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Clutch installed:
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Transmission bolted up to the motor:
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Now it was time to drop the motor and the transmission back into the car.
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After that it was time to put everything back together. Everything was original to the car, blasted and powder coated except for the Air Metering Unit. I exchanged mine for a refurbished unit from DPI. Truly a piece of art as it was freshly painted, new gaskets and hardware, and stainless steel brackets/throttle linkage.
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A side project that came out of this was to replace my gas tank. Since I got the car I noticed that the tank has some deep cracks in it. Not wanting to take the chance, I decided to replace it. It's a good thing that I did, since it didn't take much more pressure for the cracks to open up when the tank was removed.
Before removing:
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Old tank and fuel setup removed:
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Crack in original tank:
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Another crack in original tank:
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New tank from DeLorean Florida (picked it up while on vacation)
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New tank installed and all in one fuel pump/sender installed
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I also decided to replace the fuel filler as it was rusty. When removing the old tank I found bits of paper towel in the tank and in the fuel filter. There were also bits of rust in the old tank, and I could see the scrape marks from the fuel filler. Not wanting to contaminate my new fuel system I replaced the original one with one from Houston.
Rusty and gross:
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Shiny and new:
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Lastly, the fuel tank closing plate was ground down and POR-15 was used to clean up some of the rust from an old Brake Master Cylinder leak.
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Next post: Engine start up and driving/revving.
After having the car back and running for a little under a week, I must say, the car is nothing but pure fun to drive. With the cam shafts, 4500 RPM to 7000 RPM is just plain awesome. Once you hit 4500 RPM there is a big kick/push back into your seats eruption from the motor.
A big thank you to Tom and Marc from the DMA, Rob Grady for the awesome Transmission work, Josh at DPI for taking all of my calls and help, Julee at DMC MW for reminding me I put myself on the order list for the new fuel pump/sender combo, and Elvis for the tip on the Idle Computer modification (I increased the idle to help with the aggressive cams, more on this in the next post).
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Originally Posted by dmc6960
