turbo diesel delorean?

[pgringo]

now that people have finally "figured out" how to get gobs of power & speed out of turbo diesel motors, has anyone done a turbo diesel swap yet? i would guess there's even TD engines from europe that bolt up to the renault trans. the vw d24t maybe? bmw m21?

[pgringo]

ah. after some search-fu, it looks like the bmw m21d24 turbo diesel bolts up to the renault un1 transaxle as in the vixen motor homes! oh no. now i have another project on my list of wanna-builds.

well, my question still stands...has anyone done this yet?

[Dangermouse]

I have never heard of a diesel or TD conversion, even in Europe where diesels have been popular for years.

[Nicholas R]

ah. after some search-fu, it looks like the bmw m21d24 turbo diesel bolts up to the renault un1 transaxle as in the vixen motor homes! oh no. now i have another project on my list of wanna-builds.

well, my question still stands...has anyone done this yet?

There is more than one production bellhousing used with a renault UN1, are you sure it's the same as the DeLorean?

And I believe the answer is no, no one has.

[pgringo]

There is more than one production bellhousing used with a renault UN1, are you sure it's the same as the DeLorean?

i have no idea if it bolts up to the b28f bellhousing setup, but i understand that the un1 was mated to the m21d24 in a production vehicle so that means the proper bellhousing exists. the m21d24 bolt pattern/bellhousing may be common in europe. i don't know. further research is needed. i'll probably find out through bmw_524td/vixen folks...(ie. ask what trans bolt up to that block).

cheers!

[DMCVegas]

The purpose of a bellhousing isn't just to mate a Transmission/Transaxle to an engine and to house the clutch/torque convertor. The other purpose it serves is to allow for multiple engine/transmission combinations. The bellhousing itself acting as the adapter with different bolt patterns on each side to make this possible.

It does indeed seem that the BMW diesel was mated to the UN369 transaxle (or some other variant used here). However there are a couple of things to consider. The first is that just because it was done, that doesn't mean that you might easily find that specific part. In this case a bellhousing. Because without that part, you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting things to work. Find it or fab it, you'll need one of the other. I have pre-production sales material for the Eagle Premier for example that shows Eagle had adapted the AMC 2.5 Jeep engine to the UN369, but it never made it into production. It may exist, but you might not find it.

Another thing to consider here is that while quickly browsing a few boards for the Vixen and BMW engine, this may not have been a very common engine here stateside. So locating one of these engines, let alone upgrading it may not be quite in the cards. Aside from that, while Diesel does indeed offer many, MANY advantages over gasoline (mostly economy and being able to refine & produce one's own fuel), the power still isn't quite up there for a passenger car. GM as an example is coming out with Diesel passenger cars soon, and even then they're only hitting about 160bhp. Hell, you could massage that and more out of the existing PRV lump for far cheaper than what an engine swap would cost.

If you positively, absolutely, without any doubt MUST have a diesel conversion, I would recommend ditching the UN369 for a Porsche 6-speed manual (you'll have to fabricate brackets), since I've been told it's shorter, it will mount up to the half-shafts of the DMC-12 no problem, and can handle the torque you're going to throw at it. Then I'd wait a couple of years to hit the junkyards for the 3.0L V6 twin turbo diesels from the Porsche Cayenne or a Chrylser EcoDiesel from it's truck lineup (which when you compare the specs, these may all be the same engine actually from VM Motori S.p.A.). Drop that combination in and see what you get. But be warned, engine swaps are long, difficult processes that usually don't see completion. Only for those with true grit and a blind determination to see the crazy ride all the way to the end.

[pgringo]

well, unfortunately for me...i'm all about the idi and/or mechanical diesels. lol. i've got to finish my current project before i move forward with any of my other diesel swap wanna builds anyway.

current project: d24t into 1981 volvo 262c bertone coupe. hopefully running under its own power before the end of 2013 shooting for 250+hp
next?: 6bt into 1970's dodge ramcharger 4x4
then?: mtdi into vw cabriolet

if i run across any of this stuff for cheap i may be inclined to just jump on them and have them sit and wait for the other pieces of the puzzles to fall in my lap.

i really really appreciate your input. you've certainly got me thinking.

[Nicholas R]

[QUOTE=DMCVegas;91051
If you positively, absolutely, without any doubt MUST have a diesel conversion, I would recommend ditching the UN369 for a Porsche 6-speed manual (you'll have to fabricate brackets), since I've been told it's shorter, it will mount up to the half-shafts of the DMC-12 no problem, and can handle the torque you're going to throw at it. [/QUOTE]

Which transmission are you talking about? Just curious. As far as I knew both the 915 and the G50 were 5-speeds. I know some of the very new transaxles are 6-speeds but I'm sure acquiring one would be extremely expensive.

[DMCVegas]

Which transmission are you talking about? Just curious. As far as I knew both the 915 and the G50 were 5-speeds. I know some of the very new transaxles are 6-speeds but I'm sure acquiring one would be extremely expensive.

The 993's used an updated version of the G50 that has the extra gear. It does appear to be a bit longer, but it was successfully transplanted into the DeLorean a while back with that 3-Rotor conversion. A quick search online shows that the most expensive 6-speed G50 is less than $2K from junkyards. Here are some pics and info of rebuilt units:

http://www.californiamotorsports.net...06%20speed.htm

[Rich W]

The 993's used an updated version of the G50 that has the extra gear. It does appear to be a bit longer, but it was successfully transplanted into the DeLorean a while back with that 3-Rotor conversion. A quick search online shows that the most expensive 6-speed G50 is less than $2K from junkyards. Here are some pics and info of rebuilt units:

http://www.californiamotorsports.net...06%20speed.htm

IIRC, the stock DeLorean axle shafts and CV joints did not fit well with this conversion and custom axles had to be fabricated.

The stock setup did not last long and I am not sure how long the first custom axle setup lasted (they may still be working?).