My Delorean VIN 3305 - coming to Italy!!

[robvanderveer]

Wow... If the engine didn't need the compression from the exhaust i'd just leave them off! Great sound!

[JohnZ]

It's just 1 out of a 2 steps job! I had the cat completely depleted, now it should work as a normal pipe (which is for sale in the Delorean stores, but I decided to put back on the empty cat ;) ) and I bought two larger exhaust tips.

Any tips on how to work on the manifolds in order to have them smooth and nice???

... I think the time will come for a brand new sport exhaust, but looong in the future!! :) :)

ps It's been more than a week since I last drove the car... I MISS IT! :(

[ALEXAKOS]

Manifolds need sandblasting.... And immediate high temp painting. If you do t do it the same day, the manifolds will show signs of rust again the following day!

I installed Renault alpine manifolds and went straight down in to two different exhausts . No catalyst... No ECU, no check valve no hot start or cold start problems. ;))))))

Just click and broooommmm!
http://youtu.be/QyLFROCUKII

[robvanderveer]

No catalyst... No ECU, no check valve no hot start or cold start problems. ;))))))


exactly my setup.

[ALEXAKOS]

Freedom!!!!!! Right Rob? What's it like with the MOT of the Netherlands? Ain't they Bitchin cause the cat is missing?

[robvanderveer]

Freedom!!!!!! Right Rob? What's it like with the MOT of the Netherlands? Ain't they Bitchin cause the cat is missing?

They don't care because of some rule it doesn't matter.

[ALEXAKOS]

Some rules RULE!!! :)

[JohnZ]

Hi there! I'm back with good news!

We finally managed to finish the exhaust gasket job! We found some difficulties of course (pretty regular :D). Studs in the manifolds were completely stuck into the iron and we had to create a new hole with a brand new thread! Interesting, and with some adjustments it went right! Some engine studs broke and my friend had to create some sort of little brackets to make the manifolds firm... he's a kind of a genius!! I then put on the old muffler (with brand new larger tips) and got rid of the cat. Now it sounds awesome and it's like breathing better!!! :) :)

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Then I finally stopped the engine from bleeding oil, there was a big drop from the oil pressure light thing on the left of the engine. The copper washer was completely blown, so we found a brass one in my uncle's laboratory. The outer diameter was exactly the same, but it was not fitting because the inner diameter was too small! :( then my uncle helped us with the "lathe" (he was a great blacksmith back in the days) and voilÃ*! The washer was ready!!

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Another important work I performed lately was the PPR oring replacement. Really easy job, I noticed that the old internal oring (the smaller one) was kinda dancing around the plunger, so I put on the new ring and it was solid. No more hot start problems since then!! :D :D this was one of my best personal achievements! Very satisfactory!


Last but not least I wanted to install Hervey's fuel pump saver kit, since I was afraid of fuse #7 melting. And of course it was already melt when I went there to do the job! I've been lucky enough to get out of the garage!! I use the car as a daily driver, so it was predictable that the fuse was not really at his best! Anyway I was on time (almost... :D :D). Installation is very simple, even though it can be uncomfortable to draw a wire from the pump to the relay compartment. I also grounded the pump to the left front frame extension and deeply cleaned it. (man what a dirty place!!) Pics shows the wrong wiring to the Circuit breaker, of course now I run with the red wire opposite to the brown one ;) SPECIAL THANKS and hugs to mr. Dave McKeen for the support in this electric operation!! :) :) Today I've been using the car hardly, and though is still warm in there the fuse 7 (now extruded from the box) and the new relay are barely lukewarm. I plan to install a new fuse block, and as far as I can imagine it's going to be freaking TEDIOUS! :( :(

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A couple of final pics: my daddy washing the car and my friend's beetle together with the Dmc12 on a trip we did some days ago!!

:)

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[JohnZ]

Did a couple of works yesterday, mainly focused on the cooling system.

At first we replaced all the cooling hoses with Ed Uding's kit. Too bad 2 of the hoses were missing in the kit, whereas we left aside some hoses that we ABSOLUTELY had no idea of where to put 'em :dunno: . They're tiny and long, and one has a huge diameter but is really short... it will remain an unsolved mistery. Another complaint I may point (a part from 2 missing hoses) is that the box was full of kinda polyurethane small pieces. I agree that it is the right way to pack some fragile parts, but when it comes to hoses and bottles that's BAD! I checked every hose to be sure there were no poly pieces, but when we filled up the circuit with water we found one of this little bastards floating into the new stainless tank! :mad::mad: :bang::bang: aargh!

We removed it of course, but it was not funny! :D

So as you understood we also replaced the old plastic bottle with the steel one, and it did not fit! It was hitting the underbody, so we had to puts some nuts in the bracket to extrude the tank just a little bit. oh my :facepalm:

Any way it was fun :) in 10 hours or so we replaced all the components and now the engine bay looks really better! More modern and clean! Also, I feel safer! :) :)

some random pics:
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[Bitsyncmaster]

So as you understood we also replaced the old plastic bottle with the steel one, and it did not fit! It was hitting the underbody, so we had to puts some nuts in the bracket to extrude the tank just a little bit. oh my :facepalm:

Mine did that also. I bought the tank from Special T about 7 years ago. I would have thought the welding of the tank mounts would have been fixed by now.

[Andy]

Too bad 2 of the hoses were missing in the kit, whereas we left aside some hoses that we ABSOLUTELY had no idea of where to put 'em :dunno: . They're tiny and long, and one has a huge diameter but is really short... it will remain an unsolved mistery. Another complaint I may point (a part from 2 missing hoses) is that the box was full of kinda polyurethane small pieces. I agree that it is the right way to pack some fragile parts, but when it comes to hoses and bottles that's BAD! I checked every hose to be sure there were no poly pieces, but when we filled up the circuit with water we found one of this little bastards floating into the new stainless tank! :mad::mad: :bang::bang: aargh!

Don't worry about it, it's not the first time DMC Europe puts the wrong pieces in the package you order ....

[DMCMW Dave]

: . They're tiny and long, and one has a huge diameter but is really short... it will remain an unsolved mistery.]

Behind the water pump under the intake manifold.

[JohnZ]

Behind the water pump under the intake manifold.

I thought that too, but I think it is too short! I don't have it right now with me, but its diameter it's approximately 4 centimeters and it's just 5 centimeters long...

Regarding the other tiny hoses, maybe it has something to do with the AC route...??

:confused2:

anyway the cooling circuit is all covered and that is what counts by now!!

I forgot to say that after we filled her up with coolant we let the water flow through the circuit with the engine on, and the fans kicked in twice regularly, and we went under the car once again to check for leaks... today I tested the car on a hill road here in Belluno and everything was super precise!

:)

edit: dave you mean that all the remaining hoses are going behind the water pump??

[SS Spoiler]

I would think about upgrading your radiator.....

[JohnZ]

I would think about upgrading your radiator.....

Yes I still have the old one, I was frightened of breaking the plastic there but everything went well!!

One day I think I'll replace old fans and radiator, by now I'll go original for a while!

:)

[JohnZ]

Some random works I did in these weeks! First of all I had the chance to take a holiday trip in the middle of Italy (about 900 miles, since I come from Northern Italy) and it was a blast! The Delorean was so comfortable and reliable! I just broke a few things during the trip, and they were not vital: A/C belt broke in two pieces (I don't use A/C so maybe I'll never fix that!), the speedometer died (wasn't really working well before the journey), wiper's washer motor wasn't blowing anymore (we tried to fix that on the road but we failed, so I came back with the tank and the bottles of soap in the trunk!) and I broke passenger' side outer plastic handle :thumbdown: (luckily it was the last day of the holiday!).

A pleasant experience, and I tell you that both me and my friends were surprised about how the car proved to be so reliable! Even though I was confident about that because I know how much love and care I put into her!!:wrenchin:

Now some jobs!

While I was there I replaced the old tail lights boards with PCB made by an Italian Delorean owner (Andrea, his nickname is Cineman) and the result was AWESOME! Now finally all the brake lights... light up and people can understand when I'm stopping!!:driving1:

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Replaced old asbestos brake pads with new RedStuff ceramic pads,easy and straightforward job. Sometimes the car used to go to the left side on hard braking, now it does not do that often but it still persist from time to time... any suggestions?? As you know I overhauled the whole system lately so I can't really figure out what's going on.:mallet:

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Replaced, with the aid of my friend Jack, the whole fuse block with the new one, and then I replaced some relays and extruded fuse 14 and 15 from the block! I also changed the circuit breakers. I had my friend soldering and crimping the terminals on the wires, so I believe the job is really good! After some miles everything is still fine there :) :)

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Replaced old plastic handles with new one. I had an unpleasant experience since one of the pricy new metal handles I got from the UK club (but it was Ed's stuff, so that means Houston stuff) was broken. One of the studs was blown as you can see, so I used the old assembly with the new metal handle, like you used to do the old times! :angry4: This lead to another problem, because the handle that was all good in the first place was not fully returning back to "close" position, and this thing used to mess the locking system up (the electrics are disconnected, by the way)! I got stuck out of the car one night (what a poor figure with my lady girlfiend... :dead::bootyshake: ) because of this thing! So the next day I tore the whole door apart to see what was happening and I discovered that the lever was not returning back after the handle's release. So I cleverly put a spring in the mechanism and everything was fine since then!!:thumbup:

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I then did some random jobs like putting the new one piece speedo cable in there, and that worked for some miles and now the speedometer is dead again... the dust cap is fine so finger pointed to the angle drive which is still original. I then replaced the washer motor and that was a good fix. Also some bulbs from the binnacle stopped working and I fixed that too. The brake light is still unavailable, I can't really figure out why!:confused:

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Final joke: remember the sheeps that "cleaned" my car once I got in the middle of a flock??

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I did the same with cyclists!!

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:smoke1:

[Domi]

Very good job on your car, I see that even the sheep love your car :biggrin:

[BABIS]

keep the good works coming ;)

[JohnZ]

Replaced old Ducellier alternator (that served me well from August 2014 to May 2015 with out any flaw) with 105 A Valeo unit! The job is easy, nevertheless we lost about 1 hour to goin' places in order to find the right pulley! I was confident that the old pulley would have fitted the new rotor on the Valeo, but it's inner diameter was too large and it had some play! :bash:

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Anyway the right one was find in a local auto part shop, so great news there! We aligned the belt of course and replacement was overall easy and fast.

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Then I put John Hervey's double ground cable and got rid of the old one, I think we screwed up the thread on the welded nut for the trailing arm bolt bracket, anyway the screw has a bolt at the end so it will never fall. When TAB replacement will come we will deal with that! :giggle:

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Now FINALLY I have the correct "nearby 13 volts" reading on the gauge!! And everything is kinda smarter (starting from the starter)! The only oddities I found on the gauges after the new 105 Amp alternator are:

- fans kick in regularly like they did before, but the reading on the temp gauge is different. Now they turn on when the needle is on the second mark while before that it slightly passed the mark, before the fans used to come in. It's like the gauge is more precise. (I have a Volvo otterstat that closes at around 197 F so fans come on before than stock)

- oil gauge is happier, showing around and slightly above 80 PSI under acceleration. Before the alternator replacement if was more 80 and below.

:hmm:

:clown::clown:

[Domi]

Good job ;)

[JohnZ]

Here I am! I finally managed to do a great suspensions overhaul to my car VIN 3305! It was a hard work, but satisfactory in the end! It still needs adjustments, but now the car feels surely better!

It took three days to fully disassemble the old suspension system. We were not in a hurry, so probably you can do it in two days. Luckily wi did not find major troubles and everything went well at the first shot.

Removing springs was the most difficult part of it, and the longest one. We used a spring compressor, and it had to be put in the right place otherwise it would have hit the underbody or other parts of the car. Anyway we quickly learned by trials and errors where to chocke the spring.:D

Another hard task was removing one trailing arm bolt. The first one went out easy, but the second one was a pain! We spent 1 hour just to try to lube it, then we used a hammer, and it was like frozen! In the end I came up with the idea of sawing it with an hacksaw, and there I was 20 minutes up and down with the saw cutting the TAB. What a nightmare! The two bolts were slightly bent.:dead:

We even took the chance to remove the steering rack and to take a look at it. The tie rod ends were replaced about 1 and a half year ago, so no problems there.8)

pics!

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[JohnZ]

After having had some stuff sandblasted and painted, we got back to the car to finish the job! It was pretty straightforward, even though we found some issues (seized threads and so on). This is what I installed on my car:

-new Protech shocks, single adjustment on the front, twin adjustment on the rear
-new lowered front springs
-new reinforced LCAs with new bushing and ball joint
-new stainless LCA reinforcements
-new rubber/poly bushings all over the place
-new DPNW front shock tower brace (I already did that some times ago)
-new TABs
-new UK steering joint and knuckle

The car now sits better, runs better and generally speaking it has been improved.:wink:

A couple of things still bother me anyway. The first is that I feel the front end much more firm, even too firm. So I think I'm going to set the shocks softer on the front and harder on the back. This should reduce understeering, is it correct?

The second thing is that the steering has become BLOODY HEAVY! It's a pain to just turn the wheel even without the wheels on the car! Before installing new LCAs we noticed that the new ball joints were really tight and almost static, very firm... they were not easy to turn. Could it be that this feature has somemething to do with the firmness of the steering wheel? It's just impossible to drive that way... the wheel doesn't even go back in place after a turn, I have to manually set it straight! I did the wheel alignment of course, but it didn't helped.

pics!

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[JohnZ]

Random pics (we did PLENTY of them!):

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[Domi]

You've done a great job, thank you for sharing your pictures :)

[JohnZ]

You've done a great job, thank you for sharing your pictures :)

Thanks! :)

The steering IS actually getting loose, at super minimum rate. I want to grease up the new LCAs ball joints to see what happens....

:ehh:

[BABIS]

amazing work!

[andyd]

-new UK steering joint and knuckle



Make sure this is free, lubed and installed correctly (ie. phased)

As per

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I would be tempted to jack the front up, turn the steering wheel and check for resistance. (Sorry, I see you already have)

Still stiff?

Then disconnect the track rod ends (steering knuckles).

Still stiff?

No? --> problem is outwith the steering shaft, rack and TRE's
Yes? --> Problem is in the rack or shaft, or the TREs

Then slip the lower UJ off the rack. Still stiff?

No? --> Problem is within the rack (or TREs)
Yes? --> Problem is within the shaft (ie the UJs, bushing, resistance at the wheel?) etc

A process of elimination should help. I think it may not be wise just to let it "free off" through use. Up to you of course...

Good luck

a