The DeLorean Owners Club UK Forum

Chris Hawes Wrote:The handbrake in Martin's kit is mechanical

The last time I asked, Martin said he usually fitted a hydralic hand brake that would pass MOT but not IVA. The problem with this is that it has good holding force on cold discs, but if the discs are hot when it is applied it will lose grip as they cool.

He also said he had looked at an alternative setup with mechanical secondary calipers but he hadn't tested it and wasn't sure how good the holding force would be. This was about six months back, I'm sure Martin will be along to update / correct if necessary.

That's a lot of HP on original brakes Though I suppose with everything new it will be better than 30 year old stuff, non the less I would have thought a front upgrade would have been something to look at?
Chris

Chris Williams Wrote:That's a lot of HP on original brakes Though I suppose with everything new it will be better than 30 year old stuff, non the less I would have thought a front upgrade would have been something to look at?

It is, but this project does not have infinite budget, and the engine work ended up costing about 50% more than the quote.

Quote:It is, but this project does not have infinite budget

Fair enough, I'm sure new brakes will be a lot better than we are used to working with anyway. Be great to see it finished.
Chris

Starglider Wrote:

Chris Hawes Wrote:The handbrake in Martin's kit is mechanical

The last time I asked, Martin said he usually fitted a hydralic hand brake that would pass MOT but not IVA. The problem with this is that it has good holding force on cold discs, but if the discs are hot when it is applied it will lose grip as they cool.

He also said he had looked at an alternative setup with mechanical secondary calipers but he hadn't tested it and wasn't sure how good the holding force would be. This was about six months back, I'm sure Martin will be along to update / correct if necessary.

Pretty much bang on.

To clear up any confusion, hydraulic is mechanical :wink: and it's cable based all the way to the calliper. The action of the handbrake first seals off the calliper to the main fluid supply, then pressurises it through the use of a small diameter auxiliary pot. If you lost hydraulic fluid to the point that the handbrake didn't work, you would have noticed the main brakes not working either by then - but this falls on deaf ears with the IVA testers.

The flipside to the "fading when parked" problem is that the mechnical advantage those callipers provide is large meaning steep hill starts will no longer have the veins popping out of your forhead trying to hold the car on the handbrake while you set off. I don't know if Hawsey has ever tried a handbrake turn but I imagine it may be a bit more do-able?!

When Hispec originally made the patterns for the mounts (I had to re-work pretty much everything else), I was told the purely lever-based spot callipers did not have the grip required by the DeLorean. The DeLorean hand lever also has a very short throw when compared to others so you need to put a lot of force into those cables.

On the ferry back from the Netherlands at the moment. Stormy night, bumpy crossing. You may have been correct about loading the car backwards Martin, as I loaded it forwards (was concerned about excessive pin weight) and weaving started almost immediately if I exceed 50 mph. That was in crosswinds gusting to gale force though, not fun through all those split/join Dutch motorway junctions with mandatory lane changes and fast traffic overtaking you on both sides.

Original coils turned out to be inadequate; Ed tried a new brand but one burned out immediately so he doesn't trust the others. Will replace with PerTronix Flamethrowers. Several other problems came to light on the dyno, some of which Ed fixed but some of which Chris will have to look at. The limited-slip diff continues to cause problems, the offset has compressed one of the CV shafts to the point where there is inadequate travel, will probably have to machine it down. For the DMC-12 it is anything but a drop-in replacement. Engine compartment is almost done except for the air con compressor and the side scoops.

Ed fitted a new-old-stock plastic coolant bottle for testing, but I've swapped it out with a stainless tank, if anyone is looking for an original bottle (minus cap) let me know.

Starglider Wrote:You may have been correct about loading the car backwards Martin, as I loaded it forwards (was concerned about excessive pin weight)

It was Chrispy who told me about it originally. His trailer makes it very easy to know when the centre of gravity of the car has just passed the centre point of the trailer - and that is the position in which one should tow. It's just behind the DMC logo on the sill. I've stuck to that rule ever since and never had any problems with tank-slapping. With a non-tilting trailer, the nose of the car ends up almost off the end of the trailer, but it works... I've done long trips to France, Germany, Ireland and several times from Southampton like that :wink:

Quote:

Original coils turned out to be inadequate; Ed tried a new brand but one burned out immediately so he doesn't trust the others. Will replace with PerTronix Flamethrowers.

Interesting. We had some fun and games with coils when originally building #2727's engine. We tried at least three "performance" coils and had a miss on boost almost immediately. It was only the stock coil (running the later type distributor) and original ballast resistor which worked. I've stuck to that since and never had a problem. This isn't helpful to you of course, but I feel your pain

Quote:The limited-slip diff continues to cause problems, the offset has compressed one of the CV shafts to the point where there is inadequate travel, will probably have to machine it down. For the DMC-12 it is anything but a drop-in replacement.

Have you given this feedback to Kevin @ GTO? Certainly these issues haven't come to light with the one he fitted for me.

The DeLorean's transmission is a rear mounted 369, same as an Alpine A310. Kevin has definitely done other 369's in the past.

Weather was just light drizzle when I arrived at DMC EU, reverted to stormy later.



Took some repaired panels & doors on the trip out, the doors in particular are apparently hell to ship.



Ed has the Legend Industries show engine in his showroom, turbos & accessories are not mounted.



According to Ed Legend switched all their engines to compressor-aft configuration after the first time they tried fitting into the DMC-12 engine bay, the lack of clearance was a show stopper.

Ed making some final adjustments;

stunned_monkey Wrote:His trailer makes it very easy to know when the centre of gravity of the car has just passed the centre point of the trailer - and that is the position in which one should tow. It's just behind the DMC logo on the sill. I've stuck to that rule ever since and never had any problems with tank-slapping.

My trailer is triple-axle and seems quite insensitive to CG for pin weight (tow vehicle suspension load); having experimented with it now it seems fine reversed, but I didn't have time to mess about in the Netherlands. I think the weaving problem was more due to the polar moment of inertia with the engine out the back (the tow vehicle is relatively heavy but short wheel base). I now have a big fixed ramp on the back of the trailer which wasn't helping either (both the inertia and the aero load, most of it is grid but there is a big solid panel at the end).

Quote:We tried at least three "performance" coils and had a miss on boost almost immediately. It was only the stock coil (running the later type distributor) and original ballast resistor which worked.

Were you trying different resistances or trying to match stock?

Quote:Have you given this feedback to Kevin @ GTO? Certainly these issues haven't come to light with the one he fitted for me.

No, wasn't sure how he'd take it. There is a problem with the gearbox as well, it seems like one of the shift forks is sticking (can reach 1/3/5 normally but 2/4 stick). Gearbox will be worked over and powder coated, plenty of other things still to fix as well. As expected the stock engine cover is not quite tall enough, though it turns out it's just the coils rubbing, the intercooler clearance is fine. Might cut a hole in the middle of the cover and put a wide low hood scoop over it (facing backwards); would give the coils a little extra airflow / cooling as well. Also plumb new depths of negative concours points.

Starglider Wrote:Were you trying different resistances or trying to match stock?

Both. Some coils are advertised as not needing a ballast resistor (because they have one internally - or at least should).

Quote:Have you given this feedback to Kevin @ GTO? Certainly these issues haven't come to light with the one he fitted for me.

No, wasn't sure how he'd take it. [/quote]

I'm sure he'd like to know - I know I do if someone has a problem with something I've sold.

[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]All trailers ..or caravans should have a certain amount of nose weight. Years ago I made the mistake of overloading a trailer very badly, which I compounded by putting some heavy lumps at each end. ( Electro-Plating rectifiers) Never again!!! I couldn't drive the car more than 25 MPH and had 20 miles to cover…it was a nightmare! Since then I have owned several trailers and have never had any problems with swaying, even at very high speeds.

With any towing, the heavier the towing vehicle the better. I vividly remember Martin setting off from my house, with his Citroen Zantia jacked right up on its suspension, towing my huge trailer off on a long trip to the continent to fetch a DeLorean.

Several times I have moved Ian Fosters armoured Land Rover, ( a Piglet) ..even with my big Jeep it , was a challenge, as it weighed over 3 tonnes!

( the picture is Frenchy….coming home from….France, would you believe! )

Sadly the tow vehicle, my LPG JDM Isuzu VehiCROSS, has died a horrible death. I was losing coolant on the trip and suspected a radiator leak. I topped it off and decided to pressure test when I got time. However the next day after arriving home, the car failed to turn over. On the second attempt (after connecting a booster battery) a seal blew at the bottom of the crank case and dumped several litres of coolant onto the driveway. The head gasket seems intact and the oil looks fine (level and composition); I didn't notice any exhaust smoke either. Thus it may be a direct leak from the coolant passages to the lower block / crank case; even if the block hasn't cracked having that much antifreeze in there has likely damaged the bearings.

I am looking into an engine swap as I rather like the car, and 90k miles is too young to die.

Something doesn’t add up there – if the oil looks fine, there was no coolant in the oil and therefore the bearings will be fine. Sounds more like a leak between coolant jacket and cylinder – if it were a PRV I’d suspect a cracked liner if not head gasket. The engine was probably burning off the coolant as you drove, though you’re lucky it wasn’t going the other way and pressurising the coolant which is much more common. Overnight your cylinder probably filled up with coolant and caused hydraulic lock, and this morning the engine blew a core plug when you did manage to turn it over. (How's that for guess work!!!?)

The biggest question is what caused the leak from coolant to cylinder…. Head gasket is the simplest explanation.

Chris P Wrote:I vividly remember Martin setting off from my house, with his Citroen Xantia jacked right up on its suspension, towing my huge trailer off on a long trip to the continent to fetch a DeLorean.

I use the suspension to hook/unhook the trailer as it saves a lot of frantic spinning of the jockey wheen handle, but the suspension stays on "normal" at all other times where it self-levels. Hydropneumatic Cits have made the best tow cars since the year dot - the max allowable towing weight of the Xantia actually exceeds the weight of the car.

stunned_monkey Wrote:Overnight your cylinder probably filled up with coolant and caused hydraulic lock, and this morning the engine blew a core plug when you did manage to turn it over. (How's that for guess work!!!?)

Yep looks like it. I have been trying to buy a salvage / crashed VehiCROSS in the US to ship over here for parts (stroked 3.5L replacement for the 3.2L block in the JDM, also nicer leather interior and misc spares). No luck so far but will keep trying.

Brakes and steering are fitted / sorted on AURYN. The major remaining mechanical hassle is the gearbox, it isn't shifting right at the moment.

Unless I've missed the post explaining it, what does AURYN Mean?

This is the AURYN;



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