Car prepping - engine/transmission removal

Engine/auto transmission removal:
After living in harmony for 34 years it's time for the car and engine+tranny to say goodbye to each other. Yes, I spent some good money and a countless amount of labor to bring the stock engine up to close to perfect condition a few years ago. Everything that was not in tip-top shape was fixed, replaced, upgraded or improved. Well, one might say it was all for nothing but, hey, I achieved my goal and was very pleased with the results. I am not planning on ever selling the engine or auto transmission and even though it is very unlikely to ever be reinstalled in 1283 again, there is a certain value to keeping the matching numbers together.


A last view of the stock motor installed
 



Rear fascia removed

Although I wouldn't recommend it, furniture dollies worked pretty well
for moving the car around in the garage

... that's all there is to it

Not much left

Car prepping - upgraded radiator

Upgraded radiator install:
The high performance, aluminum radiator went in with some trouble but once it was in, it fit like a glove. The only thing I regretted was that I did not remove the A/C condenser. Yes, the "norm" is to leave the condenser in place while doing this but then you're also guaranteed to bash in the highly sensitive alumunim radiator fins in the process. The new motor comes with an entirely different compressor, so since Ed is going to crack the A/C system open anyway, I should have just done this with the condenser removed. Oh well, the damage was minimal.

Stock radiator to the left, new one to the right. Note the condenser (detached but with hoses still connected) 

New radiator and fans

All done. Very nice fit once I got it all in place.

A last couple of outings

Ed is a little backed up with on-going projects so the plan is to have the car ready to ship end of April, so I took the car to a couple of events before the stock motor is retired:

North Texas Irish Festival:
To me, me and my friends in the little Dallas group, our annual outings at the North Texas Irish Festival in early March is typicallly the highlight of the year as far as Delorean get-togethers and we get pretty good promotion - even a dedicated webpage. The Irish like so many others, love the Deloreans; most aren't even aware why we're there, until they learn that they were built in Belfast, Northern Ireland! People are incredibly friendly but where there's liquor there's trouble so you have to be on the look-out for beer spills as they lean into the cars. Very common.


Video Bob (left) and Dash (center) answering Qs about flux capacitors and how you clean the stainless and such

Cars & Coffee:


#1283 on C&C's website!

Packed, as always, but what a great venue! Car enthusiasts are everywhere and this is where they come together, once a month under no pretenses. This time I was thinking to get a good parking spot so I got there at 6:30 - I still had a hard time finding a place to park!


Here I have stepped away to get a break from all of the questions

It always strikes me how much people "know" about the history of the Delorean.But, no doubt, this marque has a special place in peoples hearts (very much, of course, due to the Back To The Future craze); everyone just love to look at and talk about Deloreans.

Once I got home and parked in the garage, the stock engine - #1163 - was shut off for the last time. The prep process to convert to stick shift started immediately thereafter.