Another start-up video

 

Sounds a heck of a lot smoother now. Less smoke too.

First start-up!

 

It cranked right up with no hesitation! First turn of the key. Throttle response is fantastic.

Yes, it is a little raw but it will of course change as the project moves ahead. The most obvious one is that the 3” cat and exhaust are not yet installed so it's wide open. Also, the tank is pretty much empty with a cavitating fuel pump causing the injectors to spit part fuel, part gas. In addition, whatever little gas is in there is close to 9 months old. Once all is said and done Ed tells me that it will have a very nice sound that is unique to tuned VR6s.

The MS-3 Pro is really cool. Before start-up Ed was able to easily confirm that it was communicating properly with all sensors; then he loaded the base map from a prior project as a starting point. Technology has come a long way....

Wiring, wideband sensor and intake manifold

Wiring:
The hairiest tasks of all are probably the wiring. Here are some progress pictures from behind the driver's seat:

Oh gosh...

Looking better already...

Here is the completed wiring to the ECU, nicely integrated:

Completed wiring on driver's side with MS-3 Pro ECU and wideband 0₂ sensor wired in

A little bit about the Wideband 0₂ sensor: The purpose of the digital wideband 0₂ sensor is to provide a real-time feedback signal to the MS-3 Pro ECU so it can adjust and provide the perfect air/fuel ratio for any given load. Ed selected the LC-2 wideband sensor from Innovate and I can see why: A review concluded that: ”The Innovate LC-2 has proven time and time again to the be the most accurate, while maintaining amazingly fast response times to changes in air/fuel ratio.”

Passenger side:

The fuel pump relay has been reconfigured with an added relay for the intercooler fan. The coolant temp sensor is also integrated into the MS-3 Pro 3 and the A/C condenser fans are triggered by the A/C like they should:

Completed wiring on passenger side

Engine compartment:

Sensors and boost solenoid have been located behind the stainless cover (not installed in the picture) for a really clean look. No components are added on the firewall (unlike that eye sore of a Delorean starter resistor - ugh!!). Nice and clean! You can also see the little heater hose reducer to interface the car’s heater hose to the engine laying on top.

Engine compartment electricals

Intake manifold:

The intake fabrication is coming along nicely. Esthetically speaking, this “round tube” design is much nicer than the square d:o that Ed made for Jeremiah. At least I think so (sorry, Jeremiah J):

 

 

Wastegate, turbo oil supply/return, intake, fuel lines

The wastegate and oil supply and return hoses to/from the turbo are now installed:

Wastegate and oil supply hose to the turbo

Oil return from turbo

Also the lower, stock intake manifold has been mounted, whereas the upper “upstream” d:o will be custom made. Ed will fabricate the main chamber; the portion that mates up to the lower manifold will be CNC machined flat and with smooth radii for an unimpeded flow into the combustion chambers. This manifold should be simpler then Jeremiah’s car because his was an auto so linkages are simpler for us.

Lower intake manifold in place, so far

Coolant pipes are done. The stock Delorean water temp sensor required an adapter that Ed had his machine shop fabricate.



Coolant piping

Fuel lines are also done. For the lines leading up to the fuel rail we decided to go with stock, i.e. rubber lines; not SS. Hard fuel lines would have required custom bracketry, custom fuel lines and additional fittings so we decided to stay with stock. Ed also thought it would look cleaner so I’m good with that.


Fuel rail and lines in place but not mounted

The wiring is underway. Check out the pic where you can see how tiny the new and high-powered MS3 Pro ECU is compared to the old, stock d:o. Ed: “Dropped about 5 lbs of weight too”. I love it.



Wiring starts; MS3 Pro - tiny size, awesome features

After wiring comes the intake manifold, exhaust system and charge piping. Stay tuned. No pun intended.

Turbo!

Turbo and manifold installed

The turbo charger and manifold are here and already installed!

The turbo of choice is a GT35 sourced from the aftermarket (i.e. not a name brand), class type T4 with A/R (area/radius) ratio of .70 on the compressor side and .68 on the turbine side. After Ed received it he sent it out to have the seals upgraded and the rotating components balanced to a tighter specification than standard.

As anyone would know, class T4 of course defines the flow capacity (as well as flange style) which means by definition that this setup can deliver enough air for an output in the 400-800 HP range (gulp!). The A/R numbers represent just the right balance between spool-up time and output. Rather than ball bearings it uses journal bearings in order to keep it fully serviceable.

For the manifold, Ed chose a cast iron, really stout unit from ATP Turbo specifically designed for use in a turbocharged VR6 motor. It drops right in, already has the T4 style flange to match up with the turbo as well as the wastegate port.

Ed also reports that the clutch is completed to his complete satisfaction (“MUCH nicer than my 2JZ car felt like”). It has a full stroke with the expected performance stiffness and an overall fantastic “feel”.

And finally, the new Bosch EV6 injectors are on the way. These are standard issue on the 420 HP Porsche 996 Turbo with a nominal flow rate of 450cc/min each. He also tells me that these injectors are good for at least another 100 HP so, if ever needed, there is plenty of room for growth…  

Water pump, remote oil filter/cooler

After a brief (and planned) break, we’re back up again! The motor has now been fitted with a water pump, tubing and thermostat housing. This is all brand new and stock VR6.

Water pump and return plumbing

Maybe more exciting is the remote oil filter/oil cooler arrangement: This is a complete SEO custom solution; sure it looks cool and makes serviceability a snap but the real driver is the fact that the stock oil filter location would have interfered with the new motor mount, so as a result, the filter was relocated. The oil cooler function may not be obvious, so to explain, the oil/coolant exchange takes place in the metal adapter that bolts to the engine block; the coolant return flow runs through the block, through the metal adapter (where it cools the oil), up the little black hose and into the coolant return pipe. Very neat.

Remote oil filter and oil cooler

In other news – the MS3 Pro Engine Management System controller is on order. This is an upgrade from the regular MS3 we had planned to go with but this way Ed does not need to add any expansion modules and such; it’s all integrated into one extremely capable unit.

Also on order is the catalytic converter. We’re going with a 3” high flow unit from APTuned, specifically for forced induction. I don’t really require a cat since they do not do emissions testing on cars older than 25 years here where I live (not sure if it is regulated at a city/county/state level) but, hey, it’s always wise to be prepared for any changes in the laws or if we move…. not to mention doing the right thing for the environment!

Ed also ordered a new 3/4" clutch master cylinder from Wilwood.... No reason to fool around with the piece of junk that I had bought from the guy who sold me the manual transmission.

Base motor + transmission go in for the final time

All of the transmission and clutch modifications are now complete so the whole schebang is going into the car for the final time. Now, all that space everywhere is of course going to be filled with intercooler, turbocharger, custom intake and exhaust manifold, fuel injection etc, so lots more to come of course!


Right side (note the finished motor mounts)



Left side

 

Starter, pilot bearing, slave cylinder fitment

Parts are starting to come back from the machine shop. It's great to see how the custom pieces are coming together. Here is a picture of the pilot bearing adapter that is going to support the input shaft (with bearings too of course) and the spacer for the starter:

Pilot bearing to the left, starter spacer on the right

Here is a view of the starter motor installed with the spacers in place. Looks like a perfect fit:

Starter with spacer



 The custom flywheel is installed ....:

Flywheel fitted

A close-up of the pilot bearing adapter with bearings pressed in, as it peeks through the flywheel: 

Pilot bearing adapter with bearings, installation completed

And here is what it looks like with the input shaft and the complete clutch installed:

Input shaft and complete clutch assembly - some top notch engineering there!

The new SpecialTAuto clutch slave cylinder had to be set back using a couple of spacers in order to clear the motor. No problem, but that also meant that the geometry for the clutch fork had to be re-worked in order to achieve the correct fulcrum. I don't have a picture of the latter, per se, but Ed is telling me that it worked out great, so the stroke and the feel of the clutch is going to be just right.

New slave cylinder with stand-offs and (original) clutch pipe installed.



I can't tell you all how pleased I am with this project to this point! Ed and SEO Motorsports are not cutting any corners, all details are addressed - always with my satisfaction and the car's performance in mind.


New clutch, upgraded shaft coupler is installed

The complete clutch package including pressure plate, throw out bearing etc. come from Nissan 350Z. Nice to know that stock parts are available when that day comes. I am very pleased with how it turned out:


Engine, adapter plate (starter mount has yet to be machined) and the complete clutch fitted

Throw out bearing and stock Delorean clutch fork (in black)

Sourcing the upgraded shaft coupler turned out to be quite the chore. None of the usual Delorean vendors were able to provide it so we turned to "crowd sourcing", i.e. the Delorean community. Turns out, there was a huge demand for these couplers and a lot of owners joined in on the order. Read all about it here. Here is a picture showing the transmission with the heavy duty shaft coupler installed (circled):

Heavy duty coupler in place. Tranny ready for high power!

VR6 first fitment

Being that this is a customer build, some things such as sizing up the engine mounts to get the entire drivetrain in the exact location can only be done using actual mearurements, so the as-is transmission and brand new adapter were mounted (no clutch) to the engine and then the entire package was "floated" into its exact, correct x-y-z location in the engine bay using the transmission mounting points as the basic reference:

Right side

Left side

"#1283: Meet your new VR6"

Perfect fit

At this point, Ed tack welded the engine mounts together and once he was confident everything lined up as it should they were finished off and sent out for powder coating:



Right side engine mount

Left side engine mount

New engine mounting points

The ideal VR6 engine mounting points happen to be located exactly where the stock tow hooks are so they were lopped off:


Stock tow hooks removed

... and new ones were welded on:

Then the entire engine bay was painted with oil based Rustoleum paint:


New engine anchoring points in place and engine bay looking good!

I've had very good results with grey POR-15 but, as Ed pointed out, while that may be ideal on rough and corroded surfaces, it may not be intended for overcoating an existing layer of smooth paint. This happens to be Rustoleum's strong point, so why risk it? Rustoleum it is. Good call, Ed!

The donor engine

Ed has found the VR6 engine we are going to use as the base for this project: It came out of a 2002 Jetta that he found in Canada(!). He says it is in pristine condition and I certainly agree just looking at these pictures:

Here is a bunch of of pictures showing the varying stages of assembly. Basically, Ed tore down the engine, did a thorough inspection and cleaning. Then he installed a new oil pan [early model "AAA" style pan that provides more clearance with the frame), timing chains, timing chain rails and tensioner. New front and rear seals were also installed and the block was cleaned and painted black.

The cylinder head was completely disassembled, cleaned and reassembled with the new high strenght bolts from ARP. A thicker stainless steel head gasket spacer was purchased from urotuning and installed to get the compression down to a 9:1 ratio in preparation for the forced induction. Ed explained that you actually have to slice an OEM head gasket open and then sandwich the spacer in between. 



Back together again

The new adapter plate fits like a glove:

Adapterplate fitted onto the new engine

First update from SEO Motorsports

While I have been getting my car ready for shipping, Ed @ SEO Motorsports in Florida has been designing parts and had them machined. The first part is the adapter plate that will allow the Delorean transmission to bolt up to the VR6 engine:

Adapter plate being machined
 



Very nice, huh?


The aluminum flywheel comes from a Nissan 350Z. Its wear surfaces are replaceable and redesigned and modified to match up properly with the clutch:

Flywheel completed

Next up, the clutch: We're using a stock Delorean clutch with the wear surfaces removed and replaced with high performance kevlar d:o to be able to handle the increased torque and higher temperatures. You know... racing grade stuff:


High performance clutch



The car is shipped to Florida

Today's a big milestone. Today is the day they picked up #1283 to be transported to SEO Motorsports in Florida. I had chosen an enclosed transporter and when they called ahead they said the trailer was 50+ feet long so forget pick-up outside the garage. I knew we were gonna have to push the car out to a more major street a block down the road. So we did.


On the lift and about to be packed in with a few exotics

Yes, the underside of the engine cradle was severly banged up by the Previous Owner. Ed will cut out the tangled skid plate and weld on a new stainless steel plate instead. It will be functional and look nice too.



... and off she goes.

I know a lot of people on dmctalk have had bad experiences with brokerage firms. Of course, you gotta do your homework but the one I selected - easycarmove.com - turned out great for me:

• The terms of the agreements were explained up front; all the "gotchas" I had been told to look out for were addressed and totally fair
• The shipping process was well explained and defined
• The price was reasonable
• The trucker was assigned once I had committed and contacted me promptly
• The transport time was amazingly short: Pick up Thursday afternoon in north Texas, drop off Saturday morning in Florida less than 48 hours later
• What I appreciated the most: The trucker and his assistent were courteous, professional and took their time inspecting and carefully securing car before they took off.