Re: Modified Deloreans

["therealdmcvegas" <DMCVegas@xxxx>]

The idea of a tube frame chassis in my opinion is a great one. And it's one that 
I've asked about before. A boxed chassis though isn't something that I'd even 
consider. If you were going to truly insert a powerplant into the car that would 
create that much torsional flex on the car, I would rather reccomend installing 
a "cradle" of two more tube rails running underneath the seats, and then 
connecting to the center backbone of the chassis. And of course you'll need to 
figure in on cutting the body, and making room in the cockpit in install the 
required roll cage.

If you really want to run a front mounted engine, you can do it. But IMHO, the 
front end is way too shallow to truly house any large motor. If you put a hood 
scoop on the bonnet to try and cover up the intake, it would probably end up 
being higher than the roof! But if you used the tubular chassis with the cradle, 
I see no reason why you couldn't just run the drivetrain inside of the backbone 
itself. If you're looking to have an engine up front just simply to keep the front 
end on the ground, I'd rather look into getting a set of wheelie bars to install 
on the back end, or other alternatives

As for a drivetrain, I am obviously biased. I myself wouldn't touch and GM 
powerplant with a 10' cattleprod. For about $3.5 you can buy a brand new 
Ford Lightning 351C w/GT40 heads. Or for a bit more cash, and if you 
REALLY want to break the 500 BHP barrier (quite excessive just to simply 
have a powerful D), you could pick up a brand new HEMI crate engine direct 
from Mopar. Slap one of these up to a Quaife 6-Speed transaxle, and you'll be 
good to go.

Now if you want to do this to your car, there isn't anything to stop you. It is after 
all your car, and you can indeed do what you want. Just be aware that it will 
become a bit of a money pit after a while, and if you chose to sell it, your 
options will be severly limited. But, I will make one suggestion to you.

If you really want to build a DeLorean dragster, and are willing to fabricate so 
many things from scratch, then why bother modding an existing D? I'd say to 
hell with it all, and just build a funny car with a DeLorean body shell. Instant 
dragster, with that unique body shape that you're looking for. And since this 
kind of racing is dangerous, and accidents do happen, that is one thing that 
you want to be aware of. A regular D has a very low center of gravity, so 
rollovers are not common at all. But when you start running this powerful a car 
with the threat of lifing wheels and losing control, you're going to increase the 
flip-ovwer factor. And there is no way in hell I'd want to be caught in one if it 
flipped upside down doing 150mph+ on a racetrack. If it caught on fire, how 
quickly do you think a rescue crew could wedge the car up to try and pull you 
out? Or could they smash the windscreen out with that long slope, and short 
height? Especially if you put all the weight into the front of the car, and it tilts 
forward.

So in the end, you can do what you want, but I'd reccomend to either build it 
completly from scratch, or move on to something else.

-Robert
vin 6585 "X" <---------Ears still ringing from a day at the dragstrip.

--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, MPolzin@xxxx wrote:
<SNIP>
> Has anyone actually attemped to do such a thing yet? Mounting the engine 
up
> front would certainly do away with the front end issues (lack of steering
> because your tires are off the ground) and putting some real HP into a D.
> Are there any 500+ HP Deloreans out there? I am seriously considering
> undertaking this project, and would be interested in feedback.
> 
> Mike
> VIN 4761