The level of secrecy around my wanton hatred of all things Delorean has never been hidden here. I have mocked and derided them at virtually every turn, but there is an exception to every rule. Meet my Delorean exception. While I don’t know the entire history on this car I can tell you that it looks to be in excellent shape and the reason I would look past all the negative feelings and nuclear burning hatred of these things that I had before is because it has an LS-engine in the back of it braced up with Lingenfelter Performance Engineering components like the heads and cam. I’m even willing to look past the horrid coloration difference between the stainless steel body and the horrid plastic nose and tail caps. These noises and this much power makes even the darkest of feelings wash away, right?
The last rip you see the car make is the most substantial and while we get no data, it sure looks and sounds healthy. The car spins the rollers up really quick and has that really nice deep exhaust tone that would leave other guys with their Peugeot powered junker Deloreans peeing down their leg as this one streaked off into the distance. Not that the stainless steel body would rust or anything but this one does look to be in great shape and nicely polished up. Truth be told the whole car seems to be super nice.
There are exceptions to every rule and this is mine. I am not really sure where my deep seated issues began with these cars but it may have to do with the fact that outside of the hardcore Delorean enthusiasts (there are lots and they send me really mean emails when I say bad things about their cars) who truly love these things, there are lots of people who give these cars some legendary status that (in my opinion) they don’t really deserve. Let’s face it. Without Back to the Future, these cars would have all but disappeared off the map with respect to history like all of the other “almost made it” sports cars of the last 60 years. This one though? Yeah, this one I am totally on board with.
You want to get the full build story here
http://ls1delorean.blogspot.com
Cool!
Thanks for the link!
There’s also that really gnarly DeLorean with the souped-up Grand National motor in it. I like that one even better.
And somebody put a Toyota 2JZ in one… talk about bizarre packaging, as the motor still sits entirely behind the rear axle.
I think the GN V6 seems like one of the best ideas – both from a packaging standpoint, and because an early version of the 3.8 Turbo was available during the time the DeLorean was in production. That makes for a particularly interesting what-if…
An example of a “well polished turd”…no pun intended. Cool car 🙂
So lets see now … it will only take [ Im guessing ] about $100k or so to get a DeLorean to the point where it might actually make it down the road … and back .. in one piece … not to mention with a level of performance to finally match the glorious GG designed looks [ the only positive thing about the DeLorean ]
So yeah … blow about $35 – $60k on a donor … at least another $100k or so with the fine folks at Ligenfelters … hope and pray it all holds together with all that added power …. and maybe … just maybe you might have a car worth owning ..
Whereas for that same $130 – $170k ? Christmas .. I can think of a whole host of other cars I\’d rather own for $170k than even THIS modified and sorted out DMC
Oh well . Someday in the future we\’ll be saying the same thing about all of TESLA/Elon Musks offerings . Anyone for a TESLA S .. with a fully built S/C V8 out of a Ford GT in its snout ? 😉
Is that really what you think it took to build this car?
Hey – sorry to ruin your post… but you can find Delorean donors for $6k- $10k easily.
So, I’ll make the obligatory BTTF/LSX diss…..With an LS, it still won’t get to 88mph! haha, had to say it!
I’m extremely envious of this car. About time someone did this! Great car, with a strong, dependable power plant. I dig it. ‘Merica!
In order for this to be the “true” internet, we need some manner of DeLorean snob to post up, bashing the added HP of the LS and decrying the loss of the stock 130HP boat anchor.
AND they must reference the Nazi regime in some fashion or another….
What’s next – an original Ferrari 250GTO with an LS?
Some idiot will no doubt try it – ruin a $10m plus car with a heap of junk!
LS stands for Loada Shite…..
Geordie, Geordie, Geordie, you shouldn’t let you hatred of Chevy warp your judgment! Everybody knows Chevy’s are the heartbeat of America!
The video is from an episode of Car Fix with Jarrod Zimmerman by the drivers door.
That car just rocks!
Easy, Geordie!
I’m all for dumping the Volvo-Renault POS that came with the DMC-12, but most LS swaps tend to bug me.
Nonetheless, they’re dollar-for-dollar the best available option when the chips are down. A fact it pains me to say, because I’m no Chevrolet fan either, but they are a solid motor. In this case, it’s probably the wisest choice, and fitting, in a way, since JZD made his name at GM.
Have a pint of Newkie Brown for me!
A Ferrari GTO’s most impressive feature is the engine – twelve cylinders of rev it to the moon, screaming glory!
The same cannot be said of the PRV V6 in a DeLorean.
Back in the internet’s dark and murky early days as the 2000 Nasdaq stock implosion was taking place a very special Delorean was quietly being put up for sale. Someone with very, very deep pockets had funded a Mazda Cosmo tri-rotor engine swap with Porsche transaxle into an anemic Delorean. Shortly after this enormously expensive task was completed and tuned the owner hit hard times and sold it. As the tumbleweeds of a bad economy swirled around I watched this amazing car change hands for a tad over $10,000. Even now, years later I feel distressed that I knew about the sale but was unable to raise the funds to lovingly bring it home to my garage where I’d shower it with affection for the rest of our happy lives together.
It was like realizing Jennifer Lawrence would’ve been thrilled to go on a date with me but I was too shy to ask.
http://www.eliseusa.com/rotary.htm
Mark this day down on the calendar!!!
Wait, what, Lohnes posted this??? He must be sick in the head!
Nice! What trans does this thing got in it?
When it was on CarFix, the fab work didnt look that great on the car. Used the stock transaxle too. Love the concept though!
We bought a derelict Delorean not to long ago. There’s a lot of bashing on these cars, and I didn’t know much about them until recently. I sort of thought they were gimmick cars until we ended up with this one at the shop and I did some research.
The chassis is almost an exact copy of a Lotus Esprit, except for the engine placement behind the axle instead of in front. The front suspension can be swapped between the two cars. I don’t see a lot of people bashing the Esprit’s handling…
Many of the parts were made by aircraft companies, like the door torsion bars were made by Grumman, the compact spare wheel by rockwell I think. So quite a few of the parts were very high quality.
The transaxle is decent if it is the 5 speed. It is a Renault UN-1, which is commonly used in europe for GT-40 replicas. It is comparable to a WC T-5 in strength.
The engine… well it is weak and lame in stock form. It got beat to death by emissions a lot like the cosworth vega engine did. These PRVs can make a lot of power. Venturi had a 400hp model, and ran a 600hp lemans car. The Renault Alpine V6 GT and GTA all had ~275 HP turbo PRVs.
Ours doesn’t run and the engine only rotates about 3/4 of a revolution… so either an expensive rebuild for 130hp or swap….. we’re leaning towards a swap. Now we just need to find a wrecked ATS-V haha.
Thanks for the awesome article!!
This car has definitely been a labor of love. Like you, I always detested the low power output of the original engine. If you’re curious about the build, every step is documented here: ls1delorean.blogspot.com
Also, 425hp at the rear wheels is the final result!
-Nick Roedl