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I had a chance encounter today that proved to be very, very interesting.
After a long search and being passed from pillar to post I had been directed to an elite business that could “possibly” help me.
My quest was to have manufactured a bespoke set of springs for my 65 Ferrari 330 restoration. Not only did I want an unusual size spring, the weight loading was also specific. ( I am aiming to improve – in a track day, handling style- the original Enzo design, this could be fantastic or fail spectacularly, but it will be a while yet until the car is roadworthy and I’ll know for sure)
I was given a lead to a spring Guru, who can make any type of spring you can think of.
Today I went to collect my new springs, and while chatting to “Peter” I just happened to mention my Delorean. His face lit up.
“My Father was involved in the design and supply of the springs for John Delorean, he used to travel frequently between Lotus and Dunmurry and won the contract to supply the factory with its springs. All Deloreans had our springs ” said Peter.
My jaw dropped with this news. This company I had found by chance was the OEM supplier of Delorean Springs!
“My Fathers retired now and I have taken over the business, we still have the records here…somewhere. We haven’t made any for years”
Well, now then, if these are the OEM supplier DMCH & Grady’s etc are either using NOS or an alternative supplier.
How nice would it be to have new OEM springs again?
Maybe it’s my OCD, but does anyone else think that there is any mileage in having a few made? Peter said he can make them in the “Lowered European Spec” or any other height we’d like. As for price, I don’t know yet, but lets just say 4 x Ferrari springs cost me £105 in total!
VIN 4532
DOC-574
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yeah i guess its a good thing? but who actually buys springs? maybe a lowered set would be ok?
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Well done Darren, I'm sure it would be worth getting some made especially if they could drop the front ones a bit but retaining the original 'bounce' or whatever it's called. I personally find Ed's a bit to low once the have settled. If it helps I have a brand new unused set of OE DeLorean springs that can be used for reference if needed?
Chris
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Excellent detective work Darren and thanks for sharing it with the community!
Richard Hanlon
Derbyshire
DOC 393
1981 DMC-12 VIN 06126
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Great stuff! and the company name of the original supplier was?
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No problem Rich.
They are only 8 miles from me and I drive by nearly everyday with work, so was shocked to find out they supplied the factory. Peter told me all about his father and what happened to the supply chain when JZD was arrested. Although he didn't say it directly from what he said I'm sure Delorean owes him money to this day :roll:
VIN 4532
DOC-574
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The company I used to make my springs, Lesjofors, make springs for Ford and other big manufacturers in Europe.
The problem is the front ride height varies a colossal amount for the same springs. The only explanation I can come up with is that some underbodies weigh a lot more than others. I had one set returned by a disgruntled customer for riding far too low - I then let Martyn Reed have them for cost and his car rode just fine on them.
Basically what I'm saying is don't get into the spring game, it can be a real headache!
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nick sutton Wrote:Great stuff! and the company name of the original supplier was?
Pm sent Nick
VIN 4532
DOC-574
Posts: 854
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stunned_monkey Wrote:The company I used to make my springs, Lesjofors, make springs for Ford and other big manufacturers in Europe.
The problem is the front ride height varies a colossal amount for the same springs. The only explanation I can come up with is that some underbodies weigh a lot more than others. I had one set returned by a disgruntled customer for riding far too low - I then let Martyn Reed have them for cost and his car rode just fine on them.
Basically what I'm saying is don't get into the spring game, it can be a real headache!
Hi Martin,
I find that hard to comprehend?
Surely the weight of a Delorean on its nose cannot vary from car to car more than a full and empty tank of fuel would? Also as the boot is in the front an allowance on spring load would have been made to match the "recommended" payload of the car when it was in design.
Granted each car may vary by a few kg due to glass resin of the tub, but everything else is the same weight.
VIN 4532
DOC-574
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I seem to remember John Chapelhow's car rides very low on original springs, yet other cars don't ride low enough on Ed's lowering springs. Some certainly didn't on my original batch, so my second batch was 12mm shorter and then I got complaints that they lowered too much (with photo evidence - it wasn't a matter of opinion).
I'm a mechanical engineer and I'm mystified by this behavious but I've seen it time and time again.
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If I was a betting man (which I'm not) I'd put all my money on uneven tempering of your suppliers springs.
Unless we put a random selection of Deloreans on a weighbridge and measure point loads we can argue all day about weight of the tubs. I'd put my money on them ALL being within just a few kg of each other.
Then we'd need to put all your springs on a test rig to measure the load rate of each spring. I'd bet they were not consistant.
VIN 4532
DOC-574
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Quote:Basically what I'm saying is don't get into the spring game, it can be a real headache!
Yes, thats why I never, ever contemplated it :roll:
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Darren C Wrote:If I was a betting man (which I'm not) I'd put all my money on uneven tempering of your suppliers springs.
The same supplier who supplies OEM's and with one set tested on two cars with two markedly different results?
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From what i understand, wasn't there a subtle change to the chassis early in production, when it was found the tops of the towers sometimes fouled the under bodies. With the body tubs effectively being 'fixed, I.e. by design of the dies, there was a slight chance in the design of the chassis to alleviate. After all only a steel fabrication and relatively easy to alter. Hence different ride heights for a given spring. Then obviously later on as supplies became sporadic some earlier chassis designs could have been used on later VINs?
Mine was always on standard springs until recently, but didn't look 'high'. But if you look at some of the footage used in The Car's the Star, a stock one there looks like its stargazing! ( just where QW mentions boulevard springs).
Richard Hanlon
Derbyshire
DOC 393
1981 DMC-12 VIN 06126
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Update...
I have negotiated a deal with the spring manufacturing company, and have the original spring data from archives and test data from NOS springs never fitted to a car.
What I need now is a "euro spec" lowered spring to test in their lab so it can be compared with full height US spring data that we now have. Has anyone got a "good" one they can send me, not a duff, over low or poor quality one. I want to get a complete set of readings before anything is made. Also if anyone has a spare early VIN front standard spring (with higher turret frame) can you send one to me please for testing.
The plan is to compile and compare all data so that members can deal with the company in confidence when ordering springs to avoid previous problems we've had in the past. Early indications are that the springs can be made for around £50 each in any format (high, low height, spring rates, basically anything you want) to fit a Delorean from this OEM manufacturer.
VIN 4532
DOC-574
