Vin #4454

[Reinsch]

Hi Chris,
Yes, I dropped it of to workshop Friday and should have quote back today, hopefully by end of week I will be able to pick it up. Meantime I will clean all inside parts.

I finally started removal of engine from Laguna. I want to recover harness as well so I'm also stripping down interior. As far as I know stock Engine Control Unit (ECU) requires signal from Key Card Reader (KCR) and Body Control Module (BCM). Possibly Electronic Steering Column Lock (ESCL) is required as well (I will bypass this later).

[Guinney1971]

unusual to see a 24v Laguna in Dynamique trim level, most were Privilege or Initiale spec.

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(23 Feb 2018, 13:47)Guinney1971 Wrote: unusual to see a 24v Laguna in Dynamique trim level, most were Privilege or Initiale spec.

One good thing about my Peugeot 406 Coupe is that it has a normal ignition key, none of that over complicated Renault stuff

[Reinsch]

Little update on #4454

summary:
Chassis galvanized and all suspension parts ready for reassembly. Gearbox repaired. Front suspension reinforced.  Old engine shipped over Xmas to my Father in Poland. New, different engine waiting for swap (gearbox adapter design in progress). 
Entire interior stripped down to fiberglass. First layer of soundproofing installed. Heater box stripped down and being modified. Roof clamped to fix beginning of separation. All hardware removed from doors, cleaned and reassembled -> doors close now without effort.
Steering rack refurbished and back on chassis. Brakes reconditioned with stainless pistons.

Hope to have frame on wheels by end of February.

























All +2000 photos here : https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMy...RLTWFSSlh3

latest info on project on Facebook group "Delorean vin 4454"

[Chris P]

If you have not looked at the google photo link above...I strongly recommend that you do!!

 If I'd seen it before buying MGJ......I might well have re-considered buying it at all!

It fully illustrates the potential hazards of buying a 'sun baked' car, that has been unused for many years . And of course if its been sun baked, it has probably been vey wet on many occasions as well and could well have had animals living in it!  

Its strange some of the stuff on Reinsch's car is worse than MGJ and some of its better. Its got me worried about the things I can't readily see, particularly my engine water jacket........and I've had 19 of these things!! 

   Just shows you are never too old to learn.

I take my hat off to Reinsch.....he makes me feel like an amateur .    Well done that man.

[Chris Williams]

Quote:I take my hat off to Reinsch.....he makes me feel like an amateur .    Well done that man.

Indeed, the water pump was an eye opener!
Chris

[Reinsch]

Not sure if I mentioned before, but my California reg plate states it was last legalized in 1991. I assume #4454 was siting somewhere exposed to sun since that time (I'm writing letter to address from American title that I received with car - only one owner since new. Hopefully owner still lives there or his relatives and I will be able to get some more information).

A bit of crap gathered in water jacket over years. Not sure what exactly was that, seemed like a mud or jelly with rust. However radiator and cooling pipes looked really good inside. From what BHCC told me, they didn't try to start the car. Somebody between PO and BHCC tried.
They cleaned fuel tank and replaced pump and lines. It seemed they tried to flush cooling circuit, but due to blockage at water pump and thermostat they possibly only flushed radiator. Engine for sure didn't fire as fuel distributor piston was stuck for good.

Before buying D. I restored a 1961 Heinkel Tourist model 103A2. Owner (collector) started the engine for me and it was running for some time. When I started restoring it, there was basically no oil in the engine... I promised myself that any project I do in future, it will be total strip down, without attempts to start it as you can cause a lot of further damage. Safety first.

#4454 seemed like a perfect candidate - not used in years, dry climate, no damage to body. As you see from photos chassis was nearly mint condition, however fuel tank would not suggest that! Interior goes to bin, but I never liked the colour or even design of it.
I hope to clock it at 120mph on autobahn at some point it's life - to do that, I prefer to build it from the ground.

What is your experience with tightness of bolts on your cars? I had so many bolts that I could undo without any force that I was amazed how somebody could drive it for 25k miles! Car was perfectly stock - air filter stated that! Just scary!

show must go on !

[Chris P]

My experience of bolt tightness is limited, as Ive never done a 'body off' restoration, however in the past I've have found a few body bolts that were loose, but most others were fine.

With MGJ my problems were rusted solid bolts. The one's that held the callipers were so tight, I though my 1 meter + length breaker bar would snap them off. Luckily I got them to undo eventually. The one's holding the belly plate came undone very easily, but were not loose.

[Guinney1971]

holy moly Marek, thats a massive job, but it looks brilliant............. unfortunately we've not been able to start
on my 24v conversion yet, but I'm sure we'll be picking your brains as we go along