VIN 12306 'Auryn' : RHD rebuild

[Starglider]

Stuart Rees Wrote:Very interesting seeing all of the custom bits you are adding, Very inventive and unusual ideas ( In a good way )

Thanks, still a few more crazy ideas to come

Quote:I always wondered if it was possible to make a stainless grill (between the headlights) I think it would suit this car

Well, I've seen at least two cars (on the Internet) that use a flat mirror-polished sheet, but I'm not too keen on the look;



In theory you could weld up a replica of the original grill out of stainless bars, not sure what it would look like but it would definitely be a long job and really heavy.

AURYN will have a stainless radiator rock screen which I'm going to leave in bright metal, I think that's sufficient bling for the front of the car.

[Chris P]

I don't think Giugiaro would be either.

[Darren C]

Chris P Wrote:I don't think Giugiaro would be either.

+1

If you must meddle with the grille, you'd be better making one like on a Jensen Interceptor, but to the dimensions of the original DMC grille

[Guinney1971]

totally agree, that chrome 'grille' is mingin' (IMO)

[Starglider]

Spoiler mostly complete, needs finnishing details;



Chris did an excellent job with the welding, the whole thing actually has a slight curve in it to match the fascia. The slots are for the brake light LEDs; too large at the moment, will divide them to match the lower fascia cooling slots.

[Phil Peters]

stunned_monkey Wrote:i thought that wasn't a factory change, but a 3rd party adaption to allow the cars to be UK registered in the early 80s? Dusty being an example of a factory RHD which had never been registered and still had the standard rear lights.

To my knowledge no car left Wooler-Hodec with anything other than standard federal spec lights, except of course for the additional metal bracket behind the front indicator lenses to make them sit more flush with the front fascia.

What was subsequently done by Barrie, Roger Jarman, Bill Towns etc once Wooler-Hodec had finished is a different matter though I suppose.

Agreed Martin, Dusty (VIN 12176) was a timewarp example of a car that was essentially as it was when it left Wooler-Hodec. Those of us with long memories may remember the car as it was first shown on the DOC club stand at the NEC back in November 1999:



</threadhijack> :wink:

[Dangermouse]

Chris P Wrote:No, there was some talk of doing a European version of the regular ones, in the future, but nothing had or could be done….the factory was in receivership and running out of money fast, so they only got permission from the receiver to do a quick job. Find an existing, UK approved light cluster that would fit in the hole, and then they commissioned a company to make the infill panels. (Just written it all up, with info from the engineer who did the work. Backed up by his boss, Barrie Wills who negotiated with the receiver.

Here's the last RHD made. Not registered yet!

Sorry to hijack the thread, but which car is this Chris - 12199?

[Chris P]

Vin 12199 is the "container car" full… write up in the book.

Actually Phil, new information has shown that this is probably not correct, again we have now written this all up after "interrogating" all the surviving folk involved.

Dusty was never finished..never had its wipers fitted. A lot of there cars were mucked about with during the receivership just to get them sold. And of course the Likes of Roger Jarman and Gerry Castle carried on in a private capacity following the factory closure .

Vin 12199 is a case in point, this was how it looked when it emerged from a container, bought from a sale following the closure of Woolers. Woolers were supplied with all the parts required for British homologation, including the rear lights. Eddies LHD is another car, with Rubber-Lites" We know from the records that a couple of "Euro-spec" LHD cars were planned, but who actually did the alterations is not 100% clear.

[Starglider]

Chris P Wrote:Dusty was never finished..never had its wipers fitted. A lot of there cars were mucked about with during the receivership just to get them sold. And of course the Likes of Roger Jarman and Gerry Castle carried on in a private capacity following the factory closure .

12306 is an even more extreme case of this; (presumably) an early car that came over from Belfast to WH, was disassembled and the tub and frame were modified, but then the pieces never reassembled. Chris said there were a lot of bits and pieces left over, and that he recovered quite a few when searching for the prototype cars in the mid/late 2000s.

[Stuart Rees]

Now that rear wing is a work of art, fair play for even attempting that.

Intrigued about the history of the car as most of the leftovers from woolers was supposedly crushed, but anything is possible in the folklore of DMCL activities especially after the receivership...

[Chris P]

4 container loads of spares were sold from Wooler Hodec, after DMCL went bust. Steve Wynn was working for DeLorean one at the time and bought 2 containers full. Dave Rogers bought the other two, one of which had vin 12199 partially completed in the bottom…covered over with other spares. Its all in the book. Loads of stuff was scrapped as well including several cars. Most went to a local scrapyard and the rest to the local tip.

[Starglider]

Significant mechanical and electrical progress, not much to look at I'm afraid. Fascias have been primered, about to be painted;





Engine bay (and in fact most of the car) is currently covered in fibreglass dust. Test fitting the intercooler shrouds;





They are stainless, will have a 2" lip around the edge (with cut-outs for pipes) and a brushed finish once complete. The 80s 'INTERCOOLER' badges are from a couple of wrecked Volvo 740s.

Subwoofer, subwoofer amp, external speakers amp all wired in;

[RobScott]

Looking good fella. keep up the good work. Loving the car, and the rear spoiler is pretty cool.

[Chris Williams]

Looks better all the time What fuel system are you using? are the injector rails just to stop the injectors 'blowing' out due to the boost or is it no longer KJet?
Chris

[Starglider]

Chris Williams Wrote:What fuel system are you using? are the injector rails just to stop the injectors 'blowing' out due to the boost or is it no longer KJet?

K-Jet has been removed, dumped and replaced with a contemporary Kronenburg EFI system. I did originally want to keep K-Jet, but Ed Uding said that it was a really bad idea. He tried his best to make an accurate replica of the Legend engine (for prior customers) and the power & reliability was never as good as he wanted, due to the inherent limitations of the original mechanical advance and primitive mixture control. I wanted the car to be reliable enough to take on long trips so I approved the modern EFI (easily clearing the lastest 2014 emissions standards is a bonus). There are lots of other modern electronics in the car anyway, so conceptually it is now a fantasy '1984 car that has was abandoned in a container for 30 years then restomodded'.

The custom trailer for this car is making good progress and should be unveiled next month.