deLorean question

[djb]

Last week, while in the middle of redoing our kitchen, I used a drill and metal brush to get the paint off an old 70's ceiling light to see if it would be worth keeping. Yes, it looks rather spiffy with its' brushed aluminium, and as I was grinding away at it in the garage, I found myself remembering the DeLoren (ean?)

Did any of them get over to the UK? There were a few around where I grew up, and correct me if I am wrong, but weren't they assembled here in Canada? I may be mixing them up with something else. I know that not many were made, and I imagine that they are probably only remembered for the one in the "Back to the Future" films.

Also, I'm trying to remember what running gear and motor they used. Part of me thinks it was a 350 V-8, but another part seems to recall a Renault connection.

Any recollections? I'm sure I could look it up with a net search, but it,s more fun with a 10/10th search.

[marcus]

dont know about the UK but Im pretty sure none made it out here to Australia thankfully.

and yes my only knowledge of them is from back to the future...sad isnt it ?

[Bomn]

Originally posted by marcus
dont know about the UK but Im pretty sure none made it out here to Australia thankfully.

Saw one Infront of the control tower at Oran Park. I think it was their as a promo for BTTF and Pepsi at a Pepsi 400 endurance race.

[marcus]

well there ya go ..guess one did slip into the country

[Vitesse]

I think the only assembling of DeLoreans in Canada was in a car park, waiting for buyers!! They were built (if that's the right word - build quality was cr@p!) in Northern Ireland - John Z extracted a humungous amount of money in development grants from HM Government to build the factory there. And then blew the lot!

[Bomn]

lets hope they sent it back.

[Morris 1100]

I think there are about five or six in OZ and I saw a couple in the UK 3 months ago.
The Bricklin is the Canadian built gull wing door rip off the Government sports car.
The Delorian is the Northern Ireland built gull wing door rip off the Government sports car.
For links to Bricklin cars try http://californiabricklinowners.org/

[Bomn]

http://www.deloreanaustralia.com/ claim to know of ten in australia. But they dont know where the pepsi promo car ended up.

[djb]

Bricklin-that's it! Thanks Mr. Morris. As a kid, I think I had an orange toy one, that's the source of my memory confusion with the two.

As I recall, the Deloren fellow got into trouble with cocaine, which probably had something to do with the "blowing". Any other North Americans remember the "Saturday Night Live" episode from sometime in the late 70's making fun of him and all the sacks of "sugar" in his kitchen?

thanks all for the various site links. Will look at them.

[Vipernoir]

The de Loreans used the Renault V6, and were allegedly honed in the handling department by Lotus. Subsequent events have shown that Chapman took the money and went racing instead...

[Vitesse]

The cocaine-running was an attempt to get more money to keep the project alive. IIRC JZ's contact, to whom he was selling the stuff, was actually a DEA agent ...

[TimD]

I thought the Lotus connection was a Chapman-derived backbone chassis a la Elan/Esprit? Certainly a mid-mounted Renault engine is a very Lotus trait. Anyone remember the Europa?

I can think of about half a dozen De Loreans in the UK, and I'm also the proud (!) possessor of a UK-market sales brochure. I think they were only left-hand drive though, which would account for their poor take-up. Now that I think about it, a lot of the UK-registered cars I've seen have Northern Irish licence plates on them. Ex-works cars from the factory operation perhaps?

One of the "Back to the Future" cars is living in the "Cars of the Stars" museum in Cumbria. I once had a very disconcerting moment while riding in a bus on a motorway, and realised I was being passed by Marty McFly's DeLorean cruising at the level of the bus windows. It was only when I looked again and saw the low-loader that I felt confident enough to relax!

As for Bricklin SV1's, the last I saw of one was in the opening sequence of HB Halicki's "The Junkman", when it is used for a stunt which involves it leaping a pair of LAPD cruisers, and crashing into a ditch in the Los Angeles river cutting. Not the only unusual car to meet a sticky end in that movie. Filming also accounted for a pair of Citroen SM and a Mercedes 450SEL 6.9. Bizarrely the Bricklin chase also features country singer Hoyt Axton as an undercover cop engaging in pursuit in a Series 2 Jaguar XJ6. In California!

Wasn't the Bricklin SV1 (SV stood for Safety Vehicle) supposed to be so safety-oriented that you could only buy it in bright orange, bright yellow or kermit green?

[Ray Bell]

I was wondering if anyone would mention the Back To The Future connection...

Wasn't the drug bust an FBI setup?

And whether or not Col spend the money on racing, it was received in payment for services rendered. Maybe there was something underhand about the machinations, but he made an input and was paid for it...

What was the detail with the engine? I never knew what power unit they had...

[djb]

The Renault V-6 does ring a bell.

Tim, firstly, hello, it's been awhile.

Secondly, how could you ask if any of us remember the Europa?!! I have very clear memories of the few in Ottawa in the 70's scooting go-kart-like around corners, and coming up to my mid-teened waist. Pretty little things weren't/aren't they? Only recently read how the bloody seats didn't have any angle adjustment, and didn't really fit anyone other than the Lotus seat guy who came up with the seat angle.... I hadn't seen one in a really really long time, and then driving along one of the inner city highways last summer, there was one ahead of me, but in the most god-awful, un-Lotus-like greeny-blue 1950's Ford colour. My description just does not relate the ugliness of it, but still, there was an Europa, and I never have seen it since.

thirdly, my Bricklin toy was in fact a day-glo orange, so there's probably truth in the colour/safety theory. Me mom probably still has it in a cupboard somewhere, I'll have to do a dig for it the next time I'm visiting. It was probably the Bricklin that used an eight, trying to do a Maserati whats-its-name, that used a Yank V-8 (what was the damn name, it's on the tip of my tongue)---the Pantera, that's it!

cheers

[Hans.ca]

1972 or 3 I visited and extensively photographed the Bricklin factory in Nova Scotia. At the time of our visit they did the final fitting of the doors of Bricklin #1 chassie while the truck was waiting outside to take it to the USA. The colour was an off white, quite a nice looking car.
The car plant was started with financial help of the provincial governement in a part of the country that has never had any car manufacturing facilities. I remember the forman telling me that after every lunch break he had to retrain all the help. From what I observed at the time he was not far off. It would probably have gotten better as they got more experience but at the start it was rough.

[josvandeperre]

Engine = PRV 2.7 ltr V6 - as fitted to Peugeot 604 Renault 30 and some Volvo heap

RHD - there are a few prototypes and maybe a couple of (pre) production else they were all LHD

Come on now chaps - Bricklins & DeLorean - surely these road going tax guzzling turkeys have no place in your memories let alone this thread !

[djb]

I'll take a picture of the lamp sometime, and you'll see why I remembered the DeLorean.

[Ray Bell]

Anyone got more exact specs on the engine... I mean other than 2664cc (was the Volvo 264 that size too?) and being SOHC?

[Neil C]

I did some work on a DeLorean back in the 80's, and I could swear it had an American Motors engine.

Of course, if that was after Renault acquired AMC, it would have been a Renault in any case!

[Morris 1100]

Originally posted by Neil C
I did some work on a DeLorean back in the 80's, and I could swear it had an American Motors engine.

The DeLorian Had a Renault V6 Behind the rear axle (Like a Porsche or VW) if it had an American Motors V8 it was a Bricklin.
The Bricklin SV1 had an American Motors V8 in the front on the first years production and a Ford V8 the next year.
Both cars had Gull Wing doors and both used government money and both went belly up.

[Neil C]

Thanks, Morris, but my confusion is not between DeLorean and Bricklin, nor between the front of a car and the rear.