Back to Index.
Some commonly asked questions:
Q: Why? A: It just sort of evolved that way. The original intent was just to restore the car to normal working order. When I added up all the things that needed to be done just to make the car driveable, I couldn't justify doing it. I figured that if there had to be a lot of welding to bring back the frame, I might as well do something nutty, so I decided to make a new frame that could hold a Toronado/Eldorado/Riviera style drivetrain, mounted as a mid-engine configuration. I came across a beat-up 1970 Eldorado, which seemed suitable, so its engine became the designated engine. Some time later, the thought occurred that it might be possible to put a similar, smaller drivetrain in the front. The very low Delorean front hood made finding a match a challenge. The third generation Honda Prelude seemed the only candidate. Once I added up the displacement of the two proposed engines, and came up with 10.2 liters, I was kind of committed. There was just something about the idea of having a car with more than ten liters of displacement that lodged in my brain. For a few weeks I looked out for locally driven Honda Prelude examples, to get measurements, and I couldn't convince myself that it was impossible, so I went ahead and did it.
Q: Do they both run at the same time? A: The car has two modes, two wheel drive with just the front engine, and four wheel drive with both engines. A custom controller board interfaces with the front engine and transmission, processes all rear engine start and stop commands, and ensures that the rear transmission shifts harmoniously with the front transmission. The rear transmission is shifted electrically between neutral and drive only to keep things simple. A separate pump circulates the rear transmission fluid to preserve the bearings when the rear engine is off.
Q: How are the engines syncronized? A: Unlike a conventional four-wheel drive, the two drivetrains are independent, unconnected in any way mechanically except the ground. The two engines share the throttle pedal. Idle and WOT are mechanically matched, and that's about it. It's left to the two automatic transmissions to work out connecting each engine's power to the wheels. Since they're pushing in the same direction, everything works fine.
Q: What size tires are those? What kind of wheels are they? A: 225-40-R16 in front, 275-40-R17 in back. ROH Snypers.
Q: How fast does it go? A: Top speed 150mph. 71.21mph eighth mile in 9.422 seconds.