Legend Industries Twin Turbo powered DeLorean DMC-12, VIN:01860. Yes, I am willing to sell it.

Back in early 2001, I received a call from a friend that worked at a local bookstore (remember those?!).  Someone had come in and asked about books on DeLoreans.  They talked and the customer mentioned "I have a Legend Twin Turbo DeLorean".  Luckily, my friend got his number and passed it on to me. 

Marc Levy and DeLorean Legend Industries Twin Turbo Engine
That is me, making a goofy face posing
with the Legend Twin Turbo engine in 1860.
For those who don't know about the Legend Industries project, I will include some links below that explain it. 

When I first saw Proto-1 on the cover of a magazine in 1977, I knew I wanted one.  When I was old enough and had the financial means, I started shopping. In the early 1990s it was just another used car! While trying to absorb as much information as I could in the pre-internet days, much time was spent looking at old car magazines.  I somehow found a copy of the December 1984 Road & Track magazine which had an article talking about the DeLorean Turbo project.  

The DeLorean was not known for speed, although it was not so bad when compared to other early 1980s cars. 

Slightly off topic - I find that most people who complain the car is "very slow" are diving one that is not set up correctly.  Most American mechanics (even 40 years ago) had no idea how the K-Jetronic fuel system works and would not set it up properly resulting in poor performance.  Either way, faster is always better- amiright?

In 1992, I bought my first DeLorean (6068).  It was one of the cars that had found its way through a company called "Island" that was installing Turbo kits on DeLoreans for a few years. The system layout was similar to Legend, but the turbos were installed after the fuel metering, instead of before. (There may be debate on which is better, but not relevant for this discussion.) The bigger problem was that the Island "kit" only bolted-on.  The stock PRV in the DeLorean is not built for boost and most cars with these bolt-on kits damaged the piston rings.  I have yet to see one that does not have high crankcase pressure and blowing oil.  Twice on my Island engine, oil shot out of the crankcase and hit the turbo housing and ignited.  Side note here-  Always keep a fire extinguisher in your DeLorean!

Legend Twin Turbo DeLorean at John DeLorean Bedminster Estate
Vin 1860 at the entrance to what was then
"Lamington Farm Golf Club"
between the time John Z DeLorean owned it,
and Donald Trump owned it (still does).

OK, so back to 2001 when I got this call from a friend about a DeLorean with a Legend engine.  

For years I heard owners and dealers claim they had a "Factory Twin Turbo" DeLorean that was actually just an Island kit. But, this time was different. I spoke to the owner, Russ, who knew all of the history behind Legend, along with all of the names of the players. He said the engine was purchased directly from Legend Industries after he spoke with Fred Dellis about it (no details on that transaction), and he had another mechanic install it. A number of other spare parts were included in the deal. It all sounded real. I asked if I could come look at the car, and he agreed.  

Russ was very friendly and generous. He allowed me to inspect the car and take it for a ride. As far as DeLoreans go, it was rough.  There was very little boost generated because of several large exhaust leaks, but otherwise it ran well for a automatic DeLorean.  

Cosmetically, the car showed signs of being left outside in the elements for a while. The interior was sun baked as were the exterior painted parts. The story relayed to me was that his mechanic installed the engine in the car but made some modifications to the inter-cooler setup that appeared to improve efficiency. 

There were also some issues getting it to "run right" which led him to bring the car to Callaway (of Corvette fame) in Connecticut for some work, where it sat outside for a long time. I have had confirmation that the car was seen at Callaway in the late 1980's. The engine appeared to have a supplemental electronic fuel injection system installed to add fuel under boost (open loop) that I was told Callaway added. 

Fred Dellis of Legend Industries and Marc Levy
Fred Dellis and I at the Fall 2002
DeLorean Mid-Atlantic fall tour. 
After my afternoon chatting with Russ, he expressed an interest in selling the car. It was unexpected, but I made him an offer which he declined. I left my phone number and he agreed to call me if he changed his mind. 

Months later, I get a call from Russ agreeing to my price. He also agreed to include all of his spare parts with the caveat that I had to drive to Ontario, Canada to pick them up. For some reason, he had them stored there, but it did include some of the original hand made Legend parts that he had not installed on the car. 

With the deal made and the bank check in hand, I arranged a ride to his home in NJ to pick up the car on what would become an infamous day.  September 11, 2001.  Russ planned on going with me to the bank to cash the check and pick up the title from his safe deposit box, but the banks closed after the terrorist attacks. We were all stunned that day, and although in retrospect it was risky-  I left him with the check, and took the car with no title.  He agreed to send it later, which he thankfully did. 

Legend Twin Turbo DeLorean Car Show Debut in Memphis
DCS 2002 attendees inspecting 1860
It was a busy winter in 2001/2002.  I disassembled the exhaust and turbos to fix the massive leaks.  Although the distinctive sound of the Legend engine is cool, I needed to hear the turbo whine and get the boost kick!  There was also the national DeLorean Car Show scheduled for the summer of 2002 where I agreed to display the car.  Long story short, I bolted everything back up and poured fresh oil in to the engine the night before leaving on the 1000 mile trip to Memphis. Made it there and back with no issues! 

Marc Levy with the DeLorean (Texas) franchise owners.
Photo of Me (2007) with Stephen Wynne and the
 DeLorean Motor Company (Texas) franchise owners. 
Ken Koncelik, who ran DeLorean Car Show, asked me to do a presentation at dinner one night about the car.  He set up a display inside the ball room to show it off. This was the first "pubic reveal" and generated a lot of attention. "Where did you find this?!" Those who knew what it was were surprised, as there was no knowledge of this car and Legend prototype engine. It also prompted an interesting discussion with former DeLoreanOne employee Stephen Wynne, who registered the name "DeLorean Motor Company Texas" in 1995 and later purchased the remaining parts inventory from KPAC - currently the CEO of Classic DeLorean based in Houston, TX. 

It was well known that there was a Legend Turbo "Press engine" that was making the car show rounds back in the day to promote what was to come. This display engine ended up in the hands of Ed Bernstien of DeLoreanOne. According to Stephen, Ed made a significant investment to make this display a real engine. There were some issues with it. For one, it was a 2.7L block and not a standard DeLorean engine base. Because this was a display mock-up that would be transported, it had no internal parts, making it lighter. To make it run, Ed had to source/fabricate all of the missing parts. The results were awful. Others who were in attendance at the DeLorean Owners Association event where it was shown agreed that it ran like crap and was a general embarrassment. Ed removed the engine from the car, and left it as a display in his shop for many years. For me, the real sin is that he destroyed the iconic intake to include his DeLoreanOne logo.  

Legend Twin Turbo DeLorean winning a trophy
Accepting a trophy for 1860 at the 
2005 North East Exotic car show

Since then, 1860 has received some additional restoration. The interior was fixed up, fascias and other painted parts repaired, new AC/Heater parts, new radiator..  All standard stuff for a car this old (especially a DeLorean). I also converted it to a 5 speed standard transmission, 3 speeds are awful for highway driving. 

For years, I would drive it to DeLorean Car Show and local DeLorean Mid-Atlantic events. It never left me stranded. All the while, I was working on an engine swap project on my original DeLorean (6068)-  story for another time.  A few years ago, I just started driving 1860 less and had to set up calendar reminders to drive it around the block to keep it in good shape (K-Jet is unhappy when it goes unused).  

Matt Smith in Legend Twin Turbo DeLorean
Matt Smith (Dr. Who) and me riding in 1860.

I did use the car for a few "gigs", like on October 21, 2015 when it seemed like every DeLorean was in demand for something!  It also gave Matt Smith (Doctor Who) a ride to his movie premier, an also helped to promote the movie Framing John DeLorean in Manhattan. 

That brings us more or less up to date. It seems like the value of DeLoreans (and everything related) are more hot than ever (2022).  I have considered selling the car a few times over the years, even received some very generous offers- but never felt tempted.  

I have owned the car for over 20 years, don't really use it much, and it is hidden from the public in my garage. I have always said "everything I own is for sale, if it is worth more to you than me", but now I am putting it out there.  

If I wanted to be aggressive, I could use one of the many online or real life auction services for a rare car like this, but instead I am testing the waters with a Facebook Marketplace listing. So far, it has generated lots of junk in messenger.  Dozens of "is this available" messages (Why does FB make that the default message?  It is a total waste of time), A handful of Back to the Future jokes, and then a couple of "experts" trying to "educate" me... Clearly not the target audience for a rare car like this.  For now, I am not going to do anything more.  Let's see what the future holds. 

As long as I still own 1860, I am always willing to pay a fair price for NOS Purflux LS410 filters (or Peugeot 1109.78).  Please contact me if you have any! 

Additional Links:

https://www.pjgrady.co.uk/legend-turbos 

https://www.pjgrady.co.uk/vin-1860

https://www.entermyworld.com/articles/road-and-track-dec-1984 

https://www.entermyworld.com/gallery/dmc-vin-0186

https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/could-this-turbo-engine-have-saved-delorean/

https://www.deloreandirectory.com/articles/what-could-have-been-00502-factory-twin-turbo/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bkWYkTG0kI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS2_wjKZShI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzFkxcUJVdI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMC_DeLorean#Legend_turbo_cars

https://barnfinds.com/only-one-in-usa-1981-delorean-legend-twin-turbo/