P J Grady Europe : non-destructive BTTF prop kit

[Starglider]

When discussion of BTTF conversions comes up, I often mention the P J Grady Europe kits made by Chris Nicholsson. These were fully stainless, quite accurate and to the best of my knowledge the only prop kit that required no holes drilled or modification of the existing car at all. They mount using semi-concealed brackets from existing bolt holes and can be installed or removed in under an hour. Several people have PMed me asking about these; sadly since the former maintainer of the P J Grady Europe web site left there hasn't been an online store or much news available on their site.

I discussed this and other projects with Chris during our trip to DMC Europe this week, and I can confirm that he is thinking of doing a short run of an updated kit over the winter or early next year, if there is sufficient interest. The revised design features fully welded stainless steel flux bands, rear deck, vents and reactor base. However the flux boxes and wormhole emitter are now fibreglass for reduced weight and closer match to the original prop contours. This is not a complete turnkey kit of the kind Bruce Coloumbe used to offer; rear deck detailing is left to the installer. However it is an ideal option for owners who want to keep the ability to go back to the original car and are happy to do the final touches themselves.

Chris N asked me to post these provisional details to relevant forums, but he said to stress that final pricing and availability depends on how many people sign up.

Front Flux Band : £770 / $1200 : includes stainless band with welded stainless mesh, 2 x fibreglass flux boxes (unpainted black), stainless flux box plates with bolts, stainless mounting brackets.
Rear Flux Band : £1340 / $2100 : includes 2 x rear stainless bands with welded stainless mesh, 4 x fibreglass flux boxes (unpainted black), stainless flux box plates with bolts, fibreglass wormhole emitter (unpainted black), stainless mounting brackets.
Rear Deck : £1270 / $2000 : includes stainless deck with spaceframe support structure, stainless vents with optional removal lower pieces (to uncover lights for street legality), rear hose mounting boxes in stainless, stainless bulkhead covering rear window (optional but recommended), forward crossover pipe mounting boxes in fibreglass, your choice of plutonium reactor base or Mr Fusion mounting base in stainless.

Order the full set and Chris will include 2 x stainless side cable tubes with mounting brackets. Collect from Canvey Island UK or shipping by courier at cost. Installation can be arranged at P J Grady Europe or US, but anyone who can use a socket wrench shouldn't need it.

Not included : flexible hoses, cables, HV connectors, rear deck detailing e.g. capacitors, 'pac men', green tubes, heatsinks, janitol heater, orange tube, Mr Fusion or plutonium reactor top piece / lid. You can get reproductions of these from 'Videobob', source originals from various places or make your own. Flux boxes supplied unpainted as there is some variation in preferred colour.

Please PM me if you're interested, and I'll put you on the list. There will be a deposit needed prior to production. I'd like to stress that I am not in any way affiliated with P J Grady Europe and will not be involved in payment for or design/build of this kit. I'm just helping Chris out with promoting it since he doesn't have decent Internet connectivity at the moment. I will relay any questions about the kit to Chris and post answers back here as soon as I have them. Details and photos of the original run of kits can be found here; Chris assures me that the second run will be even better.

[Manic]

Im very interested in these, being able to make my car look like a time machine without drilling into the body (could not even try to think about such a thing) would be awesome, The final cost and shipping to Australia is the only thing that could stump me :/

[Starglider]

Im very interested in these, being able to make my car look like a time machine without drilling into the body (could not even try to think about such a thing) would be awesome, The final cost and shipping to Australia is the only thing that could stump me :/

Sea freight probably wouldn't be too bad if you can collect from the port.

P.S. I incorrectly stated that the rear deck is stainless above. Actually only the support brackets are stainless, the rest is aluminium (as in the original) to save weight. The flux bands are stainless for less flex and better scratch resistance.

[Manic]

Ok cool, hopefully quite a few people are interested to make the cost lower, and would the kit be suitable to drive say on a highway and windy days? as i would just leave it on besides the bottom of vents (keep them in car)

[Starglider]

Ok cool, hopefully quite a few people are interested to make the cost lower, and would the kit be suitable to drive say on a highway and windy days?

I think it is the strongest version you can get, since it is bolted directly to the fibreglass body and the stainless bands& brackets are inflexible; it shouldn't have a problem with any sort of driving. That said any reasonably competent convesion (that keeps the rear window) should tolerate weather fine, although long term if the panels are carrying the weight there might be a risk of warping (which this design avoids).

as i would just leave it on besides the bottom of vents (keep them in car)

Chris Parnham left his kit (from the previous run) on his BTTF car permenantly, there was no problem with it. The gap between the original engine cover level and the deck level (containing the spaceframe support structure) provides plenty of circulation space for the cooling air, which is exhausted out the vents.

[mac]

Just to keep this topic alive, I drop these lines, already sent you a PM. I am very interested, too. My only "problem": Actually I like the reactor better, but a Mr. Fusion conversion would be more recognizable by the audiences^^

Warm regards, Alexander

[ALEXAKOS]

I am still a rookie in the Deloreans ways.
Bought one that was supposed to be parted and am bringing it back to life.
I am also looking in creating a non destructive BTTF replica (just for me not for resale)
So I am really considering PJ Grady's option.

PJ Grady has been a pioneer in many Delorean issues and now moves forth in the BTTF market. WAY TO GO!!!

I did however spot something that did not really seem correct. So I have taken the liberty of using this thread to point it out.
The rear louvers seem a bit too tall. In fact the spaces inside look more square than rectangular. I have created a small mockup to make sure it was not my eyes fooling me.

Is this an image issue or are they really a bit off in size?

[Starglider]

Is this an image issue or are they really a bit off in size?

I asked, and Chris said that the first kit was designed based on images from the films, and ultimately tweaked according to the customer's preferences. Dimensions, moulds and blueprints from the A car restoration project weren't available at the time, so some details were wrong. He has blueprints and castings now and says the second run will be as screen accurate as possible (unless customers specifically ask for differences), within the constraints of not drilling the panels and keeping the rear window. That said I'm not sure the aspect ratio in that photo is quite right; the rear fascia looks slightly squeezed.

[mac]

Any news or updates? Still interested in a full kit of the plutonium reactor version.