Tag: movie cars

  • Haynes Manuals releases owner’s manual for Doc Brown’s DeLorean time machine

    Haynes Manuals is known for its detailed vehicle repair manuals, but the publisher also has a sense of humor. It just released an “owner’s manual” for the DeLorean time machine from “Back to the Future.”

    First spotted by Motor1, the manual provides more detail than one should probably expect for a fictional vehicle. If you’re unfamiliar, the plot of the three “Back to the Future” movies centered around a DeLorean DMC-12 converted into a time machine by mad scientist Doc Brown. The car could travel through time by reaching 88 mph, with help from something called a flux capacitor.

    Released in 1985, the first “Back to the Future” movie arrived too late to save the DeLorean Motor Company from collapse, but it turned the DMC-12 into a pop culture icon. The sports car has ridden a wave of 1980s nostalgia to new heights of popularity, and a company in Texas even plans to build new ones.

    DeLorean Time Machine Replica

    DeLorean Time Machine Replica

    The Haynes manual won’t show you how to build your own flux capacitor, but it does include plenty of photos and details of the original movie car, as well as the flying version from “Back to the Future Part II.”

    The “Back to the Future: DeLorean Time Machine: Owner’s Workshop Manual” is available for pre-order on Amazon, priced at $29.99, and will be released on March 30, 2021. 

    In addition to its regular repair manuals, Haynes has done plenty of spoof owner’s manuals for fictional vehicles, as well as everything from Formula One cars to steam locomotives. Haynes recently announced that it is ending publication of new printed repair manuals, as it shifts focus to digital publishing.

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  • Deep dive: Sean’s RB26-powered Ford Mustang from “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”

    One of the most controversial cars from the “Fast and Furious” franchise is the RB26-powered Ford Mustang from “Tokyo Drift.” If you’ve ever wondered why the production team decided to stuff an iconic Nissan engine in a classic American muscle car, or how it was accomplished, this video has the answers. It features Craig Lieberman—technical advisor on the early “Fast and Furious” movies—and Sean Morris, the car’s builder.

    Used in multiple generations of the Nissan Skyline GT-R, the 2.6-liter RB26 inline-6 is one of the most legendary engines to come out of Japan. The car symbolizes main character (and muscle-car lover) Sean Boswell fully embracing Japanese drifting and tuning culture.

    Morris is a GT-R specialist, and was brought in to advise on the project. He chose a fairly basic version of the RB26 with a single turbocharger (as opposed to the stock GT-R twin-turbo setup), due to clearance issues in the Mustang’s engine bay. The engine was coupled to an FS530RA 5-speed manual transmission, with a Ford 9.0-inch rear end.

    Ford Mustang from

    Ford Mustang from

    In the movie, the engine is sourced from an S15 Nissan Silvia that had been wrecked in an earlier scene. That’s led many people to conclude that the Mustang actually sported an SR20 inline-4 (the engine offered in the S15 from the factory), not the RB26, Morris said. That’s untrue; in the context of the story, this is simply a case of a twice-swapped engine.

    As with other movie cars, the “Tokyo Drift” Mustang was actually several cars. Six or seven Mustangs were used in filming, according to Lieberman, a mix of 1967 and 1968 fastbacks. The rest of the cars had V-8s, including the cars actually used to film drifting and other stunts, he said.

    After filming, the cars were dispersed. One of the V-8 stunt cars was offered for sale in 2019 with an asking price of $179,900, and at least two other cars are thought to survive.

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