Alfa V6 Swap?

[MidwestCoaster]

I'm in no position to take on a project like that, but just curious - has anyone ever tried putting an Alfa Romeo busso V6 in a Fiat Spider? A 2.5L from the GTV6 or 3.0L from the 75/Milano or something?

The stock spider drivetrain probably couldn't handle the added power, so it would probably (maybe?) be easiest to get an Alfa donor car and swap out the whole drivetrain. The hardest part (and I imagine the reason I haven't seen it done before) would be adapting the gearbox that is mounted at the back, attached to the diff. While this would be a fabrication nightmare, moving all that weight to the back would (at the very least) offset the added weight at the front from the (probably) heavier engine. This would alleviate the issue all the handling issues that arise when people dump heavy V8s in tiny cars - I know someone who auto-crosses his near-stock X1/9 (just tires and some suspension mods), and despite being far from the quickest, had never been beaten by any of the V8-swap Miatas he had competed against.

So - do you think in reality it could be as awesome as it is in my head right now? A throughly Italian car, with Spider looks, Alfa V6 sound and power, and reasonable - or maybe even better than stock - weight distribution/handling. With a 3.0V6 tuned up to 250hpish and a load of cash thrown at it, it could probably approach 60's Ferrari-level performance, to match the "inspiration" of the Spider's looks. Sounds intriguing... But is it even plausible? Has it been done before? Would the engine even fit?

[divace73]

I currently have both a 1980 124 spider and a 1983 Alfetta GTV6 and ponder frequently (sadly) and also what to do with the drive train....
a 131 box will solve the the gearbox issue if one were to remain with the standard setup, and possibly upgrading to a 132 rear end. I would stick with an original diff that has been set up and sorted correctly until there would be a need to upgrade.

As much as I love the idea of a rear trans-axle, it would require a whole lot more fabrication and I've got to say the rear gear change in the afla is nowhere as nice as the 124/131. (in direct comparison I would say it is horrible....)

I think there was a yellow spider that has been on this forum that had it done???

[vandor]

A while back someone posted pics of a Spider they bought with such a conversion. It had a carbureted Alfa 2.5 V6.

[2000usa]

Subscribed!

Idea crossed my mind as well, but lacking mechanical knowledge, never gave it further investigation.

I would suppose that the transaxle poses a bigger issue then the engine-installation?

[bradartigue]

It has been done (the V6, not the transaxle) successfully but the net is a car that has been heavily modified to force an idea to work.

I think the smallest automotive V6 made was the Mazda MX-3 V6, which is likely small enough where you could at least work on the thing in situ - but again, what is the point? You can achieve some very dramatic power with the TC and probably spend less having Croft build an engine for you vs. re-doing the entire Spider to make something else work.

[divace73]

It has been done (the V6, not the transaxle) successfully but the net is a car that has been heavily modified to force an idea to work.

I think the smallest automotive V6 made was the Mazda MX-3 V6, which is likely small enough where you could at least work on the thing in situ - but again, what is the point? You can achieve some very dramatic power with the TC and probably spend less having Croft build an engine for you vs. re-doing the entire Spider to make something else work.

don't get me wrong I love the lampredi twin cam and know you can get similar power out of it, especially in full on 16V turbo guise.

It would always be one of those 'cause I can' scenario's and that sound of that specific V6 is pretty special....

[vandor]

FWIW there is a shop in California that sways these into Alfa Spiders.

[spiderrey]

Better then any Alfa v6 into an Alfa spider is the 302 that I ran across while on Sunset. This install into an Alfa spider looked factory. It was so clean and sounded so nice.

[bradartigue]

Get some rice rocket shot to tune your exhaust pipe. You can get them to sound just about like anything, including a whistle. Woo woo.

[spiderrey]

How is this even relevant?^^^

[bradartigue]

How is this even relevant?^^^

The post above mine makes some comment about the sound. If you're trying to achieve a sound then go the cheap route, get a tuned exhaust. Far easier and more reliable than an Alfa V6.

[spiderrey]

Sorry, dont agree. I had a sweet Alfa 3.0. It was a beaut all the way around. Wish I had another.

[bradartigue]

Sorry, dont agree. I had a sweet Alfa 3.0. It was a beaut all the way around. Wish I had another.

In my Alfas I want an Alfa motor. In my FIATs I want a FIAT motor, and so on. If I put an Alfa motor in a FIAT it becomes an unreliable machine, not because either component is unreliable per se, but cars with engine swaps are IMHO unreliable machines. A FIAT with an Alfa 3.0 wedged into the hood is going to be like a Porsche 928, beautiful to look at, and then you try to work around this massive engine in a tiny engine bay...and so on.

[spiderrey]

To each his own. I'm not against engine swaps. They are not unreliable if done properly. Personally though, I wouldn't swap the twin cam out of a spider unless it was another Fiat twin cam. But thats just me. Id love another 3 liter Alfa, but I would like it wrapped in a verde again.