I have a 1969 Spider currently fitted with a 2 liter cross member and a 2 liter engine. I want to fit a 1608, is there any advantage to retaining the 2 liter cross member? Will the 1608 sit lower.
Thanks in advance.
2 liter cross member for a 1608 question
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Flaviaman
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 2:22 am
- Your car is a: 1970 850 Coupe + 1970 124 Coupe
- Location: Portland, OR
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18Fiatsandcounting
- Posts: 3798
- Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:23 pm
- Your car is a: 1969 and 1971 124 spiders
- Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Re: 2 liter cross member for a 1608 question
I have a 2L block in my '69 spider, but I have the original (1969) crossmember. Seems to work fine. As for advantages/disadvantages of keeping your 2L crossmember, I can't think of any disadvantages. The only advantage I can think of is just the avoidance of the hassle of changing the crossmember again, as that requires front suspension work which can be a pain.
As for your question about the 1608 cc engine, I believe that the oil pan is not as deep as the 2L, so you'll gain a little bit of ground clearance, at least where the oil pan is concerned. My recollection is that the 1608 block is not as tall as the 2L block, so you'll also have more clearance between the top of the engine and the hood.
In short, I don't think you'll have any issues in installing a 1608 engine in place of the 2L you currently have, except possibly minor things like wiring, fuel and coolant hose hookups, mating of the exhaust manifold and downpipe, etc. Note that the bellhousing for the 2L engine is different than that for the 1608, so you might have to change the bellhousing. Again, going by recollection here, so my thoughts are more along the lines of things to consider.
-Bryan
As for your question about the 1608 cc engine, I believe that the oil pan is not as deep as the 2L, so you'll gain a little bit of ground clearance, at least where the oil pan is concerned. My recollection is that the 1608 block is not as tall as the 2L block, so you'll also have more clearance between the top of the engine and the hood.
In short, I don't think you'll have any issues in installing a 1608 engine in place of the 2L you currently have, except possibly minor things like wiring, fuel and coolant hose hookups, mating of the exhaust manifold and downpipe, etc. Note that the bellhousing for the 2L engine is different than that for the 1608, so you might have to change the bellhousing. Again, going by recollection here, so my thoughts are more along the lines of things to consider.
-Bryan