ALFAGTV6.COM

The big V6 exhaust followers are only found on very late 12v motors. I know my 155 V6 has them, and maybe the Spider 3.0 12v. My 155 V6 has his cams for a few years, no problems. I really doubt any of the engines RJ has dealt with have the big exhaust followers.

164 engines have big rockers, but no big exhaust followers. Maybe the very late 164 motors have the big exhaust followers.

I did ask RJ about the rocker and ramp problems before I bought his cams. He told me older CB cams were useless and broke rockers because the ramp design was too aggressive. So ramp was definitely a factor when I was choosing the profile.

But Micke's friend's problem sounds extreme.

The newer heads I had, had shorter cams and different pulleys. So the mixing is not even possible here. And as 75Evo told, RJ cams are designed for Milanos which all had small exhaust followers. The cams of this specific case are going to be inspected to be sure what size follower they need. After that we are ready to share the experiences in details. So far we have seen over 220hp from 2.5 with low compression ratio and relatively mild cams, still maintaining also original intake system, so I'd say that 2.5 is interesting engine.

I bought used 155 V6 cams from the UK and sent it to RJ's shop in Los Angeles, CA. The cams for the 155/Spider is unique, in length. But the Spider cams are also unique in profile.

Kterkilla, your cams broke? If it was I'm surprised that all he said was the buyer should have known. I spent a lot of time talking with him over the phone discussing what profile would suit my needs.

His cams are relatively cheap. 164S cams cost USD 1100. A big ripoff because the cams are barely better than non-S cams and quality is so-so. Lots of people have worn out lobes. You certainly don't want to spend USD1.1k, get mediocre performance increase and worn lobes within a few years using stock parts.

Actually that was my friends engine. I sold the core to him and as he wanted to use already available knowledge on the development, I recommended him to discuss about cam profiles with RJ. After deeper discussion, he ended up buying cams from RJ to that Milano 2.5 engine. Communication was fine until the problem arise. Now we are in situation that RJ says that engine builder did something wrong and we wonder if the cam profile should work at all. We'll check that design now to be sure what are we talking about.

The 155 V6 engine changed cam follower tappet size in MY95. The first 3 years the smaller ones were used. The 12V 3.0 used in the 164 (started in MY93 with the FaceLift, or was it MY92?) had the bigger ones as far as I know, but it could be they changed to bigger ones later. The 916 spider 3.0 12V has the bigger ones for certain.

I find 220 bhp from a "mildly tuned" 2.5 12V quite a lot to be honest. You'd need quite a lot of inlet valve resizing to be able to get that much air in, not? Any more details on what was done to that engine?

Disputes with sellers of "power parts" are something to be cautious about, before you draw a conclusion. You buy parts that were designed for, and hopefully tested for a very specific engine configuration with very specific requirements regarding longevity, output and compatibility in mind. Even a slight misunderstanding on both sides of the transaction can lead to catastrophic failure, even if the part in question was right for the purpose the seller had in mind. Added to that, every mechanic is human and can make a mistake during assembly, or simply not know of any requirements because the person purchasing the part did not relay them to the mechanic at all. So many things can go wrong on so many levels, a busted engine is hard to really absolutely blame on a single faulty part. RJ has a reputation for knowing his stuff and producing good quality cams. He's human, so he could have made a mistake, but there are lots of other factors that we have not heard about that can give the exact same symptoms and end result.

Hey Jim , if there was an Alfa hall of fame , you got my vote. Your book is brilliant and most of our club guys here have got it. ( pity you cant release another on economics and teach the rich guys to pay tax )
Thanks again for sending me a copy and hopefully I follow it closely with my final 3.0 12v motor I am starting.

I just wanted to add to all the praise on the book. It makes a great read and is quite inspiring, although that can be problematic depending on your bank account. A great additon to an enthusiats library.

It has proved hard to source here in NZ but I was fortunate to have a friend travel to the UK where he picked up 3 copies for locals and bought home.

Cheers,
Glen

Glad you like it guys! Unfortunately, it took too long to finish for a number of reasons, and there was no way to delay any more waiting for substantial 24v stuff. That WILL come, but I can't indicate any time frame as it depends primarily on $$ -you all know what's happening in this country. I had nice dreams of using the money I get from (very reluctantly) selling my 3liter to finance further 24v work... I sold the car for 10,000€, and the recently imposed special taxes of all sorts here amount to ....12,500€!! You can imagine how thoroughly pissed I am! Working on a car and spending all these years and finally throwing it in the bottomless treasury pit!
Growing up, I always believed -like most people- thieves and crooks are usually found in jail... Well, in Greece they are all politicians! Funny, when they ask for your vote, they say all the right things! All you have to do is believe them once; just once!
Reeegardzzz,
Jim K.

Amazing thievery. The fat cats get people into trouble and the people bail them out. The problem is these sort of problems interfere with the people's lives, livelihood and most importantly hobbies like ours

Unfortunatly your politicians have friends in my country as well as others.




Line 'em up and run over 'em with an Alfa powered tank...

Hey Jim , I used your pointers and info to modify the dizzy on my recently rebuilt SA Carby 3.0 GTV ; very happy with the response and crisp acceleration.

I am running about 18 degrees static and 36 degrees centrifigal / max advance. No ping or detonation at full throttle acceleration on pump gas.

I used the springs from an old vw 1.8 dizzy to bring the mid rpm timing down , surprisingly my fuel consumption decreased from 10 kilometres per litre to 12 kilometres per litre , at light throttle cruise.

I owe you a beer !

That's great news Deonne! In my old 3liter, I was running ~23* at idle and ~32-34* at high rpm. These values though depend a lot on CR, type of cams etc. I'm glad it worked out for you; nice to see someone actually performing 'open heart' distributor surgery!
Jim K.