ALFAGTV6.COM

[Zamani]

I think custom made Twinspark from Nord head with custom mono barrels.

Driven by his younger brother Domenic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9srHj9V9 ... re=related

[Mats]

Very tight racing! Nice to hear a raspy 4-cyl in all that V8 noise.
Was it mandatory to make all the cars incredibly ugly?

[MR2 Zig]

Very tight racing! Nice to hear a raspy 4-cyl in all that V8 noise.
Was it mandatory to make all the cars incredibly ugly?


Very tight racing! Nice to hear a raspy 4-cyl in all that V8 noise.
Was it mandatory to make all the cars incredibly ugly?

Aussie flair for design?



zig

[GTV27]

that's a pretty old video - guessing at 10 or 15 years ago.

The cars are Sports Sedans and had to retain some visual links to production cars with freedoms around front spoilers, rear wings and guard extensions. This and the fact that most were amatuer builds, led to the aesthetics possibly offending those with delicate sensibilities - but damn they were (and are now in historic racing) very fast.

The 4 cyl turbo brigade was eventually seen off by the 6 litre chev engined monsters (which were cheaper and easier to run in the long term). A chev engined Alfetta actually dominated this class for quite some time - Ricciadello I think was the driver/owner/builder...?

[OzMidnight]

He came second this year. Something to be said for all-alloy 700hp "Chevs" of 6-litre capacity.

[GTV27]

I used to have an SS commodore and am quite partial to an alloy chev . i reckon it would make a good transplant for a GTV, but have no idea about the logistics of it...

[MD]

Hey Jason, wanna go nuts?
Forget those Chev boat anchors.
Stick in a small block quad cam V8 from a Supra. Get it warmed a little..
Light and all the trouble you could possibly get into if only your brakes, suspension and gearbox could handle it...

(..but then would that be TOYALF ? )

[GTV27]

I think you mean the Lexus V8 and while that is a very nice engine and not that I'm am at all seriously considering it ( ) but a chev would have the advantages of size (is a lot smaller than a quad cam engine due to the space efficient pushrod arrangement) cheap and easily tuned for a gazillion horsepower.

[Mats]

I have no idea why anyone would consider a quad cam V8 when you can get all the power you need from a regular Chevy or Ford unit for 1/10 the price..?
Maybe if it was a Ferrari or other italian brand but a Lexus?

[Greg Gordon]

A Quad cam Lexus engine would look cool. However in all of the objective areas the small block Chevy is really tough to beat. An alloy S.B.C. is physically a lot smaller and lighter. It's also much better from a power/dollar equation or in terms of absolute power.

It's not that the S.B.C. motor is a great design, it really isn't. It's a satisfactory design that has 54 years of evolution and aftermarket support.

Greg

[MD]

Mats/Greg, don't know how much involvement you guys have had with the Toyota small block V8 that are in all sorts of things from 4wheeel drives to their sports cars. Second hand, they are relatively cheap and easy to source even directly out of Japan as a complete front cut which includes the whole shooting match with computer and loom. These engines can make reliable and serious power well beyond the GTV standard mechanicals.They are light and tough.

In Oz, both Chev and Toyota are imported brands so there are price penalties for that. As for an equivalent Italian job, well it's just not in the league, dollar for dollar.

Buy hey this is a bolony discussion anyway because who in their right mind would want to put a non genuine engine in their Alfa and still expect it to be an Alfa. Might be a great performer but its an orphan with a resale value to match.

Now if you are talking about something for the track, well anything goes I suppose...

[OzMidnight]

A Lexus in a GTV has been done. See greengtv8 on the Alfa Vic forums. The 4.0 has massive 6-bolt mains and enormously strong bottom end - VERY good for forced induction. Outputs from 600-1000hp have been achieved with nothing more than piston swaps, internally. It's also quite a light engine. Planetsoarer also has good information.

With regards to non-Alfa engines...I admire Alfa-engined Alfas - the sight of a nice twin cam or V6, sitting in a pristine bay is great and yes, preserves the marque. But, if it there's a purpose for changing the engine... Sometimes it is all people can do to keep an Alfa on the roads...other times for motorsport puposes...other times bang-for-buck - an Alfa engine is a pricy thing to make power from!

[GTV27]

In terms of bang for buck, it would be hard to beat an LS1 chev. Even in the common garden variety 5.7litre form, as found in 10,000's of Commodores across this vast brown land, it puts out an easy 350hp and about 500 newton metres of the good stuff, all the while running on 91 octane, being reliable, getting good fuel economy and with parts availability from your local supermarket (well, almost).

Enough to shread an alfa clutch, gearbox and driveshafts, no?

The trick (apart from keeping those aforementioned bits in their proper alignment) would be fitting it between the guards - but if a Lexus fits, so would a chev....

The plan for the NEXT engine was a 3.2 GTA, but maybe not any more...muuuuhhhaaaaa (BTW that was my evil scientist laugh).

But what to call it:
Alfa Rolet
Chevromeo
Alfa-chev

Alfa Romeo (powered by GM) - that's IT!

[Duk]

Sticking an aluminium block V8 in the front of an Alfa will surely result in even more understeer from overloaded tyres and an even worse pollar moment of inertia than the V6s suffer from
Unless you plan to push a couple of cylinders through the firewall, you'll only disrupt the natural balance of the chassis.

Having said that, I do see the HP/$$$ arguement

[Mats]

Mats/Greg, don't know how much involvement you guys have had with the Toyota small block V8 that are in all sorts of things from 4wheeel drives to their sports cars. Second hand, they are relatively cheap and easy to source even directly out of Japan as a complete front cut which includes the whole shooting match with computer and loom. These engines can make reliable and serious power well beyond the GTV standard mechanicals.They are light and tough.

In Oz, both Chev and Toyota are imported brands so there are price penalties for that. As for an equivalent Italian job, well it's just not in the league, dollar for dollar.

Buy hey this is a bolony discussion anyway because who in their right mind would want to put a non genuine engine in their Alfa and still expect it to be an Alfa. Might be a great performer but its an orphan with a resale value to match.

Now if you are talking about something for the track, well anything goes I suppose...

Stock engine? Blasphemy...

The aftermarket scene for the american V8's compared to the Lexus unit should be enough to settle the cost discussion.