ALFAGTV6.COM

[ChrisS]

Not an Alfa, but an Alfa engine at least....

Finished installing the new LC motor ready to bed the cams & rings then put a few miles on it aspirated, prior to fitting the rebuilt M90 blower and getting it on the rollers.

All went well as far as bedding the cams went, but now I have a problem with the clutch release fouling the gear linkage...and my attempt at putting it right has ended up with me needing to pull the 'box again.

Still, the new exhaust sounds OK and all seems to fit as it should, and the engine sounds sweet.

Hope the new relase bearing arrives before Xmas.....

[MD]

Chris,

That's a serious bit of gear there. Would you care to tell us more about it ?

[SydneyJules]

Ooohhh baby- Hawk Stratos?

Damn you got me drooling all over the place....

Still one of the sexiest cars ever made.... plus adding an Alfa donk and a blower is just the recipe for torque a short wheelbase like that needs.... would be so much fun...


AND you'd possibly recoup most of the investment!

Nice work, BTW!

[GarthW]

Hey GP, well i didnt add in last post, reason why heads failed in the first place, was due to how they were built previously...the valve seats were done all wrong. Mechanic couldnt figure out why the cam timing marks lined up perfectly, but no compression, leak down test proved exhaust valves were bent, and then zero compression in all 6 cylinders. But once he competley stripped heads, then he saw the problem, was nothing to do with the forced induction, shutting it down whilst hot, nothing lke that.

The way the valve seats were done, if he were to simply throw all new parts in there, engine would only last 10-20 thousand kms before it died again. Also heads had already done over 300,000kms before i boosted engine... So had to have all valve seats machined, properly...plus one of the cam lobes was stuffed, so a re-weld and grind had to be done also. The bottom end has only done 10 thousand kms, so engine will be basically pretty fresh. Valves didnt hit pistons at all, they were very clean actually with no pitting at all.

As for reliability, lets just say the tow truck number will be on hand. But for the first 10k kms the driveline was fine, i never thrashed the hell out of it, did some hard launches in her though, and was great. Will do some low boost runs down the qtr, before i increase it. My brother is using a race fuel atm which is around 112-116 octane, i think thats right, costs around $250 for 20litres, that would be fun, write a fuel map for that stuff on the dyno, advance ignition and hold on..When the Alfa was last on the road, i took a guy who drag races for a ride in her, and he said low 11's easy, even a high 10, so that said alot, a 10.99 would be great, but i want a low 11.00-11.05 and that will be fine. Will be running it in full street trim also.

If a nissan silvia can run a flat 10.00 from a SR20 donk, then my Alfa will easily run a flat 11.00....watch this space....

Mats-Why not just chop the fan belt, then no water pump robbing power either..?

ChrisS, thats insane mate!!! Please start a thread on that build please!!
Can imagine the power to weight of that!

[ChrisS]

It's 'the other replica'. When this chassis was first made, it was called a CAE Corse, previously it was Litton, subsequently it's Napiersport. Who knows where next! I acquired what was left of the kit back in '99. Took 6 years to build it and got it road-legal in early 2005. It's on engine #4 now.....first one was a stock Lancia TC motor, then this V6 in stock form, then another V6 in mildly tuned aspirated, then mildly blown form (then blown headgasket form), then this engine again, but in a more sensible(!) spec for a bit more supercharged fun. I'm looking for 10-12psi of boost and at the very least, 300bhp/300ftlb. Whether I find it or not remains to be seen!

Shape and dimensions wise it's pretty close to original, but detail wise I've done a few things differently. I wanted it to be a 'modern tribute' to the original (or 'inspired by' if you like) rather than the perfect copy some of the other guys have built. Each to their own!

I don't want to hijack threads, but if you guys are happy for me to carry on here, what would you like to know about it?

[GarthW]

Chris, in no way are you hijacking this thread, thats what this thread is about, so please carry on from here..

Start by why/what inspired you to choose this car. What you plan to do with it, and any early build pics would be great!

The HP you want to reach wont be a problem...how much she weigh..?

[ChrisS]

Cheers for that Garth, I'll carry on then!

As far as opting for a copy of the Stratos, like so many folk who go this way, I have amazing memories of watching them compete in rallying, coupled with the fact that they looked like UFOs back in the 70s and still do even now.

This particular one was kind of an accident. I'd intended buying a Hawk kit, but didn't really have the funds for a new one so kept an eye open. I came across a pretty common thing - a part-built kit compllete with a lot of the parts needed to finish it. Again, this was just a bit too expensive so I had to pass. Then along came this one.....it was a pile of odd bits really. Chassis was incomplete to the extent someone had cut off the roof hoop and A pillars, no suspension parts at all, half the fibreglass missing etc etc...but it did have a big pile of useful odds & ends and it was affordable, so I went for it.

First order of business was to put the chassis right, so a visit to the manufacturer and I had a roof hoop and A pillars in CDS tube plus a few odd bits...like the main body tub . I also managed to pick up front upper and lower wishbones and rear wishbones, as well as a fuel tank just before he went bust. After getting the chassis back into one piece and a decent coat of paint on it, that was all I could afford to do for a year or two.

After that, I slowly got it looking like a car. Mechanically they are simple enough but the bodywork is a bit daunting, especially for someone like myself who had never done anything more taxing than putting some bondo on a dent!
I've got lots of pictures so I'll try and dig out some of the more interesting ones and post a few up. Couple more meantime...


Weight wise it's actually pretty heavy for one of these - just over 1000Kg. I put a lot of soundproofing in it, as well as creature comforts like A/C, carpets and a radio. The purists sniff at it, but I care not!, it's my car, built by me for me and I have nowt to prove. Use-wise, it's pure road car - kind of GT really. It's really nice on a run through the Welsh hills for example, yet it still works well enough on motorways.

[GarthW]

Love the interior, very nice indeed.

You certainly revived that car from it previous condition, thats for sure!!

Great to hear there's more pics coming, cheers Chris.

[ChrisS]

I'm not good with compliments, and I don't normally do 'proud', but I have to confess that the one thing I am fairly pleased about is the interior - apart from the seats which are Sparco, every single bit of trim and finish inside the car is my own work. I bought a used sewing machine and got stuck in! It certainly amused my workmates for a while - lunchtime, out came the sewing machine from under my desk and I'd do an hour. I also had to fabricate most things from scratch, apart from the dashboard moulding (which is Hawk and didn't fit my car) and the binnacle - again a Hawk item.

Anyway, since this thread is about performance etc...a couple more vaguely pertinent shots!

Mock up of the blower installation and a power plot from the dissapointing first attempt when it achieved a massive 5psi of boost.....and 1bhp less than aspirated! To be fair to it, it was far from an optimised map as we didn't see the point in carrying on with just 5psi. I nearly gave up at this point, but the guys encouraged me to have another go with a smaller pulley.

[SydneyJules]

Never heard of Napiersport before! Checking it out as I type- well between typing!

No Intercooler for the blower?

Give us some spec details. Please!

I have a Group A spec NA 12v 2.5 with just shy of 250hp (ideas in the works to get a little more), and turning to thoughts of apt and proper useage of the angry little bitch led me to a Stratos idea. Didn't really look into it. Turning a N/S donk into E/W for fitment would be tricky, so I'd always thought I'd go 12v 3.0 and force some air down its'' throat. It seems to me to be a car where you can actually build a modified example AND almost entirely recoup your investment. Not to mention driving something with absolute italian pedigree, in a shape that is top 20 for all time sex, IMO, and the idea of massive torque in a short mid engined wheelbase that could teach me more than a few lessons in control.

I never once got tired of walking up to my GTV. I always looked at it and thought "You're a great looking car".

When I see a stratos at a show, I run!

Possibly a good idea to create your own topic, so we can keep this one for the random updates that people will throw at it?

Cheers mate! Looking forward to hearing more

[SydneyJules]

I'm such a knob. I pretty much said the same thing twice, and to prove i'm a knob, I've even left my post there!

[ChrisS]

Don't worry about it Jules - I repeat myself so much at times even I get sick of listening

I'll start a new thread then. Not quite sure where it should go..probably performance.

There is an air/water cooler grafted into the inlet plenum. I'll post up some pics in teh new thread and leave this one to more GTV-related talk

[kevin]

Not quite as beautiful as the stratos but when you bored in the December holidays and you want to make a supermarket trolley rev then check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WClgUYMJj9Y

[ChrisS]

Excellent!! And people say my car has a short wheelbase....

[MD]

I'm such a knob.

Bragger !!