91 164 engine needs rebuild, shop ideas?

david varpness · #1 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 04:38 PM

hello my name is david and i own a 91 164B that needs either a engine rebuild or a swap. it lost alot of oil over a short period of time so im assuming the damage is pretty bad, would like to someday get it back on the road but from what ive been told by ralli round it would cost around 8k for a rebuild which is alot of money but i understand that that would be a complete rebuild from top to bottom and would last a very long time especially since i didnt drive it that much but if there was a cheaper option that would get it back on the road for a while like a engine swap and then take the engine in it now and have that rebuilt eventually that would be great am just not sure if im willing to put 8k into it right now but if i have to i will wait till i can justify paying that kinda money for it. so do you guys know of some other shops that would be able to get my alfa running again but a bit cheaper or a place or a person who would be willing to do a engine swap that wouldnt cost me so much? i also have parts that i would be willing to trade for work on the car, not alot but a few hundred dollors worth of stuff if you know a shop that would take parts or a person or sonething. or am i best to just go with ralli round and get a good 100k out of the car insted? any help and input would be greatly appreciated so yeah.

**Richard2** · #2 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 10:54 PM

David...putting $8,000 into "B" is not a wise thing to do. In running condition, the car is only worth $2000. A couple of years ago I bought a running "B" for $840. It needed some work, clutch. shift linkage, water pump, timing belt, motor mounts, exhaust, etc, but it was running and has 30,000 on it since I bought it.

I suggest you put an ad in the 164 and "For Sale" form for a used engine. They are out there. I'm picking up a free one in Canada that needs head gaskets.

david varpness · #3 (**permalink**) 09-25-2009, 05:52 AM

thats what i thought, even when i asked ralli round what it would cost to do a swap they were saying 5-6k i know and good engine or atleast one that needed little work wouldnt be that expensive but i dont have the equipment to do a swap and i cant seem to find a place in olympia that would do it but im not 100% certin cause i didnt check every shop around town i personally wouldnt put more than a couple thousnad into it to get it running again but i need to find a shop or a person willing to do the work. i dont want to go buy a used engine if i cant find a place to do the swap for me and that wont cost me a ton of money and its a good car everything except the engine is in good shape, a new paint job and interior and it would be a great car but if its gona cost me alot i dont want to worry about it right now, so uhh yeah. so i guess what im looking for is a place that would swap engines for me and that wouldnt cost me a ton of money so if you have any suggestions that would be great so yeah.

**Richard2** · #4 (**permalink**) 09-25-2009, 10:08 AM

Well, It's been about 6 years since we lived in Olympia, and were only there for a few months, but there was a mechanic that worked on 4cyl Alfas somewhere in the country very close to Olympia. I can't remember now. If you post in the Spider form, someone there might know.

GianniB · #5 (**permalink**) 09-25-2009, 11:23 AM

That would probably be Agafors out on Boston Harbor Road.

**Richard2** · #6 (**permalink**) 09-25-2009, 12:28 PM

Yea, that sounds like him. It's a little hard to find. The driveway goes up a hill on the right hand side going out if I remember right. It would be worth finding out what he would want to do an engine swap. I'm not sure what his talents are as far as V6 rebuilds. I believe he works mostly on 4Cyl, but he is an Alfa guy.