Pondering a transplantation V6 in a spider

[landman]

I have read and have not found any defiant answers. So thought I would ask.

Considering transplanting a 164 V6 or Milano v6 in to a spider? Should this be left to pure professional or can a shade tree handle this feat?

Also which would be more financially effective self building a hot 4 or self rebuilding a 6 and transplanting in to a spider?

From what I have read a hot NA 4 can get pretty close to a (stock)v6 in HP but the torque of the V6 can not be matched. But would the addition weight of the V6 and all it’s cpu and components offset the torque?
HMMM a carburetored 6 might be fun.

Anyone want to chime in.

[ddouglas77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by landman I have read and have not found any defiant answers. So thought I would ask. Considering transplanting a 164 V6 or Milano v6 in to a spider? Should this be left to pure professional or can a shade tree handle this feat? Also which would be more financially effective self building a hot 4 or self rebuilding a 6 and transplanting in to a spider? From what I have read a hot NA 4 can get pretty close to a (stock)v6 in HP but the torque of the V6 can not be matched. But would the addition weight of the V6 and all it’s cpu and components offset the torque? HMMM a carburetored 6 might be fun. Anyone want to chime in.

[Gary Knox]

Hmm, I've thought the same thing, as the stock 4 in my '91 is pretty lethargic. It only has 20K on it, so I'm reluctant, but sure would be nice to have a bit more ooomph!!
There are some strings on this in the "Engine Conversion" section. One being done in Canada, another in Adelaide OZ. Also, there is reference to one or more done in California several years ago. I'm all eyes and ears for anyone else who wants to chime in on this!!
Gary Knox
West Chester, PA

[Kipp]

Larry Jr. At APE could prob. help. He has done many different kind of swaps and sold parts to others doing engine swaps. (he knows what fits what)

[landman]

Thanks guys for all your input now I have more avenues for knowledge now. If I find a good "How to "or anything I will let you know.



I did find this but it pertains to a RH driver which is still helpful but there is alot of inapplicable steps and info you have to sift through for LH drivers. But it is still helpful.

Alfa V6 into 73 Spider

[adelspyder]

Sorry that the V6 into 73 Alfa thread chops around a bit – my brother seems to have the hardest part of the engine / trans install sorted, so his focus over the last few months has been to fit the deDion rear end. I guess what we wanted to show in the thread is that there are different ways of executing the concept – do you engineer engine parts (bellhousing, sump) to make it fit the confines of the Spider engine bay, or change sheetmetal (cross member, firewall, inner guards, maybe even trans tunnel depending on what gearbox you decide to fit) while keeping the drivetrain standard to make the engine fit?

Okay, now to your questions, and just my opinions…

First, use Google to do some more research (e.g. type in “alfa spider v6 engine conversion”, or “alfa 105 V6 engine conversion”), and you’ll see a lot more examples (mainly LHD) as well that will wet your appetite.

As to whether this should be left to a pure professional or a shade tree, well, I’d have to say that you need a fairly good understanding of the work required, and you’d also need the help of both an engineer(s) and fabricator(s) to make sure that you plan and execute it right.

As to what would be cheaper, it might pay to do some homework on the different engine rebuilds as well. But I reckon that the scales would tip in favour of the hot 4. Remember that the V6 may have you (numerically) lowering the diff ratio to match the engine’s torque characteristics, and to get the V6 under the bonnet, EFI would have to be the go (unless you wanted to modify the bonnet?).

As for the weight issue, if we were to compare a stock 4 Vs the mild V6, then you could offset a great % of the weight gain by changing components – headers are lighter than the Alfa exhaust manifolds, an aluminium radiator is lighter than the stock Spider unit, shifting the battery to the back helps get the weight off the front end too, etc. So the extra weight of the V6 on the front end could be roughly halved if you put the car on a diet.

I guess the other unknown is that there aren’t any performance spec’s available for those that have fit a V6 into a Spider (or any other 105 series car for that matter). If you could find and compare the actual performance specs of a hot 4 Vs V6, then I reckon that this would also have a bearing on your decision too.

Dino