This poor Alfa...

[dcalfa]

The main things that got me were the automatic and the ridiculously heavy engine. With Alfas, the engines are such a central part of the make, it just seems wrong to shove Detroit iron in there. Some other vintage cars, like an MG, which is basically powered by a tractor engine, can benefit a lot from the right transplant (and the common replacement engines are often lighter than the original cast iron lump).

I'm not directly comparing Alfa to, say, Ferrari or Porsche, but it seems like the same kind of thing to me--the engine is half the point, married with the design and handling.

And let's face it--this is a Duetto. It's not like my 78. Duettos are already rare and getting rarer, so it just seems a shame. I agree the quality of the job looks pretty decent though. If he hasn't hacked things up too much and someone has a proper Duetto engine/tranny...

[twoliterlover]

Frankly, one of the best swaps I ever saw was a 1962 Pontiac aluminum v8 in a two liter spider with fourspeed borg warner. Also had a ford rearend with shortened axles. It fit the two liter wheels because the pattern was the same. The only problem was the Alfa steering box. And I swapped him one of those for his hard top (even I sometimes make good deals). Last I heard the car was in Rochester New York. Balance was not all that bad and handled well.
However I did see a Chevrolet in a two liter too. Fellow from Canada (Surrey, I believe) had it. It had so much power that the "cookie cutter" tires (165x400) couldn't do anything but spin when he stepped down on the gas. Even at seventy MPH he could spin the tires if he even pressed just a bit harder. Needed more rubber to hold it. He finally stuffed the car into the back of another stopped at an intersection (brakes don't do much when the tires are so skinny) and I picked up the pieces. Had a regular two liter gearbox and rear end. Just too much motor for the car.
At the nationals in Portland a few years back one fellow showed up with a 164 stuffed into a spider. But it had no firewall and the safety committee would not let him run.
Moral of the above stories. Not all (perhaps few) modifications make sense, but you can't blame a man for trying something new. Would you like to talk about Alfa pickups now?

[dabigboy]

Oh no, that's just....wrong....ugggghhhh!!!!!! I'm kinda surprised no one has mentioned the dash. I can't believe what they did with it.......trying to make it look like a muscle car or something?????

I'm all for live and let live when it comes to car projects, I just wish they wouldn't sacrifice the really nice (and somewhat rare) cars.

[Alfacliff]

kinda like a tv show a while back, every car they put together had the same msd ignition, which somehow got hooked up backwards and didnt work, and a 4 barrel put in. on some engines the 4 barrel might be ok, but the 260z datsuns didnt work too good. took out 2 side draft dual throats and put in a 4 barrel down draft with a strange intake manafold. didnt turn as good times as the origional setup.
cliff

[dabigboy]

Yeah, Z cars are another popular choice with the Bubba's of the automotive world.

The stock carb'd setup of early Z's can be improved upon for sure, but I don't think slapping a four-barrel Holley on the thing is exactly the way to do it. LOL

[Tifosi]

A Holley 600cfm vac actuated 4bbl will certainly wake up one of the old rotaries, that I assure you

[Geezer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabigboy Yeah, Z cars are another popular choice with the Bubba's of the automotive world. LOL

[dabigboy]

LOL, hi Bubba, nice to meet you. Actually I'd heard about the weight/balance issue with Z's and V8 swaps, someone even told me you'd actually save weight.

I don't really have a problem with swaps/upgrades if they only improve the car, I was speaking more of poorly-executed hacks (ergo, dumping the original nice SU carb setup on the Z and trying to make a 4bbl work that was intended for a V8 from Detroit). Of course, I don't really care for American V8 swaps myself no matter how much they help performance, as a matter of personal preference. Guess I'm just a purist.

Now putting a twin-turbo V6 off a 2nd-gen 300ZX, into a nice built-up 240Z......hmmmmm yeah now that I can deal with.

[Geezer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabigboy LOL, hi Bubba, nice to meet you. Actually I'd heard about the weight/balance issue with Z's and V8 swaps, someone even told me you'd actually save weight. I don't really have a problem with swaps/upgrades if they only improve the car, I was speaking more of poorly-executed hacks (ergo, dumping the original nice SU carb setup on the Z and trying to make a 4bbl work that was intended for a V8 from Detroit). Of course, I don't really care for American V8 swaps myself no matter how much they help performance, as a matter of personal preference. Guess I'm just a purist. Now putting a twin-turbo V6 off a 2nd-gen 300ZX, into a nice built-up 240Z......hmmmmm yeah now that I can deal with.

[Chillidog]

I'm no purist, I mean I put a front spoiler (air dam?) off a Graduate onto my '76 Spider and I think it looks good, but jeez, sticking a small block Chevy in a Duetto, that's just wrong. My brother did that to a Jaguar XK140. He removed the original engine and tranny and put in a SBC and automatic tranny. I still haven't forgiven him for that. I've got a pic of it somewhere, if I find it I'll post it. The car was beautiful and fast and handled well, there wasn't much weight difference if I remember right, but you just shouldn't do that to a classic like his Jag or this Duetto. Oh well, to each his own.