convert 1977 engine back to 1973 power on spider
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--What Gig said and other things.. as your wallet allows... ).
--Lose the 140 pounds of bumpers..... or modify to lessen the weight, or go the pre-75 stainless bumpers... again.. as your wallet allows... the weight from the bumpers gone helps with the GVWeight.
--Suspension parts are the same as earlier... I have a 77.. going to a 74 'feel' as we speak. ( a thread on here as I progress.. ) There were/are aluminum spacers under the springs for DOT required ride height..., every car a bit different. But you can leave the springs and such stock... or start lowering. Spacers out will do that to start.... lower/shorter springs will do it more, either cutting the stocks, or installing aftermarket. With my Spider, I went with IAP red lower springs.... Lower than stock, looks great, rides 'better, a bit stiffer, and new.
-- Any work you can do with the cylinder head will improve performance... From making sure the cam's are on time marks, replace the cams with performance cams, mill the head, tougher springs for the valves bring higher rev's, big valves, etc... as your wallet allows..
--Various things to do with the ignition/distrib system... replace with electronic, pointless, variations.
-- Fuel delivery improvements... Modify Spica system to changes with engine mods... If you go carbs, there are a ton of threads on what to do with them.
--Most of these changes can be done to make the car more reliable as well as perform better. A better breathing beast that has better 'shoes' to run in.... which means tires too... lots of options too...
--Lose the 140 pounds of bumpers..... or modify to lessen the weight, or go the pre-75 stainless bumpers... again.. as your wallet allows... the weight from the bumpers gone helps with the GVWeight.
--Suspension parts are the same as earlier... I have a 77.. going to a 74 'feel' as we speak. ( a thread on here as I progress.. ) There were/are aluminum spacers under the springs for DOT required ride height..., every car a bit different. But you can leave the springs and such stock... or start lowering. Spacers out will do that to start.... lower/shorter springs will do it more, either cutting the stocks, or installing aftermarket. With my Spider, I went with IAP red lower springs.... Lower than stock, looks great, rides 'better, a bit stiffer, and new.
-- Any work you can do with the cylinder head will improve performance... From making sure the cam's are on time marks, replace the cams with performance cams, mill the head, tougher springs for the valves bring higher rev's, big valves, etc... as your wallet allows..
--Various things to do with the ignition/distrib system... replace with electronic, pointless, variations.
-- Fuel delivery improvements... Modify Spica system to changes with engine mods... If you go carbs, there are a ton of threads on what to do with them.
--Most of these changes can be done to make the car more reliable as well as perform better. A better breathing beast that has better 'shoes' to run in.... which means tires too... lots of options too...
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318 Posts
I second that. On my '77 I replaced the stock manifold with a Shankle header and when I stepped on the gas for the first time it jerked my head back. The stock manifold is so restrictive that I couldn't put my thumb in without it touching the top and bottom at the same time.
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5,739 Posts
Unfortunately everyone I've seen has been installed with holes. I hate them as well.
As far as performance goes, as others have said, let your wallet be your guide. What you might consider doing is find a '71 to '74 parts car and start doing the swap. But the single biggest improvement you can make to any Alfa that is 20 years or older is to replace all the suspension bits: bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints, etc.
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1,795 Posts
Suspension is essentially the same. No worry, except that some older springs will sag a lot, so some will have a lot less oil pan clearance, like mine. But it is a cheap way to lower the car and looks cool.
First thing to upgrade is the elimination of the ethanol in gasoline and stick to eating the corn. This would of course involve a change in leadership, but is a cheap way to increase reliability, horsepower and gas mileage.
Trim stips on the the side are a dealer installed defication to remove cash from a buyers wallet while ruining the looks of a car. Yes, they are almost always accompanied by holes (with an A)
A 1974 spica in place of later lean ones will help too.
I do have a cut body part from an older car that makes installing an older bumper on a later car a lot easier, if anyone is interested enough to make shipping worthwhile. Substantial assembly required.
First thing to upgrade is the elimination of the ethanol in gasoline and stick to eating the corn. This would of course involve a change in leadership, but is a cheap way to increase reliability, horsepower and gas mileage.
Trim stips on the the side are a dealer installed defication to remove cash from a buyers wallet while ruining the looks of a car. Yes, they are almost always accompanied by holes (with an A)
A 1974 spica in place of later lean ones will help too.
I do have a cut body part from an older car that makes installing an older bumper on a later car a lot easier, if anyone is interested enough to make shipping worthwhile. Substantial assembly required.
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11,776 Posts
Well, '73's weren't exactly hp monsters either. As others have written, you should aspire to > 1973 performance levels. Think about cams, head work, higher compression pistons, h.p. ignition....
While replacing the Spica system with Webers is politically incorrect, you might consider that too. The Spica purists will argue that their system can deliver equivalent power with better fuel economy. I'm sure this is true in theory, but I'd counter that it's tough in practice to get a h.p. Spica to run well.
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I was thinking that Wes Ingram said the pumps up to 1974 were tuned for performance and from 1975 on they started the downward slide...
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I think Wes stated during the Seattle convention that if you wanted performance, then you should start with a 74 core and not a later one. In fact, I understood him to say it is better than earlier ones too, if I can trust my poor memory. Apparently they are similar but somewhat different. Since he also said cores are not worth much of anything as far as his buying them, I gave away my 78 pump and related parts yesterday, rather than continue to store a brick.
Why not just call his shop and ask? There is also a lot of searchable info on this site.
I still like the carbs, personally. The only spica car I had was a troublesome 74, compared with the many others I've had without Spica. I did like the several Bosch cars.
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