The Alfasud Register

This page is devoted to those registered Alfasuds which have been so dramatically altered from normal that they deserve special coverage.  We are not talking here about mild tuning, standard engine swaps or skirts and spoilers - these are the unusual and outrageous!  Bye the bye, the page title does not infer any disrespect to the owners - quite the reverse, they are to be admired!

Please note the shift in style of music.  For those not into 'Heavy Metal' (no pun intended!) the year is 1980, the group is 'Saxon' and the track is 'Wheels of Steel'.

Take a TiX shell and transplant two 3Litre V6 motors, complete with the donor 164 sub-frames, gearboxes and suspensions and you have a recipe for this amazing machine.  Not nearly as easy as it sounds and the fabricated tubular steel space frames themselves are a work of art.

Given a first 'show' outing at the muddy 2007 National Alfa Day it appeared again at Summer Alfa Day at Renishaw Hall, now resplendant in Mick's favourite 'Alitalia' livery.  It was trailored in but run briefly on it's front engine to take it's place in the 22 Sud line-up. 

 The 'Bimotore' is now a familiar sight at events and now has both motors running! 

At Santa Pod the car did the standing quarter in 13.58 secs and reached 104.48 mph!

The car is featured in AutoItalia magazine issue 150 (Oct/Nov 2008) alongside Mick's similarly liveried Lancia Beta Coupe special.

You could be forgiven for thinking this is a pretty standard GC, although the lowered suspension and 195/45 Goodyears might provide a clue that there might be something different under the bonnet.  A 1712cc 16v block in fact but then this is a commonplace performance mod. I hear you mutter.  However there is more..    It's bored to 1st oversize and skimmed by 1.5 mm to raise the c/r to 10.8 to 1.  There are lightened 8v crank, flywheel and rods with pistons machined with pockets to give valve clearance.  Heads are 1.5 derived with machined 10cc combustion chambers.  Valves are Ford Pinto Group A 45mm inlet and 36mm exhaust and Alfa 75 3.0 litre valve springs.  Camshaft is Piper 349 on vernier pulleys.  Ignition is MBE mappable and Jenvey 40mm throttle bodies complete the engine ancilliaries.  The GC gearbox is augmented by a Quaite limited slip diff.  Yellow Koni top adjustable shocks with BLS springs are fitted and vented inboard discs with spaced calipers look after the stopping.

Wayne is nearing the end of (yet another) engine rebuild and we all in the Central/East Mids AROC Section can't wait to see what extraordinary bhp this very special machine will produce and to see (and hear!) it in action again.

Eddie's Ti was bought for £240 with a standard 1350 motor but this was soon replaced by a 1700 and then fitted with the 4 wheel drive system from a 33.  In the search for more punch 44IDF's were added together with hotter cams etc. but more extreme ideas were forming and after a flirtation with a mid-mount v6 Renault turbo notion in 2000 a Cosworth Turbo was tried together with the current rear end from a 2.8 Capri.  The car has been off the road since that time but Ed was never happy with the cossy and settled for the present V8.

This is a Ford small block 302 from a 1971 Torino with GP40P cylinder heads, flat top pistons and special rods and crank. Upgraded cams and inlet means an expected power of 280 to 300 bhp with around 350ft lbs of torque,   As you can see, this has been made to fit nicely into the Sud engine bay although not without a great deal of fabrication - a 4X2 box section chassis with 2 inch tube front and 6 point cage.  The gearbox is a C4 auto with Ratchet shifter.  The Capri rear axle has a limited slip diff., 4 link Watts linkage, alloy support brace, cosworth disc conversion and 2 1/4 coilovers.  Front suspension legs are also 2.8 Capri (with Escort Cosworth calipers and Sierra Cosworth discs) as are the front cross member and power steering too.   No wonder Ed says that there has been a deal of aggro associated with the project!   However the end is in sight, the car is finished (see pics) bar engine and suspension tuning and the car is due for it's first show on Good Friday in Aldershot

How's this for a neat installation! 1.7 16v engine from a 33, rebuilt (for the second time, after blowing the first!) with JE forged pistons and lightly ported heads. Merc Supercharger with custom plenum chamber and Mini-derived intercooler. DTA engine management system, 156 oil cooler and custom stainless exhaust system.   33 coilovers from AH motorsports at the front and AVO lowered springs with konis at rear and 15inch alloys with 195/50 Toyos.  Brakes upgraded using Vauxhall Calibra V6 calipers with 164 discs at front and 147 at rear (including handbrake!) Body fully repaired and repainted with body-coloured bumpers and custom bonnet vent for intercooler.  Headlamps are from a E30 BMW in the Sud shrouds. Interior retrimmed in black alcantara with new bucket seats.  New dials to cope with new limits and will make 200bhp but with a nitrous kit to power up further.  WOW!!!

Very smart, understated finish, a real 'wolf in sheep's 'if you like, very recognisable as a Ti but the bonnet vent is a bit of a give-away though!

Stylish interior too!

Philip is installing an Alfa V6 in the back of a Sprint and we will be following the project as work progresses.   Here is the latest (May 2009)