Re: installing non-Alfa engines in old Alfa Spider pre-1962

[James Montebello <jamesm@domain.elided>]

The Alfa four is actually very reliable.  You almost never hear about
problems that are strictly related to the basic engine itself, except
in cases of severe neglect, plain bad luck, or overstressing of parts
in a racing environment.  Rather, most problems on a 40 year old Alfa
would be: rust, corroded electrical connectors, gummed up fuel systems,
carbs 'adjusted' by 'pros' so they barely work at all, rust, worn out
bushings and bearings, tired rubber parts, rust, leaky seals, and rust.
The problems on a 10 year old Alfa in 1967 would have been little
different.  A tad less rust, maybe.

I'm quite certain that a '58 Giulietta, fully restored and maintained
properly, would run like a train for decades.  The only problems you'd
run into would be those caused by bad or non-existent maintenance, and
the inevitable lack of parts availability (which wouldn't affect the
engine itself, since nearly all of those parts are readily available).
Such a toy would not be cheap, but it would be just as reliable as a
rusty parts car fitted with an SOHC Honda engine, as well as much safer,
and much more pleasing to own and drive.

james montebello

On Tue, 1 Oct 2002 pennington@domain.elided wrote:

> Hi
> Has  anyone  ever   thought  about,  or tried,  to intall   a  non-Alfa
> Engine in an old  2 seater Alfa Spider....  circa    1958  - 1962
>
> I   am  hoping  for  the  reliabalility   that  a  new  engine  would
> offer,   not  speed....
>
>
> I  am  serious  about  this  and   have  spent  a  long  time  wondering if
> it  is  possible.....
>
>
> I  would  greatly  appreciate serious     replies  to  this  message
> and  would  also   appreciate a  responding  to  my   personal   email
> at....
>
> pennington@domain.elided
>
>
> The  reason I  am asking  is  that  in 1967   I  owned  a  1958   Spider
> that  never  ran.... and  sold  it  in  1968.   I have  regretted  selling
> it  all these  years.....
>
> Yours  truly,  Richard Pennington
> --
> to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
> or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided