[alfa] Re: Engines...

[Paul Witek <pwitek@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

As a whole, the Alfa engines that made it to America aren't that hard to
come by.  Obviously, the number of donor cars that were made for a
certain engine have an effect on supply - there are fewer Montreal V8's
or 2600 sixes out there than 2 liters, that's for sure.  

But there's something about Alfa owners that makes us pack rats - I would
suspect that not many Alfa engines end up as scrap.  An Alfa can rust
to a heap of brown powder, or get crushed under a semi truck, but before
the bits are hauled off to the scrapyard, odds are good the owner will
unbolt the engine and stick it in a corner of the garage, "just in
case"...

Another thing that keeps the classic inline-4 Alfa engines floating
around is their rebuildability.  Unless you toss a rod through the side
of the block, you can replace virtually anything that wears on the lower
end.    The heads are pretty much entirely rebuildable, too.  The
GTV6/Milano/164 V6 isn't *quite* as bulletproof, the timing belt being
their Achille's tendon,  but again - most of what breaks can be rebuilt,
for a price.  The parts are out there.

As for newer engines (like the current breed of V6's) or engines that
never made it to America  (like any of the 'Sud/33 boxers) I can't really
say, but I wouldn't suspect they're terribly rare.  Nor are they
impossible to get here in the States - twinspark 4's are brought in
fairly often, and I know the late great Fred DiMatteo got a 33 boxer
here.  I do have to wonder, though, if anyone has ever brought in any of
the Alfa diesel engines...

 

 

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