>That's an interesting question. I think that it will work; that is to say that >the tranny can take the power, >especially if we're talking about a stock 2.5 >liter unit. It's less than 25 more horsepower than a stock 2-liter >four at >that engine's most powerful (154 HP for an American market 2.5 liter six, >against 130 HP for a 2-liter >four). Also, keep in mind that racing versions >of the 2-liter 115 engine are routinely tuned to give around 160 >HP and the >tranny's don't seem to be a problem.
A good street engine will deliver 160 hp. Racing 2 liter motors will put out ~200 hp. >The challenge is in mating the two. While front transmission versions of the >V-6 were made, (the Alfa 6 >Saloon comes to mind here), they are rare, >especially in the States where these cars were never officially >sold (due to >small numbers made, I also suspect that in Europe and the rest of the world, >the bits needed >to mate these engines directly with the transmissions and the >front-mounted transmissions themselves, >have long ago been cannibalized from >these aging Alfas). The problem is mating the bell housing to the >engine >block, and fitting a clutch and flywheel to the V-6. It could be as simple as >an adapter ring for the >bell housing (and drilling a hole in the end of the >engine's crank for the pilot shaft) or as complex as having a >custom bell >housing built. I think Larry Dickman Jr. of Alfa Parts Exchange in Tracy CA >has done this (he >recently installed an Alfa V6 in a late-sixties, or early >seventies vintage Bertone GTV). I don't know this for >sure, but I don't believe there is room in the back of these cars for the Alfetta transaxle and suspension, so I >suspect that his conversion uses a 115 tranny and rear end. You might want try calling him and asking how >he did it. Larry has documented his bellhousing on the AlfaBB, with pictures. Worth hunting for, it's some good stuff! bs -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
