Re: Voice of experience requested: engine R&R, 105 Coupe

[Simon Favre <simon@domain.elided>]

Scott Fisher asked:

>1 - Is the job easier with the engine and transmission hooked up as a
>unit, or am I better off to pull just the engine and leave the tranny in
>place?  Fiddling the splines on the input shaft doesn't bother me, not
>nearly so much as crawling all the way under the car to undo the
>transmission bits.  But what *don't* I know that might make the other
>choice better? 

You really can't just leave the tranny in place. You end up having to
pull the tranny first, then the motor. I always pull them together, as
I have a shop crane sitting around. I'm told that if you have a show
car, it's easier to avoid little dings and scratches in the engine
bay if you do them separately. In either case, one common requirement
is that you drop the center tie rod. It really does get in the way.
I tried just unbolting the steering idler, but ended up having to undo
a tie rod end anyway.

>2 - I'll be replacing the 1300 with (take a deep breath...) a 1750. 
>(Yes, now I too will be able to weigh in on the 1750 vs 2000 prattle,
>and I can compare them both with the *real* Alfa engine, the 1300! :-) 
>I've heard from several sources, including Alfa Parts Exchange (APE) and
>several on the Digest, that the 1750 is a "bolt-in" replacement in the
>earlier cars.  But what does "bolt-in" REALLY mean -- what does and
>doesn't line up (bellhousing? flywheel? etc.)?  I'd love to hear some
>"been there, done thats" from Digesters who can tell me what I have to
>change to make this fit.

Your car is a '67, right? That means floor mounted pedals and mechanical
clutch linkage. With a 1750, you can keep all that. Transplant the 1300
flywheel to the 1750 and keep the early style clutch. That's what makes
it a "bolt-in" job. You may need to get '69 downpipes, unless you already
have headers. The 1750 is just a little taller.

Sorry, I'm no help on adding Spica linkage to a '67. When I replaced a
1600 with a 1750, I blocked off the Spica oil hole, and transplanted the
Webers to the 1750. All that setup needed was a modified brace strut and
some Weber parts (jets, venturis). Wes Ingram would know. He put a Spica
2 liter in a '67.

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