Re: '77 Spider engine mods + more

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@domain.elided>]

> My car needs new rings. My mechanic has suggested throwing in 10:1 pistons
>while he's in there.  I would also like to eventually go for a '74 exhaust
>with the rail welded in to make it look stock, as well as 1750 cams. But I
>do have a couple of questions about that:
>1) For those of you that have done these mods, what has it done to
>drivability, and will 92 octane gas keep the engine (with its higher
>compression ratio) from pinging? Most of my driving is around town (I do
>like to rev it up), and I go to a couple of track events each year.
>2) I'm also kind of concerned about passing smog - Californians have any
>input on what mods you can do to the late seventies cars?

One of my motivations behind doing the '82 powertrain in 
FrankenSpider was tunability. I'd been told by good sources that 
fitting a set of the 10.4:1 pistons from the last series Spiders in a 
'77-78 engine was doable and could pass smog, but that was about it 
with the SPICA injection; different cams would most likely make it 
fail. To make it perform at its best would likely require some SPICA 
pump modifications ala Wes Ingram, but I don't know that it would 
then pass California smog testing.

FrankenSpider's engine is an '82 Bosch injected motor with the 10.4:1 
pistons. I get no detonation at all with it on 91-92 octane no lead 
and it pulls quite nicely. The variable cam timing and electronic 
injection seem to work fairly well, the later exhaust manifold is 
much better than the '77-78 piece (not as good as the '72-74).

>3) How hard is it to get '74 headers and 1750 cams?

They're available, far as I can tell. My future plans are similar to 
yours: a set of '72-74 headers, modified down tube with the oxygen 
sensor and a high-flow cat-con, a set of somewhat more radical cams, 
plus K&N air filter. I'll add a thermostatically controlled electric 
cooling fan and triple row radiator core too.

Godfrey

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