Engine Swap

["B. A. Coburn" <bacoburn@domain.elided>]

Hi gang,

Has anyone out there have any experience with installing a 164 3.0L engine
into a Milano.  Know the Verde engine and 164 engine are sufficiently
different in regards to mounting points and internals to preclude just
'dropping one in' or using parts from the 164 engine in a 3.0L Verde engine.
My question relates to how hard or if possible.  Nizam apparently used a 3.0
Verde engine as a starting point and added/modded the Mototronic from a 164
to update the system - great idea but I must start at a bit more basic level
first.

Now the reason for the question: saw a Verde the other day (decent but not
great body) but has a bad low end knock which could be a bad main bearing,
bad rod bearing or piston slap.  (Exciting sound on startup (oh ye gods and
yikes!!!!!) but mutes to a low volume knock at idle which increases with
RPM.)  I suspect a rod bearing...  The nitrited crank, if damaged, might be
machineable but may, in the machining, lose the nitriting and render a crank
with less than normal longivity per my conversation with a machinist with
experience with these type cranks.  I fear that the crank may need replacing
and/or the main bearing blocks may be damaged in the block (worst case)
necessitating the replacement of crank and/or block.  Seem to be a rare
commodity those 3.0L Verde engines...

Replacing the 3.0L with a 2.5 renders the car a basic Milano with Verde side
skirts and spoiler.  Value plumets toward the basement without the 3.0L
engine.

Rather the hazards of needing to replace a car in an Alfa market with few
affordable ones at the same time as buying a home.  Most are mechanical
wrecks and have severe rust maladies (If you listen carefully in the
Northeast, you can actually hear a Milano or GTV-6 rust just sitting there.)
Figure I can do mechanical work - I know the mechanic and he's cheap!!
Thanks for any inputs.

Brooks

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