Alfa Romeo boxer engine?

[CJH]

I'm asking out of curiosity, rather than out of any serious intention to do a swap, but has anybody used one of the Alfa boxer engines in a T25? As a bit of an 'Alfisti' myself, my camper isn't the only boxer-engined vehicle that I own. I've owned various Alfasuds and 33s over the years, and they have a reputation for bullet-proof mechanicals let down by rusty bodywork - not unlike the T25 I suppose (apart from the bullet-proof mechanicals ).

The 1.5 in my current Alfasud is a delightful engine, and it's 103 bhp is more than enough for a lively drive in the light body. The later 16V 1.7l iterations of the Alfa boxer ran to 135 bhp (@ 6,500 rpm) and 119 lb-ft (@ 4,600 rpm), which both compare favourably to my 1.9DG (78 bhp @ ~4,500, 104 lb-ft @ 2,600). The big difference is the high-revving nature of the Alfa engines - those maximum figures need a lot more revs than the DG, a characteristic that may not suit the relaxed driving style of a camper. I have no idea whether the gearboxes would cope with the extra weight of the T25, and of course the Alfas were all front-engined FWD so the gearbox might be an unsurmountable problem.

Just curious whether it's ever been done, that's all.

[lloydy]

They used to be put in beetles, so similar things have been done. I would say it has the wrong power band and torque curve for a van though.

[ELVIS]

WHS^

Twenty years ago you tripped over them. Me mate still has a 16v in his fugitive.

For the time/cost/hassle for the end result, I would suggest there are better options out there.

Find torque plot of both engines and overlay them and you might be surprised.

2.1 makes more torque 2k rpm lower down, where you need it in a van.

[CJH]

I'm sure you're both right. My 1.5 Alfasud, and even more so the 1.3 I had before that, is designed to go better at high revs. The more you keep the revs up the better it goes. The 1.7 I had in a 33 was noticeably more torquey though - still revved very freely but had a lovely growl low down. I'd love to compare the power and torque curves between my 1.9DG and a 1.7 16v pre-cat Alfa engine, but I'm struggling to find that information for ANY of the Alfa boxer engines.

[faggie]

friend of mine used to run a 1700cc alfa engine in his brown n cream devon the rebuilt motor cost him over £3000 to rebuild by a alfa specialist , it was estimated to put out 140bhp with the mods he had done to it , he had many problems getting it to cool correctly he tried larger bore pipes bigger rads and nothing worked in the end he fitted smaller coolant pipes what fixed the problem , the rear of van had a Perspex panel so you could see the engine I know he sold it on many years ago maybe somebody has more info and pics of the conversion and van

[CJH]

friend of mine used to run a 1700cc alfa engine in his brown n cream devon the rebuilt motor cost him over £3000 to rebuild by a alfa specialist , it was estimated to put out 140bhp with the mods he had done to it , he had many problems getting it to cool correctly he tried larger bore pipes bigger rads and nothing worked in the end he fitted smaller coolant pipes what fixed the problem , the rear of van had a Perspex panel so you could see the engine I know he sold it on many years ago maybe somebody has more info and pics of the conversion and van

Haha - the unexpected benefit of a car loan spammer (post above yours faggie) - thread revival!

So that's interesting - how did the Devon drive with the 1700? Was there enough torque at low revs, or did it have to be revved hard?

[faggie]

as it was years ago its a bit sketchy he told me it went well for what it was but there was loads cheaper ways to get same power as he already had the car started the build and the price went seriously up as alfa parts were not cheap , I remember someone posted pics of it on a forum but cant remember which forum of the van at vanfest this was probably around the late 90s