I've been travelling so just caught up on this thread. You might be
surprised, considering some of my opinions, of my stand on this one!
I firmly believe that using the latest internal technology is just plain
common sense. Those of us who raced in the 60s remember how hard it was to
keep the engines in one piece. In our Alfa 1300s, we used to get really high
HP and turn 8000+ RPMs, but rod bearings were changed every race and mains
every other race. Engines were rebuilt every 4-6 races.
My 1600 Alfa had 157 HP at 7000 on the dyno three years ago, about state of
the art in the late 60s when we were racing the car orignially. The carbs
are production 40DCOE Webers, not 45s like some Alfas run, the cams are in
fact an Autodelta (facotry) grind not far off the original race specs. Rods
are stock, prepared like the factory specified, as is the crank. The pistons
are 11.5:1 only, but are state of the art high silicon with much better wear
and expansion specs. Oil is synthetic, the only sensible choice today.
The difference: the engine has gone over 3000 race miles without being
touched! Putting a few more dollars into the original building has saved a
ton of money and greatly increased my enjoyment of the car!
My opinion is the engine should be like the body: have it look original on
the outside but do everything sensible inside to increase safety and
longevity.
Then drive it a lot, sensibly too!
jeh@fotec.com http://www.fotec.com/jim.htm
veni, vidi, veloce
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