OK ... rather fancy a twin cam for my project... anyone have experience with these, what to look for and which is best for a 7 type project.

I’ve found a chap who has several for sale, so it really depends on budgets.. fiat / lancia 1600 and 2000’s

I’ll need a 4 speed box and prop to my Escort rear axle, now thinking I would have better waited and fitted a Fiat / Lancia rear axle...

Ohh well...

Im sure it wont make any difference what gearbox or axle you have as the prop specialists can make you a prop to suit they will only need to know what g/box and axle and the length between the two and possibly the expected power out put
Ray
ps as far as the engines concerned id go with the most popular one as if and when it goes wrong it will be easier to replace
if you want a twink then modern vauxhall or fords are great
personally id go for a 2litre silver or blacktop ford with a type 9
not sure if the blacktop fits straight up to a rwd b/housing though

I had a seven a few years back with a 2litre Fiat twin cam. I really liked it, but the main problem I found was in getting parts, hardly anything is readily available any more. Guy Croft is the man who wrote the book on tuning Fiat / Lancia TCs and still supplies some parts (at a premium), but even he seems to be moving onto other things these days. I ended up buying four spare engines, purely out of fear of not being able to get parts when I needed them.
A few years back it was a relatively powerful and cheap alternative to Fords etc, mainly because there were so many lying around in scrapyards. These days they're anything but cheap. The only people really investing in them these days are Fiat / Lancia enthusiasts.
A good 2litre lancia (or Abarth Fiat) should be good for 130 bhp from standard. with a pair of 45's and some Alquati cams you could be lucky and get 150. Croft reckons he can squeeze 170-80 with some headwork as well.
If you do go for it and are planning on putting a pair of webers on, you'll probably also need an offset inlet manifold, to clear them of the block mounted dizzy. Good luck with it.

Hi i have 1.6 twin cam lancia turbo with ecu and all parts loom etc if your interested.
Ali

I started building a Seven with a 1600 Fiat T/C motor about 15 years ago, when I was 17.
They are a really characterful motor with good gearbox options, but even back then, it didn't make an ideal choice for a Seven.
I was (am) a Fiat nut, and was determined to use that engine. If I was doing it now, I don't think I would be as puritanical.


Firstly, they are a very tall motor, compared to Fords and Toyotas. You will end up either with the sump sticking too far out the bottom, or some sort of compromise in the bonnet department, like a big bulge or scoop.

This motor first appeared in the mid-1960's, so you are missing out on almost 50 years of technological advances, and as has been mentioned, parts are not as easy to come by as they once were.

Save yourself a headache and go for a Toyota, modern Ford, MX5 or BMW motor.

Sorry to be a nay-sayer!

Matthew