has anyone used an Alfa 75 as a donor vehicle for their seven?

I reckon it would make a pretty decent source of most of the mechanicals which all seem to be of a higher spec or better suited to a seven than sierra stuff.

A 2litre twin spark would give

all alloy (100kg) 147bhp twin cam engine
front uprights designed for double wishbone suspension with very light alloy brembo calipers
alloy transaxle with lsd and inboard brakes
simple and pretty effective a frame type de-dion axle with watts linkage
5 spoke revolution wheels

all that for a couple of hundred quid (if that) for a rusty old 75.

the main problems that I can see are
the transaxle is quite long (in front of the rear axle line) and may not be possible to fit in
the rack mounts behind the front wheels so I would have to swap front hubs to the opposite side of the car and use either a coventional escort /sierra rack and adapt to fit the alfa steering arms or buy a lhd alfa rack and mount it upside down.
any thoughts?

sounds like a good idea but i assume the main problem could be that they are expensive, most people use sierras because the prices are so low they are almost free (even though they seem to have increased in value recentley)

the other problem is avaliability, sierra's are sat around rusting on nearly every street corner.

A quick search on eBay only came up with a 3.0L v6 for £1000

if you could get hold of one it could make a damn good donor car

Matt

I had the same thoughts as you several years ago and bought a complete 2 litre twin-spark car for £75.
As you say there are some good reasons for using the components the car has. However, I did not go ahead with using them because of the following problems.
The engine was tall. It wouuld certainly have needed a V8 style raised bonnet.
The main problen is that the rear transaxle is large when measured against the restricted space available in a 7 size rear tunnel area.
The rear suspension is de-deon with a Watt's linkage, which could be made to fit.
I would not like to put you off and may-be a wider version of the book chassis could be adapted to take the transaxle.
Someone knowledgeable on Alfa engines might know if there is a shallower sump that would fit from another engine variant, to lower the engine.
The extended bell housing with the prop-shaft passing through it from the flywheel would not be a problem to mount.
HTH.

Mal

Have a look at http://illustrera.se/ovrigt/ovrigt_02.htm
It's in Swedish but there are plenty of pics.

Neil

Fitting the rear transaxle is the problem, I think it would be almost impossible in a coventional seven chasis.

The engine is a fantastic unit and could be mated to a ford gearbox with a little effort. The plate i made would allow the bell housing from an 8v 2.0l 164 to mate to a Type nine gearbox.

It is no taller than a Pinto and is far better to tune.

A little effort could have a very neat and original car.

thanks guys!

had a look at that Swedish website (!) and as I suspected the transaxle can't be fitted without resorting to the "fat boy" look which I don't like.

I wasn't refering to our Swedish friend Ronnie just his chassis!

[Edited on 10/2/07 by hughjinjin]

I have been away from Alfas since I sold my 57 Gulietta Spyder Veloche, but. Most manufacturers don't change everything from model to model. My 57 had a 101 series 1300 with the 750 series trans and 40 DCO3s along with race cams from a GTA. Couldn't you use a 5 speed and related parts from a GTV or Duetto?

You might in Vancouver but in U.K. they all rotted away years ago. They fetch loads of money in any condition and would be a shame to break a classic like that.

105 parts are not that expensive if you shop around - To mount the 75 /Alfetta engine in RWD config you would need a 105 series flywheel and clutch as well as the gearbox and hope that the crank has been drilled for for the spigot bearing - some are not.

105 series geraboxes are all alloy - and the back axle has an alloy housing discs and later types LSD as standard.

Power is comparable to a Zetec - but much lighter.

Bit exotic and really only worth bothering with if you are complete Alfa nut

Overall the use of a 75 as a donor would work out expensive compared to a typical install.

There was a kit in the 80's based on the Alfetta running gear that was seven inspired
from the US I believe - I had an article in an old Sports Car magazine.

Cheers

Andrew

using 105 or even older bits kind of defeats the purpose a bit. I was thinking that one car would yield just about everything to make a very good spec seven for the same sort of money as a pinto/sierra build.

I'm a mechanic in a small Alfa specialist garage so they're not exotic to me, but I don't know sevens at all and I hate Ford stuff!

I have seen some sevens described as "long cockpit" . Where is the extra length? is the whole car lengthened or the foot plates moved further forward? might that give me enough room to fit the seats in front of the transaxle rather than on either side of the clutch? I want it to look like a seven.

This project is still a long way off as I have an extension on my house to finish before I am allowed to build a garage to start my "current " project (sud sprint).

I had an Alfasud 1.5ti Cloverleaf many years ago. I loved it but it was rotting away before my eyes. It was an 'X' reg, black with green tinted windows, 48's and an Ansa exhaust that sounded so crisp you wanted to drive with the windows open to hear it. Sometimes I wish I still had it.

I m aso considering alfa 75 for my donor car.
As i see only big problem is its transaxle which is to big to fit in book chassis. Would fit into McSorely 442?
From which car can i get suitable gearbox to put it together with alfa engine. I can make adapter plate on CNC, no problem.
I know sierra would be easier way to go, but i cant get it in my country for cheap.
I can get alfa almost for free.

I used the bell housing and fly whell etc from an Alfa 164 and mated it to a ford type 9 gearbox.
The engine is from a 164 but the sump is from a 75
See my photo archive.