So it’s been a while since I have been on here, I was fortunate enough about this time last year to be offered a role in the US. I spent the last 6 months of 2022 getting my life packed up to move my family to Connecticut for a couple of years. We have rented our house out in the UK but I have packed my workshop away, storing all my tools and locost until we return in a few years time.
I was hoping to bring a few bits with me, but sadly I didn’t get time and to be honest, there is enough to do here without tinkering in my garage. I was sad to see the R8 and Landrover sell, but will replace them when we return, ive heard the R8 is doing very well down in Bristol, the new owner loves it and had it de-carboned and remapped. Was running 400bhp before the clean and after it’s now pushing 450bhp. He says it feels loads faster, I can’t really imagine as it pulled hard when I had it. Miss it, but felt keeping it would have been a mistake. If the mice had got to it....
So with the locost on hold, I thought I could turn my attention to a few bits I could do while I’m here in the US, gathering parts.
As some may have read last year I went about building a close ratio 6 speed box, you could get a Fiat coupe 6 speed box but 1 they are expensive and 2 the ratios are still quite long.
https://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/9/viewthread.php?tid=219369
So the plan for my build was always to push the boundaries of uniques and it’s been said many times on here I don’t follow the usual well trodden paths. The engine I’m using is the fiat coupe 20valve turbo, a 2.0 litre 5 cylinder. I got the Donor cheap well over 10 years ago and hence been obsessed with it since, the sound of these is perfection, almost v10 sounding in my opinion.
So with the stock 220bhp I’d still feel this build wasn’t enough, I always wanted to build a built motor and wanted to struck it to 2.4 using a Stilo Abarth block and bottom end. Only issues this 170bhp is NA and compression ratio is 10.5:1, what I needed to do was lower the CR and strengthen up the internals. I’m not chasing massive power, but want a strong reliable motor (remember it’s a Fiat).....
Some will have seen this motor I bought a bit back, spent a couple of years looking for one and hope this is a good block, it’s still sat on a pallet in the the UK same as that waiting for me.
I plan to have an engine builder do the block and bottom end, it’s going to need machining and planning on having the crank and fly wheel lightened. My aim would be to have a fully built bottom end delivered back I can then fit my good ported 2.0 head, tubular manifold, trick turbo etc....
I have bought these, 84.0mm forged pistons, they aren’t for the Stilo as you can’t buy them and the rods are slightly longer as they are coupe dimension but the big end is spec’d for the slightly larger 2.4 crank. Boring my block to +1.0mm will give me 2504cc over the stock 2444cc, so it will be a 2.5 which is what I wanted.
Already spoken to an engine builder in the UK, the biggest issues is there aren’t a lot of parts available for the coupe these days, even worse for the Stilo, so I think the bits I have will work and give me what I need. Aiming at 500bhp/tonne, so the engine only needs to make an additional 20bhp per cylinder to achieve this, I suspect I’ll be able to get more out of it.
Rob
[Edited on 1 by b14wrc]
