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Thread: Newbie saying hi and Q's

  1. #11
    SEC Member renmure's Avatar
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    It's actually the same list as me as well, perhaps without the "long trip if needed" aspect, unless that means without breaking down!! Maybe I'm just a martyr

    I've gone for the Alfa 3.2 Engine plus some of the LB standard mods so am ending up around 300bhp.

    On a totally personal level (so no flames please) I wouldn't have gone down the route of getting a Stratos replica if they came only with the Toyota engine. My mental image of the car has a screaming N/A classic Italian engine as part of the overall package. I appreciate, perhaps more than most, the power, performance and noise you get from a supercharged Toyota engine sitting behind your head but it was never a tick-box for me. Thankfully other views on the subject are available leading to an even wider choice of cars and builds all round for everyone so a win / win.

    The main problem for anyone wanting a car is the wait to get it. That's keeping 2nd hand prices fairly frothy.

  2. #12
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    I understand the engine thing. I'd be interested to see if there's any 'new' engines around. Once I actually work out 'donor' cost that'll push one way or another.

    What sort of wait is it? I'm not scared of the wait.

  3. #13
    SEC Member renmure's Avatar
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    I'm sure I was at school when I put my deposit down and I retired about 10 years ago.
    I wasn't scared of the wait either. Mind you, back then I wasn't scared of drinking a glass of water before going to bed.

  4. #14
    SEC Member Guy Mayers's Avatar
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    18 months Hawk, longer for LB.

  5. #15
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    Quote Originally Posted by renmure View Post
    I'm sure I was at school when I put my deposit down and I retired about 10 years ago.
    I wasn't scared of the wait either. Mind you, back then I wasn't scared of drinking a glass of water before going to bed.

    hahaha. Brilliant.

    I'll see what they say. 18months would be perfect.

    Looking forward to see what donor parts are needed.

  6. #16
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    There was a bunch of new Alfa 156 spec crate engines around 12 months ago or more but they've all gone now.
    Don't forget you really need a donor vehicle and V5 for registration purposes unless you go the 100% new components route and a subsequent brand new registration.
    But you knew that already!

  7. #17
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    Yes, the joys of IVA and registration! how much were the great engines?

    As a rough guide, is it just one or two models as donors?

  8. #18
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    The crate engines were on ebay. Partsworld at Chesterfield.
    They started off at £2k and worked their way down. I bought one at £1200 but I think some lucky sods got them as low as £995?
    My reckoning was you would have to pay 6 or 700 quid just to refresh a V6 before dropping it in so I was happy enough to pay what I did.
    I think somebody bought the last few engines off them as a package and then maybe tried to flog them on at a sizeable profit as one appeared on ebay at £3k.
    As Jim says some folks, me included, think a Stratos replica needs an Italian V6. But I've never been sure why.

  9. #19
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    Actually, with all this talk of Alfas and Toyotas/Lotuses...Loti...English sports cars, the other options seem to have been forgotten... because you could use a Ferrari engine and box - LB have just shipped out such a beast, built using a Mondial as a donor. Not even remotely cheap, but it made around 308bhp on the dyno, not bad for an old 2-valve V8 motor! Or what about a proper Dino engine? There was one on Ebay recently at about £30K.

    Alternatively, if you're of an engineeringy bent, you could just use whatever power unit takes your fancy, so long as it'd fit in. You'd have to do a fair bit of measuring and fabricating of mountings, plus sort an exhaust, ECU, etc etc etc. but it can be done!

    As regards my own choice, I was originally going for a bog-standard Alfa 156 donor (2.5-litre, 195bhp). It makes for a nicely-balanced car, enough power to make it quick but not fast, but with thoughts of it being upgradeable to a 3.2 at a later date. That all changed when a few things came together by some sort of fluke and I realised I could afford to spend quite a bit more, so it got upgraded to the Toyota 2GR-FE option and again, I dropped on an ex-Lotus NOS motor still sitting on its engine stand. I'm not bothered about screaming, sky-high revs on the road in a car - I've got bikes for that. So the thought of a torquey supercharged 3.5-litre works for me! Each to their own, though - there's no right or wrong decision here. I'm not in the "must be an Italian engine" camp as the vast majority of the car's British, so as long as it's not an air-cooled VW lump I don't care

    I think the best thing you can do to glean info is look around this forum and see what people are doing/have done, and also contact both Hawk and LB for the latest prices and lead times, and then it's down to what works for you. Doesn't mean you can't ask questions here, though, but it's a good place to start. Good luck and have fun!

  10. #20
    SEC Member LPH_UK's Avatar
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    Re: Newbie saying hi and Q's

    My experience is that the V6 engines are very tough. But maybe I got lucky. My donor was 175k miles form a 166. No noises and good oil pressure. When it was taken to bits and checked, nothing was worn. Everything checked out and you could even still see the honing marks on the bores! But I still completely rebuilt it and had it balanced. Not cheap! If you want a breakdown of the price just let me know. I replaced tappets, valve springs, mains, rings, all gaskets/seals etc. Had the heads skimmed and fitted a lighter flywheel and had the whole thing balanced. If I was doing it again I'd still rods and forged pistons in I guess.

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