Front Suspension

Parts known to be different:

Engine (obviously!)
Front crossmember
Front crossmember retaining bolts
Complete fuel system
Complete induction system
Exhaust manifold
Starter
Some engine coolant hoses

The 16 valve engine will physically fit into the earlier 33, 'Sud and Sprint bays very easily once five issues have been dealt with.

The first is that no matter what you are going to put it into, you MUST use a 16v front crossmember. As the 16v crossmember is deeper than the 8v you must install this using the 16v crossmember mounting bolts, and the two bolts that hold the front engine mounting must also be the 16v ones. hey are some 10mm longer than the 8v ones. Failure to use these bolts may mean them ripping out.

The second problem only seems to affect 'Suds and Sprints, and that is that the water pump pulley must be cut down in order to not foul the radiator, or the bodywork below it. I cut it to remove both the power steering pump pulley and the air conditioning pump pulley. I am not going to get into guessing whether either of those items can be fitted or not. Pictures of the before and after below.

crank pulley prior to modification

modified pulley

view of clearance between pulley and front valance

The third is the exhaust manifold. This is different from the 8v in three ways. The first is that the manifold flanges are a different shape, so the 8v manifold will not fit on the engine. The second is that the 16v manifold has a straighter run rearwards from the engine, which means outboard 33 style from brakes are necessary if you don't want to start cutting manifolds around. Lastly, the bore of the exit of the manifold is 47mm, which is larger than the standard 'Sud / Sprint system, so a reducer section or a bigger bore exhaust is necessary.

Problem four will probably only concern the 'Suds and Sprints. The radiator fan has a pressed sheet metal housing and duct affair. This will not fit without modifications, as it fouls on the cam belt tensioner cover on the right hand side. It will have to be either modified, re-sited or replaced with an aftermarket fan of a suitable size. I chose to modify and cut down the existing fan housing, which turned out to be the best option, I believe. The details of how to do this are posted in the coolant system section.

Lastly, you must use 16v clutch assembly, as there are apparently some differences physically, and the 16v clutch is a heavier duty item anyway.

The rear crankcase cover bolt pattern is the same as all 33, 'Sud and Sprint gearboxes, so any gearbox will fit, but bear in mind the driveshaft issue mentioned in the suspension installation page, and clearance for the crank sensor if you wish to retain it.

We need to separate this as well, as first you need to plumb everything in, connect everything etc, then you need to worry about fuel and ignition systems. Lets look at the nuts and bolts issues here, and refer to the Fuel System and Ignition System sections for those issues.

The block of the 16v is virtually identical to the 8v engine, and as such many of the hoses, the thermostat housing, water distribution block and alternator brackets were taken straight from my 1.5 8v twin carb engine. There are, however, some differences, some due to the 16v engine, some due to my decision to fit throttle bodies. All the heater hoses are a direct fit. The radiator will fit into its usual place, but as mentioned above, the fan needs to be modified or exchanged with an aftermarket item. The only problem with the radiator itself comes from the position and shape of the bottom hose. Refer to the coolant system section for details.

On my installation the top hose is a tight fit due to the throttle bodies being slightly larger than the original carbs, but it does go in. I elected to use the 16v hose, cut down slightly for this as it gave 2 to 3 mm extra clearance for the throttle bodies. This is not essential though.

The chassis rail to engine block steady located on the right hand side fits without a problem, though I will be installing new bushes

My 1.5 8v had an oil cooler fitted, with a thermostatically operated adapter plate fitted between the oil filter and its mounting pad. This fits straight onto the 16v. A picture can be found on fig 8, and can also be seen in fig 1.

The starter of the 16v is of a different design, as the location of the ring gear on the flywheel is further forward than on the 8v due to the inclusion of the 60 - 2 toothed wheel on the rear. The 8v starter can be used in conjunction with an adapter plate.

The alternator brackets will need washers between them and the block, and the alternator itself will need shimming between it and the water distribution block, as the water pump pulley on the crankshaft sits marginally forward of the 8v position. Other than that, location and fitment is identical.

Get the dipstick from the 16v engine, or else you will have to bush the dipstick hole for the 8v dipstick.

The clutch slave cylinder fits in identical fashion to the 8v into the rear crankcase cover.

Apparently some 16v engines come with distributor-less ignition from the factory, in which case there is a possibility that the top of the oil pump drive does not have the keyway for the distributor drive machined into it. I think that this is unlikely, as this would mean Alfa changing the design of the pump, but it is possible. Should this be the case and you need to use a distributor, you can fit one of the earlier oil pumps with the keyway. It is a direct fit.

One curious item is the brake servo vacuum hose connection into the inlet manifold. As the manifolds are identical apart from this detail, it means that the one that has the connector can be fitted on either side of the engine. Strangely, though, it seems that if you fit it on the same side as the existing servo pipe (right hand head), it points forwards instead of rearwards. If you fit it on the left hand head, it points rearwards. Whichever way, you will have to modify and extend the servo pipe. My preference was for fitting it on the left hand head and running the longer pipe along the bulkhead. It is not a difficult problem to overcome though.

The exhaust manifold bore where it joins the rest of the system is 47mm approximately, and the outside diameter is around 51mm. I got lucky in that the (bloody expensive) Ansa system that is fitted to my car has a 47mm outside diameter portion where it joined the old 8v manifold. It will need cutting back by and inch or so, but it is a nice sleeve fit into the 16v manifold, so my immediate worries are over. I will say, though, that the centre section of the Ansa system is a bit weedy at around 42mm, so I will probably change this at a later date. There is a possibility that this will cause excess back pressure due to the restriction. However, if you were not lucky, you would have two options; either fit a reducer section to get the diameter down to the right size, or use a big bore exhaust system, with an adapter pipe. There are a number of 2 inch diameter systems out there that would probably suit very well.

The water temperature sender, oil pressure switch and oil pressure sender all appear to be compatible with the 8v wiring, but in the case they were not, you would be able to install the 8v sensors.