I was told about 5 - 6 years ago it couldn't be done. Lots of Guys said you would have to cut the Alpine up badly.
Steering would be a must to change out and lots of other "must do's".
I started with a Jose kit back in 2009 for my early SIV RED GT BW35. The kit had the standard transmission bracket (four bolts pattern) but my BW35 had the three bolt pattern and it sat farther back than the manual. I had to design and fabricate what I needed. That was just for starting. Next was the engine mounts. I did not like for them to sit off the rear of the crossmember. I designed my own. After finally sittin the 2.8 V6 in the Red GT I discovered the headers stuck out the sides behind the front wheels..... all good for drag racing, exactly what Jose was good at.
Took me three years to design and finally get my "Straightback Headers" functioning.
Those were a few things, but there were more, much more. Back to the FORD 4. 0 OHV V6. Remember they said it couldn't be done. Well, I must say it is nearly impossible. After more than three years, I may be seeing the light or fruits from my labors. But, Not YET!!!
I have managed to install the FORD (Cologne) 2.8 V6 into the Red GT mated to both the T5 and an A4LD. Again, the desire for the 4.0 kept popping up. Finally found an old engine for $150. Started trying to measure and figure out what would and would not work. One idea, then another, back and forth, back and forth.
I was determined to either make a fool of my self or ????
The "or" is still being attempted as of today Tuesday January 2, 2024.
The 2.8 and the 4.0 OHV are near identical block wise. The 4.0 is a bit deeper due to the longer stroke.
FORD Engineers changed several external features that throws a monkey (?) into the game, similar as when they changed the timing covers and water pumps on the 2.8. That caused all sorts of problems for us V6'ers.
Here again the water pump is designed with a much longer snout which sticks farther toward the front of the Alpine and into the area designed for the Radiator. What to do about that "lil" tiny problem? Sit the v6 back into the firewall? Not a very good option. Just look at the Tiger! That brought on the Rack & pinion. A wholly new steering system.
What to do about cooling? Bigger Radiator? Electric fans? Move the radiator forward? How can that be accomplished?
Did somebody say FI ? Factory fuel injection is a very nice functional system. Lots of changes will be needed to the Alpine for that to be utilized. How about a carb?
If a carb is the option, is there a intake manifold available? If so, how do you control fire? Fuel pressure? How to run lines? Where to and why? Is there a better way?
Back to factory Fuel Injection....When the 4.0 in mounted in the Alpine, what is considered the correct position, the FI system sits rather high and will look like a "Blower" coming down the Highway. If FI is a must, what can be done to resolve that unsightly "thing"?
Lower the engine! Right, but how much? Is it too close to the roadway? Does the steering linkage become a problem? If so, what can be done? Well if that problem is solved, what about header clearance? I got that whipped!!! Oops! Oil filter is in the way. Fuel lines, brake lines, cooler lines.....
A smart idea I had was to go without the factory FI, because I did not like it sticking up above what I considered a nice scoop should be, so my plan was to have an intake manifold built to take a 4bbl carb. Utilizing the 4.0 FI base, a top piece was fabricated similar to the top piece for the 4bbl OFY. Looks nice and should function well. Well, all was well until we ran back into a design the 4.0 has that none of the other Cologne V6's had, an engine without a distributor!
All sorts of ideas have been thrown about! Various types of fuel systems, computer systems, and types of wiring.
The 4.0 has a rather remarkable ignition system. It had a trigger from the harmonic balancer to the coil pack and a module (EDIS-6) that runs the sysyem with the factory computer. That is where I begin to truly show my ignorance.
About a month ago, I was asked a question by my friend that painted my Red GT. He asked how was the Red Gt coming? I told him I was still awaiting on someone to do the wiring so I could get it running. After a few more questions He said I needed a MEGAJOLT. That would fix it and it woud run without a distributor.
Well, I am back to getting the wiring finalized along with all the other "little" things that must be done to make it run.
Lots of my V6 Conversion Components for the 2.8 V6 will work on the 4.0. Of course the headers are one of the very, very different styles due to the exhaust port arrangement.
In the mean time, the 2.8 V6 is the best thing going in my opinion. Keep'em-on-the-Road,
DanR
