1fineAlpine
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Hey guys, it's warming up in my neck of the woods, and I've got a fever... Spring fever! I plan on hitting my V8 swap hard this year to try and be ruining my driving record by the end of summer Anyways, I was talking to a guy a few months ago from the catmbr forum, and he mentioned that the stock Alpine front end can't handle the extra weight of the V8, and there's risk of the spindles failing, and other horrible things that could happen when turning corners or hitting bumps when cruising.
I have searched around a bit (maybe not good enough, but I sure tried) to see what all would need to be done to the Alpine crossmember for the swap, and so far all I've seen is to weld all the seams, and I think reinforce the shock area? I also know about having to cut notches in it and plate them for a steering rack, but I may be going another route depending on what I can sort out from the current rack position the previous owner did, which is a frame that comes from the motor mount brackets, and runs under the center of the oil pan.
Any advice on what I'm gonna have to do to the crossmember would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! Kyle
P.S. I read that I should use 400-450lb front springs. It's weird because it doesn't seem to be squatting at all with the V8 in there, and the springs appear to be stock and untouched and seem to carry the weight very well, but I haven't driven it to know how it handles on the road. Thoughts?
I have searched around a bit (maybe not good enough, but I sure tried) to see what all would need to be done to the Alpine crossmember for the swap, and so far all I've seen is to weld all the seams, and I think reinforce the shock area? I also know about having to cut notches in it and plate them for a steering rack, but I may be going another route depending on what I can sort out from the current rack position the previous owner did, which is a frame that comes from the motor mount brackets, and runs under the center of the oil pan.
Any advice on what I'm gonna have to do to the crossmember would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! Kyle
P.S. I read that I should use 400-450lb front springs. It's weird because it doesn't seem to be squatting at all with the V8 in there, and the springs appear to be stock and untouched and seem to carry the weight very well, but I haven't driven it to know how it handles on the road. Thoughts?
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