What's the most power you've been able to achieve?

[DaisyPusher]

Kelly,
I'd definitely like to meet up at some point. I'd like to gain as much knowledge as I can before I start going to town on the engine so I know what I'm getting into.

Side note: Does anyone use their Alpine as a daily/semi-daily driver? This 2.8l seems like a hearty little engine and it seems like it could handle regular basis driving with general maintenance.

Cheers, Matt

 

[kmathis]

Yes, it is great for a daily driver. The reliability of these motors are great, I only had mine quit on me once, and that was after I rev'd it to Mars when my throttle stuck. other than that it keeps on truckin'.

I'm available to meet up at Cars & Coffee anytime...give me one more weekend to get my e-brake cable fixed then I should be good to go anywhere.

 

[DaisyPusher]

That's great to hear. The only minor issues I have are a somewhat small oil leak that I thought a bottle of Stop Leak would eliminate but so far hasn't really. It may be the front seal. Also I noticed when I first drove the car it wouldn't turn as far to the left as it would to the right, so much so that I couldn't make a U-turn. I basically yanked the wheel hard enough that I heard a pop and it seems somewhat fine now. I don't remember hearing any grinding or wheel rub or anything beforehand; just felt resistance. I have yet to get her on a lift to inspect things, which is unfortunate since I have 3 at work...

 

[kmathis]

Well, I have a lift in my garage, so if you ever want to check it out on a weekend, bring 'er up.

 

[Series6]

Almost done with insulating and paneling my shop. Then comes the lift....

 

[MikeH]

Well, I have a lift in my garage, so if you ever want to check it out on a weekend, bring 'er up.

What kind of lift did you do? I have an 9000 pound asymmetrical 2 post waiting to be installed. I just concerned about my concrete thickness. I had it poured, but I didn't track the thickness at that time because I did not plan for a lift. As I recall it is 4000 or 5000 lb fiber-crete. The thickness varied slightly because the ground under it was not completely level and was too hard to cut with a box blade. It was originally a pole barn.

 

[DanR]

Mike might have to drill/bore/dig a deep footing to be on the safe side. I don't believe I would rely on the thickness of a poured floor from what you have described

DanR

 

[Ken Ellis]

However, your substrate seems good if it was too compacted for a blade to cut it well.

Your first hole and a little inspection camera will tell you thickness and lots more about what's under there.

Do the calculations on your PSI vs. the actual footprint of the lift. You might find it's right in line with the load imposed by a standard pickup truck or SUV.

My 12k lift sits on 4 12" or 16" square plates. Lift itself weighs about 2k. Heaviest thing I own that will fit is 8000. So we're looking at 10k over (4x144 sq in) 576 sq in for a PSI loading of less than 18 pounds per square inch.

An assymetric lift will have similar weight, and the ones I've seen have larger footprints than mine. Give some creedence to the install instructions, and remember you may have lifting loads rather than all downforce like mine.

You can do inverse-cone-shaped footers thru a smallish hole, using a drill-powered auger to wallow out the cone, followed by shopvac extraction of the spoils. Pouring that full of concrete will give you footer, purchase for mounting bolts, ballast, and pull-thru protection all in one shot, with minimal local disturbance.

 

[MikeH]

Ken,
sent you a PM. Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

 

[kmathis]

Ken,
sent you a PM. Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Sent you a PM as well.

 

[Campervanman]

mostly Standard 2.8 engine (two exhaust ports), with weber 38DGMS.
Tested and tuned today.
118.2 bhp, 160 ftlbs Torque
Seems good enough for me

 

[todd reid]

Are those numbers at the rear wheels, or are they at the crank? Either way they seem pretty healthy for a stock engine! Should be lots of fun!

 

[Campervanman]

The power at wheels was 94.3bhp .. The adjusted number for engine power is 118.
The torque is presumably at the wheels.

Anyway.... Jose told me the conversion made the Alpine a different animal... he was right.. It makes for a very exciting change from what it was before ...

 

[kmathis]

Isn't it an amazing difference in the way the car drives with the V6. I don't know if it is the weight difference or just the extra power or both, but it truly is a better driving car all the way around after the conversion. I drove mine around with the 4 banger for 2 years before I converted it and what a difference it made.

 

[kmathis]

Dyno results are in

So, on to the Dyno I went this morning...the results below.
Started out with 124 HP to the rear wheels; the Air/Fuel was a little rich, but not enough to change it, however the timing...which I knew I had a bunch of timing...was 50 deg. total timing, each time we backed it off I had more HP.
Ended up with 39 deg. total timing BTDC, with a gain of 21 horse power on timing alone. So 145 HP total to the rear wheels, giving me 171 HP at the crank.

The engine has never run better, and I am very happy with these results. However, the extra money that I spent on custom pistons closing the deck clearance netting me nothing...so if I do it again, I will stay with the stock pistons and do everything else.

It drives really nice and accelerates quick and very smooth...I like it.

 

[todd reid]

What's the most poweryou've been able to achieve?

Kelly,
Glad to hear you are happy with the final results!

I assume (always dangerous!) that you were able to find a decent idle after adjusting the timing? Did you have to make other changes to get it to idle?

Any idea what your static timing is now?

My engine is basically stock - a way different animal that you have - but it seems really happy with 14*-15* of static timing, even though the few written sources I have found recommend 9* - which may have been for emissions purposes.


TR

 

[kmathis]

Todd; I was surprised that when he backed my timing off 11 degrees that the idle was pretty good, I didn't have to make any carb adjustments. It is idling at 1100-1200 rpms, but when you are standing there listening to it, it doesn't sound like a fast idle. It purrs nicely.
I will check the static timing today and let you know. My previous motor, I ran it at 12 BTDC and it was happy on regular gas. That is why it took me so long to figure out that this one just needed a bit more, but I will check it this morning.
Overall, I am very happy with the way the car runs and I am using it on my daily driving around town, something I wasn't comfortable doing before now and it really pulls hard when you put your foot in it, something that is hard not to do.

 

[kmathis]

My static timing is...believe it or not...32 deg. BTDC...crazy. I have a stock distributor with a 6-8 degree total advance. No detonation, no hard starting, no dieseling, no overheating...go figure. That is just what it likes.
I just had it out this morning for a run around town, and it has never run better.

 

[todd reid]

What is the most power you've been able to achieve

32* is crazy

I don't understand the 6-8* total. What are you running for a distributor? I am guessing no vacuum advance - just mechanical?

TR

 

[kmathis]

I agree that it is crazy and not recommending it to anyone, I have never in 40 plus years ran into anything like this. It is just how this engine want to run. less than that and it wont idle at all. I am running a stock distributer and it looks to me that it advances total of about 8 degrees...I could be wrong on that, maybe it is a bit more, but not too much more.

I have checked my timing marks and when I had the front of the engine apart I double and triple checked the cam and crank timing marks...all of it checks out.

The good news is, is that it runs like a bat out of hell and even my mileage has improved as well. Go figure!