by Bill Siuru, Appeared in June 1997 issue of the Alfa-Romeo Owners Club Natiional Magazine

Mark Weiner and his company, Concours Cars of Colorado, have years of experience in servicing and modifying most of the Alfas, Ferraris and other European sports cars in the Colorado Springs area. As might be expected, Mark has lots of ideas on how to make an already decent sports car perform even better. And that’s what he has done with his 1978 Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider.

Starting with a somewhat rough car with hail damage and years of neglect, Mark, with help from several associates, has created an Alfa with neck-snapping performance and outstanding handling. Many of the tricks he applied can be used by any Alfa owner, including those who do not want to go the full route to turbocharging.

Like most aftermarket turbocharging projects, mark used an AirResearch unit, in this case a model T04B turbocharger which was modified with a water-cooled center section. The intercooler came from Car Tech. Fitting the turbocharger, intercooler and associated plumbing in the Alfa’s already cramped engine compartment was not an easy task. For instance, the intercooler was mounted between the two bumper supports requiring cutting and reworking of the struts plus constructing special mounts. Intake air comes in via specially fabricated intake duct running from the turbocharger to behind the bumper terminating in a huge K&N air filter. Mark used a(n) HKS Electronic Valve controller to regulate the boost pressure at a constant amount above manifold pressure. An HKS bypass valve dumps intake boost pressure when the throttle is lifted suddenly, was also installed. This prevents intake pressure spikes and keeps the turbocharger spooled up between shifts. The cast exhaust manifold was supplied by JAFCO and incorporates a mount for a Garrett AirResearch waste gate. The exhaust system and downpipe were custom fabricated. The downpipe is 3-inch diameter while the rest of the system is 2 1/2–inch diameter.

The Alfa SPICA mechanical fuel injection system was retained, so a JAFCO fuel booster was added following a linear increase in fuel delivery with respect to boost pressure. Mark says if he were to repeat the project he would go with electronic fuel injection which Alfa used on post-1981 cars. An Ingram-Enterprises injection pump, fitted with a modified cam and capable of supplying sufficient fuel up to 17 psi boost pressure, was installed. Normally, 12 to 15 psi boost pressure is used. A larger set of Ingram throttle bodies was also used to improve air flow.

The injection system was modified using a Jacobs “energy Team” setup that includes a computer, coil and spark plug wires. The system controls the phasing, intensity and duration for spark firing on a cylinder-to-cylinder basis. It also includes boost pressure adjustable spark retard so the stock 9:1 compression ratio could be retained. This makes for a much more drivable car while giving excellent throttle response. Throttle response was further enhanced by substituting a Tilton Aluminum flywheel which weights 11 pounds including ring gear and clutch bolts, about half that of the stock flywheel.

	Mark also substituted a camshaft like that used on European Alfas. This cam has a profile with a little more lift and little more duration, but not too much. Mark says too much duration would result in much of the benefits of turbocharger boost going down the tailpipe.

In rebuilding the engine, several modifications were made to ensure the engine could survive the estimated 250 to 300 horsepower achieved with turbocharging. This is well over the output of a stock 2.0 liter Alfa engine of this vintage. Special attention was paid to obtain better lubrication. For instance, the block was drilled so oil is now supplied directly to the number 2 and 4 main bearings. Normally, the block is drilled for the 1, 3 and 5 bearing only. Oil distribution was further enhanced by cross-drilling the crankshaft. (pictured on the left below) Amsoil synthetic lubricants are used in the engine as well as the transmission and differential. The connecting rods are heavy-duty, super strong ones from Carrillo. A 30 percent larger volume oil pump was specially built by Autocomponenti using gears from the oil pump found on 1600 cc VW Beetle engines and installed in a specially fabricated housing. A windage tray, block gridle and crankshaft oil scraper were fabricated and installed.

Mark also switched from stock cast pistons to J & E high-silicon content aluminum forged ones. Piston tops were treated to a High Performance Coatings’ aluminized ceramic coating which dissipates heat better to reduce piston crown temperatures by several hundred degrees as well as eliminating hot spots. (pictured on right above) Piston sides were coated with molybdenum disulfide coating also from HPC that reduces friction and galling. The coating on the pistons also allow the stock clearances to be used as with cast pistons meaning the forged pistons do not have to be installed “loose” leading to excessive wear and rattling when cold.

Mark learned a lot from his project about the distortion that occurs when torquing down Alfa Romeo cylinder heads. While the problem is especially acute with heads that are ported, milled or have oversized valves, it shows up even with stock cylinder heads. When the head is torqued down, the valve seats distort so the valves do not seal properly, causing excessive power-robbing valve leakage. The solution was to use a specially-built torque plate allows machining to be done while the head is torqued down so it will take the shape it will have when bolted to the engine block.

The cylinder head work done by Sperry Valve Works included high performance valve springs, oversized valves, a competition “5 angle” valve job and very thorough porting and polishing. The bottom line is a very impressive 4% leakage and significantly improved volumetric efficiency. Normally, 10 percent leakage is considered very good. The Total Seal piston rings also helped cut down on leakage. The cylinder head is “O-ringed” using stainless steel wire to prevent blown head gaskets from high boost pressure. The cooling system was upgraded by changing the original radiator from a two row core to a four row core. While the stock five-speed gearbox and differential was retained, the differential gearing was changed. Mark substituted the 4.11:1 ratio gearing used with post-1981 2000’s equipped with Bosch electronic F1 for the 4.56:1 ratio used with the earlier cars fitted with SPICA mechanical F1.

In order to tighten up the open top Spider, modifications were made to the chassis and suspension. A chassis stiffener supplied by Ereminas Imports plus the installation of a roll bar greatly stiffened the chassis and virtually eliminated torsional twist and cowl shake present in stock Alfa Spiders. The stiffener consists of a one inch square section that ties the steering box to the idler arm to the rear trailing arm mount in rectangular fashion. The modified suspension uses springs and sway bars supplied by Automotive Systems Group (formerly Shankle). Shock absorbers are Spax units that are externally adjustable using a screwdriver.

Finally, for enhanced stopping the brake rotors were cross drilled for more efficient cooling. All brake lines are stainless steel and larger diameter cylinders and pistons for the front calipers were donated by a VW Type II Transporter. With increased cylinder fluid volume, a larger master cylinder was needed to eliminate excessive brake pedal travel. Thus a 22 mm diameter cylinder as used on 1984 and later Spiders was substituted for the stock 22 mm one. Finally, the braking system includes front /rear bias adjustment that is controlled from the cockpit. High performance cars demand high performance seats and seat belts. This Alfa’s seats are Italian-made ASG Sparcos. The four-point seatbelts come from Sproth. The Fittipaldi 500 wheels are shod with Dunlop SP8000 tires.

I had a chance to drive the car over a mountain pass near Colorado Springs. Performance was spectacular even at over 7,000 feet altitude. Mark built this as an everyday driver rather than a “freak” hot rod. He succeeded! There was more than sufficient power on steer up hills even in fifth gear. I could drive it like an automatic never needed to downshift!

There is virtually no turbo lag and at idle the engine is smooth and quiet. When revved, the engine still makes all the right Alfa sounds. Handling is great, though this vintage Alfa was already noted for its excellent road manners. What is especially impressive is the completely different character of the chassis. It is hard to believe that this particular car is nearly two decades old and the design itself dates back another decade. Now that the car is done, Mark is willing to sell it, provided it goes to a good home.

His next project- an “earthship” energy efficient and environmentally friendly.