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156 with 3.0 V6 164 engine, possible?

4K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  Rod100 
#1 ·
Dear Friends,

I live in Brazil and here we have a major problem with Alfa Romeos, Fiat simply does not want to sell them... Because of that, a genuine 156 GTA is possible only in my dreams. The best I can do is to make a Frankenstein Alfa, I was thinking of buying a 156 and replacing the engine/gearbox by a 3.0 V6 from an Alfa 164. Possibly, I would rebore that engine to 3.2, approaching to what would be the 156 GTA. Now the question, is that possible? The 164 V6 fits the 156 engine bay?

Before anyone asks, the 156 V6's we have in Brazil are all 2.5 with 4 speed auto transmission, which makes a terrible setup, according to what I've heard.

Thanks,

Rod
 
#2 ·
I think 156Chris has this. Have a look at his signature. Can't link as I am on my mobile.
 
#3 ·
I think someone mentioned that Alfa do not sell cambelt tensioners for the 164 V6 engine anyone (I assume that's the 12V engine). The 166 engine is supposed to be an easy swop.

I think the 3.0 V6 and the 3.2 GTA have the same bore but the GTA has a different crankshaft. I think you can bore the 3.0 to 3.5 with the original crankshaft.
 
#5 ·
The 164 24v engine is different to the 166 and GTV units.

The waterpump arrangement is different as is the oil pump drive. On the 24V 164 engine the waterpump runs from the cambelt where as on the 166 and GTV it runs from the aux belt.
 
#6 ·
Don't use a 164 3.0 24v engine, its not quite so straight forward to fit one in a 156 2.5 V6. My car has a 3.0 from a 166 fitted, this is a straight swap, its also the same engine fitted in the GTV 3.0.

Also 164 3.0 24v cambelt tensioners have been discontinued.
 
#9 ·
hmm yes thought it was you ... but obviously not, pretty sure there is another one (apart from Dans) being sold at the moment ...
 
#12 ·
Possible, but not advisable, as there are a number of mechanical differences that will cause problems, and as mentioned already several parts (including cambelt tensioners) are no longer available for the 164 24V engine. Much easier to use a 3.0 engine from a GTV or 166 as they are virtually identical to the 2.5 V6.
 
G
#13 ·
I'm inclined to say no, its not worth the grief. Its possible for sure, a mate who lives not 2 miles down the road from me has a 155 with a 3.0 12v v6 out of a 164 fitted in it. But the specialist who fitted it had to substantially modify the chassis leg to clear the thermostat.

Which kind of brings me to the crux of the argument. The 164 engine's have the stat mounted on the opposing side of the engine to the 156. they also have a different and whats generally regarded as a more unreliable tensioner set up that results in the cam belt slipping in some instances.

I'm well aware that a certain smacky claims to have fitted one but I think his claims are somewhat dubious.
 
#14 ·
The other issue with fitting a 3.0 V6 is what 156 doner car would you start with as you've said that only the Qsystem 2.5 is available - this will make fitting a manual V6 quite difficult. Fitting it into a TS will not be easy either.

Also, until you've drive a 2.5 Qsystem I wouldnt criticize them, they may not be as good as a 6 speed 2.5 V6 but I think you'd be surprised how good they are, certainly far better than you'd expect.
 
#15 ·
Thank you all for the replies. Guess that I'm giving up with this project.

Just to know: the only 156 V6 we have here is the 2.5 auto, the only 156 manual are the 2.0 TS, we don't have 159, Brera, GT, Mito, and the last Spider is from 1996. Very few 147 and 166 are found. Terrible place for an Alfisti to live.

Rod
 
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