Engine hoax?

Hi, I have been searching for an Elan+2 LHD and came across a car with the wrong engine. I was told it is a 2 liter but I don’t know what it is from. Is anyone familiar with this twin cam engine and what will it do to the value of an elan with this in it? See photo of engine in attachment. What would it cost to get the right engine for the car. Many thanks in advance!

Johan Hogne

Having trouble to get the attachment of the engine added. I can email it.

Finally was able to add a picture. Please let me know if you recognize this engine. Thanks!

Just can’t decide what that motor is at present :confused: , but if the car itself is nice and sharp looking then to be honest I don’t see a different engine knocking it’s resale value and overall worth.

After all Zetac powered +2s are at a premium, and the first guy to power one with a Duratec with al the right bits is on to a fortune :blush:

Kenny

This looks like a Fiat 2 litre twincam to me, I’m 99.9% positive that this is what it is.
A good engine, but in my opinion would seriously devalue an Elan.
Shame really, as the Fiat/Lancia/Alfa twincams are really excellent engines, but a good one can be had for around ?500 in the UK.
Wish we could say the same of a Lotus Twink…
Regards

Looks like a Fiat to me… so could be a 2 litre. quick search brings up this modded turbo thing

Bli’me! beat me by 2 minutes!

I agree I was going to say Alfa by the looks of those cam covers.

Different if nothing else :open_mouth:

Doug.

And beat me by 3 mins. :laughing: or 4 even

Thanks everyone! Great detective work, this means the transmission is also likely from a Fiat and the clutch and… I suppose this is not a common conversion. Somebody spent some time to engrave those cam covers with Lotus! In any event, this means I am still on the hunt for Elan +2 LHD. By the way, What does a running Lotus twincam cost???

BR,
Johan
still looking…

?1500 to ?2000 in UK for anything worth having, and that’s NOT re-built !
Regards

Can you find a serial number anywhere on that replacement engine?
I’ve bought and sold a few Lotus Twinks on eBay. The BIG difference in price is the Weber versus Stromberg heads and carbs. A running Stromberg in the USA is worth $1400 to $1800, add at least $1000 for Weber models.
I’ve got an assembled long block, bored with oversized pistons, no head, I’d sell it for $500, including crank. It’s a four bolt early type. Be careful,
shipping costs can be very high on engines. Eric

Yep, it’s a Fiat/Lancia Twincam, probably from a Supermirafiore, as that’s just about the only possible donor car with RWD.

There’s another Lotus connection here: A few years back, the Top Gear TV show let loose some Lotus guys on a Lada Riva. As the Lada is basically built on the 1970’s Fiat tooling, they chose this engine, suitably tuned, as the power plant. The finishing touch was a Black/Silver paint job similar to the Lotus Sunbeam.

If you’re feeling curious, the article can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOfA5JvYgo

Cheers,

Ron
Thanks for the reminder-excellent…

John :wink:

Yes, very good :laughing: …I seem to remember that Lada coming up on ebay…anyone else remember and how much it went for :question:

The guy who bought it was from Germany or Holland. He brought it to one of the Elise meetings - Bruntingthorpe I think.
He was having exhaust problems (cracked manifold?) but was still going to drive it home.
If you ask on Seloc, someone there may know
Bruce

The Supermirafiore was badged as the Super Brava in the States. Could have also come from a late Fiat 124 sedan, a Fiat 124 Coupe, a Fiat 131 or a Fiat Brava. Also, a competitor to the Elan, the Fiat 124 Spyder, later re-badged as the Pininfarina, had the same engine. With the exception of the Pininfarina, all these cars came with a Weber. With the exception of the early 124 Spyders, all of these cars came with 5-speeds.

The engine evolved from 1.4L to 1.6L to 1.8L to 2.0L. I doubt this particular engine is 2.0L because Fiat moved the distributor from the block to the cam when they went to either the 1.6L or the 1.8L, can’t remember which.

I went looking for google images of the mirafiori twin cam [Brava, 131, 124 twin cam, etc.]and couldn’t determine conclusively which side the intake was or where the dipstick was. Then I thought, "maybe I can find a picture of a Vegantune VTA head, which had a lot of Fiat Twin Cam parts. Couldn’t find a piccy. Anybody here know conclusively that it’s not a Vegantune head? That would be something…what, I’m not sure…

GP

An old article on the Vegantune VTA engine attached from 1983 with some photos of what the head looked like

regards
Rohan
Vegantune VTA.pdf (518 KB)

Here’s a pic of a Fiat TC engine in a Fiat. The distinctive shape of the cam covers is the easiest way to identify it.

The Inlet/Exhaust sides are indeed different to the Lotus TC.

Cheers,

Rohan,
You are the Library of Alexandria of the Lotus World! I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. Robinson of Vegantune notoriety in the mid 80s. To say it was an experience would be too banal a word. Oh, the stories…

GP

Hey guys, thanks for posting the photos. In one of my previous posts, I said that I doubted the first motor (green one, posted by Johan) was a 2.0L because as the motor evolved from 1.4L to 1.6L to 1.8L to 2.0L, the distributor migrated from the block to the cam. Johan’s photo shows it on the left side of the block near the front. Sadlotus’s photo shows the fitting for the distributor on the right side of the right cam near the rear, but the distributor has not been fitted yet hence no plug wires. Finally, Ron’s photo shows the distributor mounted on the right side of the right cam near the rear. As I said before, I can’t remember exactly when the switch was made, but I knew it happened either when the 1.8L was introduced or when the 2.0L was introduced. In other words, the first photo is that of a 1.4L or 1.6 L engine.