I’m Back

[William and Barbara and Barbara Blue]

Hello all. Purchased an Alpine (for the second time) twenty years ago and joined TE/AE. Decided that I was going to turn it into a long distance touring car with updated mechanicals. A turbo Pinto 2.0, five speed, yadda yadda yadda. Dropped out of TE/AE as I felt the organization did not support my goals.

The car is now "complete" (they never are), with it’s third engine and fourth transmission. I’ve put 60,000 plus miles on it. The current engine is a 2010 2.5 Fusion. Pictures of the car and engine.
Here is Keith Lowe putting it through its paces last summer at the recent SUNI. It did pretty well, considering the suspension is completely stock. The best time was a tick under 69 seconds. It has since had a 7/8" sway bar installed and the rear springs redone. Maybe it won’t be quite so unruly the next time.

And an engine bay photo. Remember, this is a home made driver. My wife’s cousin does magazine cover quality engine conversions, he said he could do a cover quality conversion for $25,000 if I supplied the big parts.

See you in Dayton.

Bill

[impbarn]

Looks impressive, Bill. I look forward to seeing it up close! Did you have to do any firewall adjustments to make everything fit with the Fusion engine?

[William and Barbara and Barbara Blue]

No, one of the initial goals of the build was to leave the Alpine as intact as possible. As a result, the engine assembly had to be fashioned to fit the space instead of the car cut to accommodate the engine. Almost everything on the engine has either been built or modified to fit. Things are tight.

There are two major areas where the Alpine was modified. The tunnel had to be widened and the crossmember had to be notched to clear the oil pan. Ford (actually Mazda) opted to locate the oil pump at the front of the engine and off to the side of the block, creating a very wide oil pan.

The car is not made to the highest standard, it was built by me. I am the kind of guy who will spend hours making something work better, but only seconds to make it look good. It now has over 60,000 miles on the build. It is a very good driver and I enjoy sharing it with others. Anybody interested in driving it, just let me know. All I ask is that you give me your honest feedback as I am still interested in improving it in any way possible.

See you in Dayton.

Bill

[Mark and Nancy Petri]

Welcome back.
Car sounds like fun, and it must be fun drivin’ since you’ve put 60k on the clock 😀
I’ll look forward to checking out the tight fit in Dayton.

[Author]

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