When I first got my Nova it had a tuned 1.6 L Dual Carb VW Beetle Engine. It wasn't really designed for high revs and self destructed on the motorway when I pushed it a little too hard. I rebuilt it and only after a relatively short space of time I managed to repeat the incident and blew up my second beetle engine!
It was after this I decided that a change was needed and started looking for alternatives. I was offered a 1.5TI Alfasud by a friend for nothing, it wasn't taxed and MOT'd and had sat in his garage for many years. So in the dead of night I drove it home, and by the next morning the engine was removed and ready to be placed in my Nova using a Kennedy Adapter plate to mate it to the beetle gearbox.
After a couple of years I was offered two other engines, one Alfa 33 1.7L QV Cloverleaf and another Alfa 1.5L TI that had been tuned and used in rally cross. I opted to fit the 1.7L QV Cloverleaf. I ran this for a couple of years then took it out and sent it for a full rebuild. This is the same engine that is still in the car today
The original VW Engine I blew up
The original Alfasud donor vehicle
This was its first water cooled engine. A 1.5 TI Alfasud boxer engine
When first fitted I originally tried using it with the radiator mounted at the rear, this was subsequently swapped for a front mounted one (see the Radiator post)
I was given two engines, so I chose to swap out my 1.5TI and I chose to install the 1.7L QV Cloverleaf
The 1.7 QV Cloverleaf Engine from an Alfa 33 is a compact unit and almost the same dimensions as a beetle engine.
After a couple of years I pulled the engine out for a full rebuild, including rebore, piston rings, all new seals and replacement of the water pump impeller that had corroded badly.
The Alfa 1.7QV fitted
