1800 to 2.0 engine swap

[minimike]

Been a while since I've owned spiders Can a 2 liter engine drop right into the 1800 motor mounts? and will the 2 liter hood fit the 1800 body style? I've heard about dropping the motor mounts but this is not my car. It's a newbie that I've steered here. Not sure he will even post these questions.

He's got a 73 with engine out and apart. I told him it's gonna be faster and cheaper to buy a replacement engine.


thanks

[18Fiatsandcounting]

You can put a 2L engine in an original 1800, but it's not something that you simply drop in. The issue is that the 2L block is about 1 centimeter taller than the 1800 block, and that makes a difference. I don't know the specific's of your friend's particular setup, but you may need a new (2L) flywheel and clutch, larger bellhousing, lower profile air cleaner, etc. There also will likely be issues with the clearance between the cam-mounted distributor and the hood.

I have a 2L engine in my '69 spider, and it works fine although I did have to move the distributor back down to the block (like it was in the original 1438 setup), find a short air cleaner, get a 2L bellhousing/flywheel/clutch, and come up with a different throttle linkage. I also went with slightly shorter engine mounts which gained me a few extra millimeters. Every little bit counts.

As for your question about using the 2L hood, I don't have any experience so I can't offer any advice. My guess is that you can get it to work, but you may need to modify things like the hinges and latch and how they're mounted.

-Bryan

[RRoller123]

are the crossmembers the same? I think so?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

are the crossmembers the same? I think so?

Pete, in my case, the crossmember is the original and worked without modification. The 2L oil pan clears the crossmember, but with the slightly lower engine mounts, there's only a few millimeters of clearance.

-Bryan

[RRoller123]

Got it, that makes sense.

[davidbruce]

The 73 spider I no longer own had a 2 litre installed. It was done by the previous owner so I don't know all the details. But I can tell you it maintained the stock small bump hood. It had the distributor mounted in the cam box and retained the original air cleaner mounted on a DFEV-6mm spacer-1800 manifold. There were no hood clearance issues but it also no longer had any hood insulation. I don't know if that was for clearance or because it had deteriorated. My understanding is the late big bump hood will work if you use the hinges it came with. I have read that the engine mount pads are slightly higher on the 2l crossmember to clear the slightly deeper oil pan. AR sells shorter mounts specifically for mounting 2l in older cars. I can't comment on the flywheel bell housing area.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

AR sells shorter mounts specifically for mounting 2l in older cars.

That's actually what I have in my '69 with the 2L block. The oil pan clears the original crossmember, but just barely. One other note: I kept the original '69 flat hood (no bumps), but I did move the distributor back down to the block.

-Bryan

[RRoller123]

So the question still remains: Is there a different 2L crossmember, or did the factory just modify the engine mounts and the hood bumps?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Sorry, I didn't realize this was still an open question. Yes, there are two different crossmembers, and I believe one version is for the early years up to 1978, and the other is for later model years (i.e., the 2L engines). I don't know the specific differences, but block height and oil pan clearance are good guesses.

-Bryan

[RRoller123]

makes sense.

[redcars]

The 2L crossmember raises the car the amount that the 2L engine is taller than the 1800. If you use a 2L crossmember then you don't need the shorter mounts. There is no difference in the bell housings for 1600, 1800, and 2L, but the 1400 are different. That's why the higher failure rate with the 2L. That transmission was made for an 1400 engine.