What’d ya do with your X120 today?

Finished and installed the dashboard and instrument cluster. Well, I say "finished". I still need to build the glovebox, and cover the whole thing with suede. But the major construction task is out of the way.
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And for reference, a real 037 dashboard from kind of the same angle.

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I keep going back to a Alfa Busso V6. I wish someone would post pictures of how the V6 mounts in the engine bay. That way I can guage if my limited welding skills are up to the task.

A buddy of mine here in the DFW area has done this swap. His name is Ken Stevenson and he is a member of this forum, I think his user name is KStevenson or something like that. Not sure how often he gets around here, or whether he has photos from his build. I will see if I can find out.
 
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I keep going back to a Alfa Busso V6. I wish someone would post pictures of how the V6 mounts in the engine bay. That way I can guage if my limited welding skills are up to the task.

FWIW, I farmed out all of my welding. The Alfa Milano (tipo 75) motor mounts were used. One bracket fabricated to extend onto the cross member frame. The cross member frame was reinforced and a square tube was welded in place for the 4-5-6 exhaust exit to pass through. Pics show engine mounted onto the Lancia cross member. Discovered that installation is best performed by raising the car and rolling the engine in below. Timing belt change is performed in-place, using a rear wheel to turn the engine into position. The crankshaft nut is not available.
 
Thanks Ken, Did the engine and trans fit between the chassis legs? Do you remember what driveshafts you used?
 
The Busso swap is an excellent one -- something I considered, but didn't have the resources for. Maybe some day down the road. I do wonder how difficult the mandatory five-year timing belt changes are to do and if most work on the firewall-facing bank of cylinders requires the engine to come out.
 
Judging by the looks alone that is one big engine. I also like the VR6 option but that motor is heavier and everyone I see on Craigslist has problems.
 
Two other aluminum V6 engines worth thinking of are the Mazda KL and the Honda V6s. A number of different displacements between them ranging from 1.6l to 3.5l. Both are a good bit smaller and share similar twin cam specs to the Busso.

I know, they are Japanese engines but they fit well in the Lancia bay.
 
mitsubishi 6g72 from a 3000gt, 222hp (NA) or 320hp twin turbo, I have fit them in the engine compartment with no problem.
 
Thanks Ken, Did the engine and trans fit between the chassis legs? Do you remember what driveshafts you used?

The mounting attempted to line up the output shafts with the hubs. This way, it was a bit too narrow. A wide channel was inserted in the drivers side frame to make an inch or more. The drive shafts were from an Alfa 164. The shafts were shortened and splinded to fit the smaller Lancia outer CVJoints.

A few years ago, I took a 20 hour round trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was great on the road. Not loud at all, yet it really sounds off when the throttle is applied. I need to get out more often.
 
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The Busso swap is an excellent one ... I do wonder how difficult the mandatory five-year timing belt changes are to do and if most work on the firewall-facing bank of cylinders requires the engine to come out.

My approach led to a removeable firewall cover. So, my timing belt change includes removing the seats to access the 4-5-6 cylinder bank. With the 24V engine, cam locks are applied for precise cam timing.

Somewhat related, the newer 2002 engine that I used had crank timing sensor wheel built into the flywheel. I already had a lightened flywheel and adapted a 164 front engine cover that includes sensor mounting. The 164 toothed crank hub is used. I got really lucky because I did not plan ahead for timing belt changes. The 2002 engine has a really tight front cover, the t-belt will not fit around it, crank shaft hub, nut has to be removed. Because the earlier front cover was substituted, the timing belt can be changed without pulling the engine.
 
Replaced the stick shift and cup from parts I received from Darren C. in England. The shifter is all metal with a bronze bushing at the end.
Oh I also had the good fortune of breaking a top strap in order to look at the top latches.

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I have basically finished my conversion from vacuum to manually operated HVAC on the 037 project. In the original Scorpion configuration there were 4 controls, I'll go over each one individually.

1. Heat/cold door - this one is already a cable in the original configuration so there was not much to do here. I did remove a couple vacuum dampeners (acutuators?) that were on the upper left side of the blower box. But other than that, nothing really to do.

2. Fresh/recirc door - this is in the center of the blower box, high up where it connects to the dashboard. I removed the vacuum actuator and substituted in a very simple bracket and cable. One other thing that had to be done here was, there was a plastic nut with a cone molded in above the threads. This 45 year old plastic had deteriorated and split in 2. I identified the thread pattern as M12 x 1.5. So found a nut, cut a cone shape in a washer to simulate what was on the plastic nut, and welded the washer on. This made a good working substitute for the original piece.

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3. Upper/lower door - this flap directs the air towards the windshield or the dash vents. This door is not in the lower blower unit, but on another unit that bolts to the top. The very top of this unit is the strip you see at the very base of your windshield. This was also vacuum operated, with a vacuum pot that bolts onto the front side, sandwiched in between the front of this piece and the firewall. You cannot access it without removing this entire piece. Top pic shows the vacuum pot removed, and 2nd pic shows the cable in place.

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4. The floor/upper switch in front of the gearshift lever controls a couple of small vacuum pots that open or close little doors on either side of the lower blower box, although they are actually part of the upper box. The legs that hang down straddle the lower box. For those, I removed the vacuum pots, and performed epoxy surgery to graft on parts from an X1/9 blower box. The parts I grafted on contain little rotatable flap doors that can be opened or closed like vent windows. So no cables or controls of any type for the conversion of this piece, just reach down and manipulate as you would on an X1/9. Still needs priming/sanding/painting, so squint and pretend to see the finished product. I don't have the doors popped in because it was cold and I fear brittle plastic. They would have to come back out for painting anyway, so not much point in installing them yet.

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The other half of the conversion involved changing all the controls to lever mechanisms. I used the original Scorpion lever on the right side, although changed its function from heat/cold to air direction (windshield/dash vents). On the left, I grafted in 2 levers from a 3-lever setup from an X1/9. These two will control the fresh/recirc and the hot/cold. Everything is in place and tested, lever- and motion-wise. I need to do a whole bunch of finishing work, and plumb the heater core, to actually get it all working. More to come.
 
What was the reason to swap from the vacuum system? Curious as I have recently pulled out all the HVAC stuff and have been noodling over it. Also are you running AC too?
 
What was the reason to swap from the vacuum system? Curious as I have recently pulled out all the HVAC stuff and have been noodling over it. Also are you running AC too?

I do plan to install AC at some point in the future. That is a different project, for right now the exchanger (evaporator? not sure what it's called) has been pulled from the blower box.

The reasons for converting it to manual were:

1. No need to mess with any vacuum lines from the engine bay, or accumulators
2. The 037 interior I am emulating has a 3-lever system, so cosmetics were definitely a factor
3. Reliability over the vacuum system

Getting the AC back in the mix will only require a switch to activate the compressor. That switch is already installed in my center console and is currently "dead".
 
Hi Pete,

Thanks for sharing. Your Pictures really help. For my Scorpion I am converting to a non a/c setup. I imported a heater box and levers from a European Montecarlo. I also have to modify the top portion of the air distribution manifold as you did. . Can I ask how long was the cable you used?

Thanks
Ralph
3. Upper/lower door - this flap directs the air towards the windshield or the dash vents. This door is not in the lower blower unit, but on another unit that bolts to the top. The very top of this unit is the strip you see at the very base of your windshield. This was also vacuum operated, with a vacuum pot that bolts onto the front side, sandwiched in between the front of this piece and the firewall. You cannot access it without removing this entire piece. Top pic shows the vacuum pot removed, and 2nd pic shows the cable in place.

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