Help with Alquati Cremona Swept Back intake manifold

[124CC]

I have a problem fitting an Alquati Cremona Swept Back intake manifold to my 124 Sport Coupe CC and I was hoping that somebody may have some experience with it.

After spending hours and hours to make a perfect fit of the manifold to the cylinder head, I tried to fit the head on the block only to find out that the manifold is obstructed by the firewall and the accelerator pedal teflon mount.

Even when I push the engine a bit to the front the head sits on the block properly but there is no way to fit the rear carb as it is again obstructed by the firewall.

Does anyone have any experience with such a problem and maybe any suggestions?

[jasonh131]

I think thats why they all have  a straight waffle manifold .... on the 124's

[Fiat 131 Abarth#2]

Looks not Original Alquati Cremona! that the problem. China products have other measurements.

original will fit look picture:

and yes an waffle manifold will fit with no problems it was original in some Spider and Coupe!!!

[124CC]

Indeed it's not original Alquati. It is made here in Greece as a replica.

I need about 1.5 centimeters for the manifold to fit.
Do you think that handmade engine mounts that would move the engine a bit to the front are worth the trouble?

[POQ 131]

OOhh     A number of ways to go here.
As it is it becomes obvious that the solution is not simple.
I put a 40 IDF carb set from a BC coupe onto my 125 special & had to change from the straight waffle manifold to the swept back because of the manifold to distributor clearance. I used the BC air cleaner box & had plenty of room. Remember that you need room for the air box as well as the rear carb.
At the time my options were either the swept back manifold or the exhaust cam mounted distributor. Seeing as how I had the firewall clearance I just changed manifold.
Your options as I see them are to hack into the firewall & move it back, re weld & re paint to make clearance. I don't like that because the car appears too nice to cut: So we are left with going back to the original straight 124 BC coupe manifold, the blanking plug for the distributor & an exhaust cam mounted distributor of a BC.  If your motor is 1800 or 2000, then an exhaust cam, box & distributor from a 131.
The option that you mention of moving the engine gearbox assembly forward by 1.5 cm is fraught with its own set of ongoing problems. Engine mounts front & rear. Fan to radiator clearance. Prop drive shaft spline engagement. Sump to cross member clearance. Exhaust needs to stretch forward. Gear stick to boot in centre console AAARrgghh! STOP 
O.

[Fiat 131 Abarth#2]

Sell it!!!
and buy and waffle manifold and also the ignition distributor for the exhaust cam.
BTW: handmade solutions will help always, as best one can!

[124CC]

Apparently the manifold revealed a deeper problem with the engine position that I didn't have a clue of.
The engine seemed to be tilted backwards and very close to the firewall.
On top of this, the rubber mounts were unusually stretched.
Most probable reason is the installation of a 131 gearbox (without remote shifter) by the previous owner without having cut the propshaft tunnel. He just made it a little wider at the gear lever hole and to be honest, I am really happy that the tunnel is intact.

Since the propshaft of the 131 gearbox is positioned higher than the 124 one and the tunnel was not cut to compensate this height difference, the engine was pulled rearwards and tilted backwards by the gearbox.

What had to be done was either to change the gearbox or to find a way to place the engine back to its original, or at least close to its original to position.

The solution came by searching the market for mounts that would do exactly this.
We managed to find a pair of mounts that seemed to be ideal for the task as  they moved the engine slightly to the front, for achieving the desired firewall clearance for the manifold, and slightly lower so that the gearbox and propshaft would be aligned.

Now it seems that everything sits better than before. The engine is flat and not tilted and the gear lever reposition was so insignificant that there were no modifications necessary.

The exhaust was not such a big problem either. The Y junction was obstructed by the new engine position but when I took the car to the exhaust shop it was revealed that the Y junction itself had been previously modified. We  installed a NOS from 124 Special T and it fitted like a glove!


New aftermarket engine mounts (Rear thread was cut)




Current engine position with the swept-back manufold in place and K&N filters



Exhaust manifold with the NOS Y junction in place.