Calling Tom McGaffigan...

[Andrew S]

Hi Tom,
I hope you get to read this- I'm posting it here rather than PM because there are a couple of us Brits who are interested in this. Your fabulous Volumex conversion: You did it without cutting the firewall correct? How did you fit it in? I'm sure I've read bits of info here and there and I'm fairly certain it is solely to do with a clever adaptor plate to alter the way the supercharger mounts, am I right? Would you be a splendid gent and explain exactly how you did it? I want to do it YOUR way! I am days away from beginning to strip my car down to begin the restoration/VX conversion and I really do not want to alter the shape of the firewall.

Andrew.

[sprintcarfan]

Were you ever able to contact Tom? I think he's a regular on the Norcalscorps yahoo group.

[Andrew S]

Not as yet, no. I'm sure he'll visit Lancisti soon. If not I'll hunt him down elsewhere...!

Andrew.

[Andrew S]

Tom????

Andrew.

[DJ]

You might try sending him a PM (http://lancisti.net/forum/private.php?do=newpm&u=59).

[Andrew S]

Ok DJ, I've sent him one. I was figuring he'd be more likely to notice a posting on the forum but it's just dawned on me he may get an email alert to his PM.

Andrew.

[Andrew S]

Bump...

[Darren]

Hi Andrew,

You may well get a response from Tom as he recently posted on the forum. In his absence, I'm pretty sure that you are correct in your assumption on the install. As you've probably worked out, there are 2 ways to go with a Vx install - leave it as per the original setup and alter the firewall to clear the carb, or alter the manifold to drop the blower down so that the whole assembly clears the firewall.

What access to machining do you have? I do know that David Beale went so far as to have new manifold blanks made to accept the Vx unit, but I have not heard from him here, or anywhere (NorCalScorps or LanciaScorpion on Yahoogroups) in quite a few years now. I think he set the unit up where he wanted before making a plug up in wood, which he then had cast in aluminium. You will also need to do some work to the tensioner and belt routing once you have moved the blower.

I do know that Eric Weston is considering a Vx install. along with port injection rather than carbs, using an altered manifold rather than firewall cutting. I'm not sure he posts on here - you will find him on the Consortium forum, but you have to be a member to see the technical forum.

It might be an easier proposition to use a more modern (and efficient) blower, such as an Eaton. The M45 (used on the bmw mini) is probably a bit small, but the M62 is a better bet. I'm using an M90, but that's on a 3 litre v6. Just noticed your sig - is that where the engine/box is coming from? You will also need to do some modification to the gearbox for it to work in place in a Monte install.

Didn't want to hi-jack the thread - but feel free to come back to me if you need any more info.

Cheers

Darren

[Andrew S]

Hi Andrew, You may well get a response from Tom as he recently posted on the forum. Darren

Hi Darren,

I did see that, hence the 'bump'. Maybe he just doesn't want anyone copying his excellent design...
I really don't want to alter the firewall so maybe I'll just have to figure it all out for myself. I personally don't have any machining access but there are machine shops locally- this town used to be one of the steelwork capitals of the UK so there are plenty of metalwork skills in the locality.

I have read bits and pieces about Erics projects, always fascinating. I definitely don't want FI though. I like old school. The car is old school. If I wanted fancy trick stuff I'd have a more modern 'toy car'. I also appreciate your comments regarding other superchargers but the attraction for me is fitting the best production Beta engine Lancia made into the car that so obviously should've had it but Fiat killed off too soon...

I got my VX motor from an old coupe off ebay- £265 if my memory serves me correctly- for the whole car (including the GC manual and extra spares too!!). Only problem was I had to trailer it to Cumbria from Cornwall... you may remember my original post on the subject with that information- I'm sure you commented at the time. I stripped the coupe- it was waaaaay past saving and sold off most of the bits but I've still done very little with the monte- it's laid up at the back of the garage at present waiting for me to make a decision: fit the VX motor (after rebuilding of course as it had sat for years when I got it) or leave it with it's twin carb motor. I would love an article by Tom on how he did it. I've read bits here and there that I've stumbled accross on the net and in a magazine but there's no information that I've seen regarding the manifold set up, dimensions, angles etc.

Anyway, when it gets to the build stage I'll do a step by step account on it's progress on here.

Andrew.

[Darren]

Hi Andrew,

I hear you on the FI side of things - it can be a bit of a pin to sort out. I would definitely change the standard carb for either a DCNF or DCOE though for more efficient breathing. Sounds like you got a similar deal to me when I got my Vx engine - it was already in a Monte - the slight problem was that the engine was seized! The only way you can really do it is to physically try fitting it all in there. At least you won't have to make up new mounts - just alter the block to fit the Monte bracketry and get a monte box in there while you're sorting out the changes to the vx unit. You can then see to what degree you need to move the unit to, mark, remove and start your fabrication! Easy peasy, NOT! ;o)

Good luck though and look forward to seeing how you progress - I'm sure it will be a popular thread and inspiration for others.

Cheers

Darren

[Ken H]

I'm pretty sure Tom got the VX to fit without modifying the firewall. I'll ping him via email and see if I can wake him up...

- Ken H.

[lancia_x120]

Tom's original Vx conversion used an aluminum wedge between the intake manifold and the blower unit. This angled the blower downward.
Another wedge shaped adapter was used between the blower and a DCOE carb. It angled the carb upward slightly. Not sure what the "over correction" was for.
There's a picture of it on page 150 of Guy Croft's original book.

[Tom McGaffigan]

Andrew,
Sorry for the late reply. Ken told me I was a wanted man. As Mark wrote in his previous post, I made adapter plates to relocate the supercharger and carb in order to sneak everything under the rear package shelf (firewall). I did not do any sheet metal cutting. The pictures in Guy Crofts first book are of the 1756 cc engine I built back in 1990. Since then I built a 2 liter which required doing the adapters all over again. The 2 liter required finding another 1/2 of inch of space because of the taller deck height of a 2 liter. I am one Yank that likes to keep things simple so I stuck with a Weber DCOE for both VX engines installed in my Scorpicarlo. I now have over 60,000 miles on the 2 liter engine. Below is a post of mine from Guy Croft web site. In Guys new book there are a couple of pictures of my 2 liter install. From the engine compartment view, the two engines look pretty much the same. The 2 liter however has a hell of alot more power than the 1756 Volumex did. There are also pics on Lancisti of my 2 liter Volumex Scorpicarlo install. Sadly, I can not find any pics of my 2 liter build on my engine stand as that was more than 10 years ago.
Tom


I have built 2 different Volumex engines for one of my Lancia Scorpions in the past 20 years. The first engine utilized the stock 1756 cc block that was in the car when I bought it. (Lancia Scorpions came stock with a 1756cc engine; Montecarlos came with 2 liter engines). To the 1756 block I added a Volumex supercharger, Weber 40 DCOE carb, Alquati intake and exhaust cams, an Anza header and quad Anza exhaust. I also installed 36mm sodium filled exhaust valves, Abarth 1mm larger stainless intake valves and ported the head. I retained the stock 8 to 1 compression ratio. I also retained the stock supercharger drive ratio, because the standard drive ratio, with 40-80 cams, still delivered 8.5 lbs of boost on the 1756 cc engine. This boost level was the highest I could run on California highest grade octane pump gas. This engine is pictured in Guy Crofts first tuning book on several pages, it developed 175 hp crank. Over a period of 11 years I put 150,000 miles on this engine. I finally retired this engine and replaced it with a 2 liter Volumex that I built similar to the 1756.

My 2 liter VX has an increased supercharger drive ratio, adjustable cam wheels, 8.5 to 1 compression, Guy Croft ported head, bigger valves, a really BIG custom 4-2-1 header (it is a copy of a Lancia 037 Stradle style header), Anza quad exhaust, 40-80 cams, Crane multispark ignition with rev limiter and boost retard, K&N air filter and a few other tweaks. HP on this engine, I estimate is over 200 crank.

It is my daily driver as was the 1756cc engine. Yes, it's 'old school' and I like it that way. It is reliable and gets good gas mileage if you keep it sane (I installed a VX transaxle, 3,000 RPM at 70 MPH in 5th). It's extremely fast and makes a great engine sounds when it is on boost. I have 60,000 miles on the 2 liter VX engine and it is still running strong. Makes a teriffic road, autocross and track car. Bigger brakes, wheels and tires are a must with this mod.
Tom

[spv]

Tom, I am interested to know your thoughts on how you could improve the 1756cc to achieve 200hp levels? I am currently building a 1756 with a Volumex supercharger for Road use in a Beta Coupe. It would be great if you could share what size and brand valves and seats you are running in the 2ltr, what brand and shaped pistons, rods and any other crucial components that make power. My 1756 will need to run on 95-98 Octane pump gas. I am intending on running a GC GCIIIA & a standard cam as per Guys notes in his book. I will also be running a 45 DCOE with 28mm chokes (although do you think a 40 DCOE is more appropriate?) with the GC manifold. As for valves, seats and springs I am unsure what size will be good to get me to the magical 200hp. The ignition will run a crank sensor with EIDS setup using a MegaJolt controller.

Your thoughts are very much valued.

[1,6 HF]

... I will also be running a 45 DCOE with 28mm chokes (although do you think a 40 DCOE is more appropriate?) with the GC manifold. ...

That's not just a factor of the manifold; it's also a factor of the choke size. Weber 's technical manuals recommend that the barrel size be between choke size/0.7 and choke size/0.9. For 28mm chokes, this translates to a barrel from 32 to 40. So your 45s are too large a diameter for the choke, and this creates too large a step at the back of the choke--vortexes disturb the airflow. And if the manifold isn't ported to 45mm, the 45 DCOEs will create airflow problems there as well.