(first posted 12/1/2013) Alfa has always been known and loved for their engines as well as all the rest of their seductive qualities. Perhaps even more so than the others, although given the superbly beautiful bodies and their typically fine handling, that may be a subject of endless debate. But what isn’t in question is the fact that the classic Alfa twin cam engine essentially pioneered the popular adoption of what is now under the hood of even the cheapest econo-box.
But once upon a time, a DOHC alloy engine in a relatively affordable car was almost unheard of. And such a beautiful one at that. So let’s have a little meditation on one of the most significant engine milestones in automotive history, and how this engine became the model upon which all modern engines are based on.
The basic hemi-head/pent roof DOHC configuration has of course come to dominate the modern automobile engine (with a few notable exceptions). And although it’s only been in the last two decades that it’s been adopted wholesale, at least for smaller engines, the classic configuration goes back quite a ways, to the early days of the car, or racing car, to be precise.
There’s a bit of a question as to who exactly built it first, but there’s no doubt that the 1912 Peugeot racing engines designed by Ernest Henry first combined not only the DOHC hemi-head, but also four valves per cylinder. These legendary L3 (3 liter) and L76 (7.6 liter) engines instantly dominated the Grand Prix scene, and were just as instantly and universally copied.
This Peugeot gP8 engine from 1914 shows all the classic essentials, including its still-exposed valve springs. And by 1914, Alfa also had its first DOHC racing engine.
image: bringatrailer.com
Fast forward to 1954, and Alfa’s new Giulietta. The superbly designed (by Bertone’s Franco Scaglione) Sprint coupe arrived in late 1954.
The Berlina sedan followed in the spring of 1955. These sporty cars were the true pioneers of what has become a huge segment, dominated later by the BMWs like the 2002 and 3 Series.
And Pininfarina’s addition to the trio, the Spider, is a milestone car by any measure. Stylistically, the Spider set the template for the modern sports car for decades to come. Next to a 1955 Corvette, the Spider looks like it’s almost from a decade later.
The Giulietta rocked the automotive world, offering a level of performance, design, handling and Italian flair for an unbeatable value.
At a time when flatheads were still all-too prevalent, and pushr0d OHV engines were still hot stuff, at least in some quarters, Alfa graced the Giulietta with an engine that looked straight out of a racing car: alloy block, and DOHC hemi head. The 1954 Giulietta Sprint made 65 hp from 1290cc at an almost unheard of 6000 rpm (for a production street car). In 1954, the Porsche 356 still came with a standard 1100cc pushrod engine making 46 hp at 4000 rpm, and the highest output optional engine was the 1500 Super, making 70 hp. The Porsche, especially the Super, was considerably more expensive.
The Alfa DOHC four was built for forty years, with displacement and power steadily increasing. In 1962, the classic 1570 cc version arrived, and powered two of the most-loved Alfas ever, the Giulia Sprint coupe and Duetto Spider. And in 1968, the 1779cc version appeared in the 1750 GTV. The final size of 1962cc arrived in 1971. There was no more room, but twin spark heads appeared towards the end of its life, as well as some flirtation with turbocharging.
There wasn’t room in the heads for four valves, so that would take a new generation of Alfa fours, but the classic four is a meditation in engine perfection, at least from a visual aspect. This one was awaiting installation in a restored car, but I forgot to ask what size it was. Doesn’t really matter. There is a symmetry and perfection in its architecture that can’t really be improved upon, and I was lost in my veneration. Good thing the floor was so clean, that I could get on my knees and do that properly.
The exhaust system on that Alfa motor is almost erotic…. Pure car-porn.
I was thinking the exact same thing. I keep looking at these pictures for fold lines and staple marks, because they might as well be centerfolds.
Miata’s 1600 cc twin-cam obviously owes a lot to this engine. I never knew Alfa’s twin cam was the pioneer. Great history in this piece too!
Lotus paid Harry Mundy (STG 150.00 ?) to design a twin cam head for the 1500cc Ford engine, which they used in the original Lotus Elan, which inspired the Miata.
Wow, that’s double cool. Likewise Mazda developed its twin-cam head for their 1600cc B6 engine used in ordinary 323s and MX-3s. Thanks!
I think it is just the MX5 version that have the cam covers styled to look more ‘classic’ rather than the boxier version used on the same engine in other cars
Nice article about Colin, Harry and the Lotus-Ford twin-cam here: http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/2010/09/01/hmn_feature27.html
I don’t want to believe that someone would put a Fram oil filter on that.
First thing I saw too.
I noted the familiar orange filter of Fram too.
I noticed it, as well.
I assumed a Fram was being used to seal up the filter area so that the rebuilder could make sure that the gasketed surfaces were sealing properly, or that the engine was going to be run briefly with a different oil for initial tuning and break-in, at which point it would receive an oil and filter change with normal oil and a high-quality filter.
Guys! Italian cars of the 60s and 70s, such as Ferraris, Alfas and Fiats all came with Frams. My Fiat 128 had a huge Fram that I later found out was also used on Ford tractors.
I have used Fram filters on all my cars for the past 42 years, be they Italian, German, or US. No complaints.
as said by others, Fram is not even close to what it once was.
Many of their internals are cardboard where you should find steel in a quality filter. Wix, Mobil 1, K&N, AC Delco are just a few that are worlds better than anything Fram currently makes and not a lot more money for the added protection.
Decades ago, Fram was a quality oil filter name worth paying extra for. But, as the way the business mind operates in any field, once they had established a solid reputation, the Fram name and manufacturing facilities were resold several times (Bendix, Allied Signal) and the basic filter was subsequently cheapened while focusing on more expensive, gimmicky new versions to the extent that Fram oil filters now drag up the rear on any oil filter review, including those where they take the filters apart and examine what’s inside.
OTOH, Fram has always offered an extensive line to fit just about anything that has an oil filtration system with some kind of replaceable element, so at least you can get a replacement oil filter for whatever you’re trying to keep running, even if it’s a Fram.
I worked in a dyno shop in San Diego back in the early 80s. We dyno’d a lot of Ferrari and always used a Fram filter. Fram was the only filter that wouldn’t blow out the sealing gasket at high rpm/oil pressure. Nothing wrong with a Fram filter.
Gorgeous little engine
I have a friend who has a collection of Alfas including a ’69 GT Veloce which is just about the sweetest little coupe ever. I had a Fiat 124 Spider with DOHC engine which is very similar to the Alfa (Alfa-Lite) but with a timing belt rather than chain, so with those short, shim adjusted valves, it was so quiet at idle, all you could hear was the rust!
This is the very engine Toyota looked at (copied??) for its highly successful Twin-Cam engines starting with the 9R 1600 in the mid-sixties, 2T-G and 18R-G (I have one, and yes I spend time just gazing at it myself when time permits) in later years. Toyota 9R below
Top view of 9R Toyota engine. Note exposed acorn head nuts just like the Alfa’s
I had this beautiful engine in two of my cars, in 1750 form with twin Webers (Berlina sedan) and in 2000cc form with twin Dellortos (GTV). Still two of my favourite cars. The engines were easy to work on, and with steel liners in the aluminum block they were designed to be easily rebuilt. A rebore with oversize pistons was about half the cost of a rebuild for a BMW 2002 motor. Paired with Alfa’s smooth shifting 5-speed this engine made my Berlina and GTV a delight to drive.
After 4 years of fun with these two successive cars the dawn of the 80’s came and I went all economy-minded and got a Rabbit Diesel. Not as much fun but it was 250K km of cheap reliable transportation during the time I had it.
Guiulietta, Guilietta, Guilitta, Giulia…
An Italian tradition?
A difficult-to-resist Shakespeare allusion. (Romeo e Giulietta.)
Alfa engines are delicious, judging by what little hands-on I have with them.
A customer had a couple of 164s, a 12 valve and a 24 valve. Both made more beautiful noises than a family sedan should be allowed to make, and really weren’t bad to work on. Many pieces seemed 20 years out of date considering the cars were built in the ’90s, but that just made them easier to service.
Interesting!
The DOHC motor was used for the Spider variant of the 124, but only in the Spider as the sedans and coupes only had the OHV (pushrod) 4’s.
Interestingly enough, the Autobianchi Premula, which made its debut in 1964 used an OHC motor, mounted transversely in a FWD configuration with a separate transaxle that sat along side the motor with unequal half shafts which then was used in the mass market C segment Fiat 128 that made its debut in 1969, but as a SOHC motor of either 1.1 or 1.3L displacement, also transversely mounted with the separate transaxle, but McPherson struts, front wheel disc brakes and radial tires, all virtually unheard of for an affordable car back in the day.It would spawn the modern FWD car we all know today with the Simca 1100/1201 being the first hatchback that was also a modern FWD car to boot, making its debut in 1967. The Zastava 101 was simply a hatchback variant of the 128 and looked much like the sedans and it made its debut in 1971.
The B segment Fiat 127 was similar, but didn’t use McPherson struts and had OHV motors of sub 1L displacements instead, but it WAS a FWD hatchback of the transverse variety, just like the 128.
i’ve always liked the fiat 124 spider much more than the alfa spider. when i drove an alfa spider… 82 vintage… it felt like it was bending or twisting on every curb… and it was rust free. engine wise the alfa is of course nice… but again the fiat 124 has the lampredi ohc engine that is also a jewel of an engine. the one thing that baffled me is that i could never make that 124 sound thrilling no matter the exhaust. the brits with their tractor engines and the right exhaust sounded like magic. the other funny thing is that neither the alfa or fiat ever felt fast…. but they could go miles high in rpm which is nice for an enthusiast like me.
That is not correct as ALL 124 Sport Coupes had the twin cam from day one as did the 124ST sedan and for some strange reason the 124 wagon in the USA (was it badged ST as well?), whereas all other wagons and standard sedans as 124S sedans were OHV pushrod.
The only 124 coupes that were not twin canes were some coach built specials such as one by Vignale that were based on the 124 sedan mechanicals.
My first car was a Fiat 125 Special but I always regretted not getting a 1750 or 2000 Berlina instead as they were a better car in most respects.
And mine too! My parents first new car, back in 1970, in New Guinea.
Something that still impresses me is (with the valves removed) you could look through the inlet ports and see a crescent of daylight through the exhaust ports.
hehehe Dad had a 125 in the early 70s – his first Fiat since moving to Australia and he decided to live large. Same medicine-bottle blue as Gianni Agnelli’s
Hey, it’s Alfa day at the Hemmings blog too. The Find of the Day is a
1961 Giulietta Sprint Speciale, with the 1290cc Twin Cam. It can be yours for just $40,000!
Gorgeous, especially in that color!
that is sexier than most ferrari’s
Only too bad, real loss, that the ignorants of FIAT/Chrysler has fucked up Alfa engines, into just ordinary iron-pieces with a platic badge.
I’m gonna hold on to my Buso !!!
Great history Paul, thanks for putting it up in a very relevant place today!
Great article. On a cloudy December day I’d like nothing more than to be the man who fires up that jewel of an engine and takes it for a drive on a sunny day with the top down.
Seeing the Alfa DOHC four outside of a car makes me wish that I had an irrigation pump or something else requiring a stationary engine that I can leave exposed!
Irrigation pumps have Cornbinder engines.
Maybe there would be a market for transparent plastic hoods for Alfas….
Had a Giulia Nuova with the 1300 cc Alfa Norte engine, lovely car and the only 1300 at that time that was able to take a four door saloon car over 100Mph with four guys in it.
Great thing of these engines was that the 1300 or the 1600 did not differ too much from eachother, everybody would dismiss a 1300 if they could afford a 1600cc
But a well prepared and tuned 1300 would sing the most beautiful song.
Already a five speed gearbox and disc brakes all around.
Loved that car, still in my top three of alltime favorites.
Very nice, one of my favorite classic Euro cars. And you can still buy a very good one without needing an extra mortgage on your house. The Giulia looks very boxy, but it’s actually a very aerodynamic car. A Cd-value of only 0.34, superb for a compact 1962 sedan.
That’s incredible.
Dunno about BMW owning that segment of the market, drowning it in overhyped cars yes but better cars NO.
Kudo’s !
Only in the US did BMW “invent” the category of sports sedan. Alfa nailed that title early on, pretty much as soon as the Giulietta started weekending in rallies and everyday open-road fast cruising. Over here, we mostly ignored the sedans and went for the Spiders and GT coupes, whereas in Europe the four-doors outsold the “sportier” cars by a big margin. My first Alfa was a 2-liter Berlina, which I was delighted to learn was aerodynamically superior to either sports model, despite its blocky looks, and probably capable of higher top speeds (though I never really made a stab at proving it). It’s the car I was driving when I met Mrs. O, whose ride was that very BMW 2002 that was widely considered to be the Real Original Sports Sedan (and still is, according to Car and Driver). I liked her car, found it much easier to drive around town – something to be said for power steering! – but a fast run down a twisty country road showed it to be much less reassuring anywhere near its limits in the corners. Granted, the Alfa’s well-located live rear axle was theoretically less advanced than the BMW’s semitrailing-arm IRS, but it never made me feel nervous as the 2002 did.
So why is the Alfa ignored in that category? Simply because it was ignored by the American market. Hoffman and the other NA Alfa dealers are largely to blame, I think, for pushing the cars that were easier to sell in a country where the sedans we liked were big, cushy, and pulled by big V8s and automatic transmissions. BMW showed up just as that was changing.
Max Hoffman also imported BMW until he sold the operation to the parent company in 1975.
Thank you for this information dense article. I am smarter for having read it.
I don’t see any reason I can’t like this and the Buick V6 at the same time.
I really must own one of these at some point. My current want in the Alfa department is an early Alfetta saloon with a 3.0l Arese V6, but I think I might trade that for a 3.0-3.5l GTV6 and a tuned 2.0l Alfetta (maybe with some light supercharging if I fancy going all-out).
Interesting article, indeed!
My father bought a second-hand 1971 1750A Berlina sedan in 1972 to replace our 1968 BMW 2002. While BMW was obviously a better car, it was impractical for a growing family of four. The old-school Germans in the early 1970s thought of a car with automatic gearbox was heretic and hedonistic so my father was able to buy this Alfa-Romeo on the cheap. We brought it with us when we moved to Dallas, Texas in 1974.
Eventually, the car was passed to my mum when my father got the fleet car. When I obtained my driver’s licence, my mum was too happy to pass it to me. I spent good amount of money on fixing the car up for the daily drive.
My high school classmates and friends were amazed to see the exotic exhaust headers and disc brake on each wheel. That might be common in Europe but not in the US in the early 1980s. They loved the throaty exhaust note so much and usually knew I was arriving long before I showed up.
Unfortunately, the hot weather in Dallas wasn’t kind to the motor. The radiator was too small, and the head got warped in the back. I had the motor rebuilt for $2,000—a princely sum for the high school kid. The four-electrode Golden Lodge spark plugs were very expensive ($7 each) but offered better ignition performance. The vapor lock became very frequent event during the summer. Solex probably made the worst carburettors ever, and they required weekly adjustment to keep the motor running smoothly. I regretted missing the chance to buy the second-hand Weber carburettors during my family holiday in Italy.
From the research, I had found out that Alfa-Romeo produced between 249 and 251 units of 1750 Berlina equipped with automatic gearboxes. They were considered ‘experimential’ as to weed out any issues before introducing Alfetta Automatic in the US market in 1978. Mine didn’t have year stamped on the manufacturer’s plate (German vehicle registration showed 1971).
Did Alfa Romeo ever look at producing a smaller displacement version of the Twin-Cam engine below the 1290cc unit?
Am aware that Alfa Romeo already looked at a 750cc 2-cylinder Twin-Cam for the 13-61 project (in essence half a Giulietta Twin-Cam engine) as well as a 896cc 4-cylinder Twin-Cam for the Tipo 103 prototype, though interested to know whether Alfa Romeo considered Twin-Cam engines with displacements of around 1000-1100cc for its existing models (such as the Giulietta, Giulia, etc)?
As a kid growing up in Greece in the 1970s, while I never saw ANY 1954-62 Guiletta’s (as shown in photo), I remember seeing 1964-74 Guilettas on the roads.
And those were among my ‘favorite’ cars. They looked great (Paul should really have posted a picture of one), and my impression was that, in the early 70s. the Giuletta was THE Sports Sedan, BMW 1600 2-door being the runner-up.
The Giuletta was THE original sports sedan, IMO. Even as late as 1965, it was the only one, though the BMW 1600/1800 4-dr was also, it was a bigger car.
One observation though–the Giuletta may not have been priced like a Ferrari, but it was kind of pricey. I don’t know Euro prices, but in 1968, for the price of a Corvair or a Dart auto, around $2500, you could buy a BMW 1600 in the US. I think the Alfa cost well over $3,000 then, mayb $3,500.
Also, by then, the Alfa had the sportier engine, and a 5-spd, but did it handle better than a 1600/2002? AND, the 1600/2002 was a quality car, pretty reliable. The Alfa was more suited to Italy’s gentle roads, and the obsessive attention of European car owners.
Car & Driver did a road test of a 73 Giuletta, bigger engine, and commented on the great car, but ‘high effort’ to steer, brake, shift. A “man’s car”. For that kind of money, (less?), you could get a fuel-injected 2002.
Today, if I could, I’d pick a 1964-66 Giuletta for my imaginary garage. 2nd pick would be a 68-70 BMW 1600/2002.
Later Alfa V6 and 4 cylinder twin Spark engines are pretty special .
Alfa 155 TDM was banned in the German Touring Car champs when they beat the Germans on their own turf.
650 bhp out of a little V6 engine an Nannini driving.
Recent road cars make equivalent BMW seem very ordinary and for sure lack any personality.
The engine shown in Paul’s pictures is a 1600. It can be identified as such by the ‘square’ cast mark on the front of the engine, just above the water pump.
Below is a picture of my later “1750” (really 1779 cc) engine with the SPICA mechanical fuel injection in my 1971 Spider. It’s an amazing engine with sodium filled valves, baffled oil pan, a header, and a nitrated crank – all stock from the factory. I just love winding it up. It’s just a sweet, happy engine.
By today’s standards, it’s not that powerful – Road and Track said 135 BHP in a 1971 review, but 40 years ago that was pretty good in a 2300 lb car.
My 105 was a 1971 1750 coupe, same model year (series 2: headrests, console) probably the same engine. Yep. Very nice engine.
Pretty, pretty, pretty…
A couple of follow-ups:
1. A square with a diagonal line through it indicates this is 2L as you can see with a closer look in the photo above. The screw-on oil filter is another clue. Your ’71 Spider motor should be stamped with a triangle and dot.
2. Yes, the 1750 came with sodium-filled exhaust valves, but nitrided cranks first appeared on the later 2L motor.
I drove one installed in the breezy remains of a 2000 Berlina. Overcoming a natural fear of tetanus, I squeezed past the rust (or “panels” as the optimistic owner insisted on calling them), and, putting my knees near my ears, assumed the Alfa driving position. Must confess, pre-internet, that as soon as I saw the thing, I was never going to buy, but thought “Oh hell, I’m here, some distance from convenience, and you misdescribed it” so off I went.
Good lord, it was amazing. High mileage, unkempt, for sure a little smoky, but it WENT. And sounded better than was decent, particularly given that it powered a rusted brutalist brick. I was particularly taken by the fact that 2,000 rpm was good, 4,500 rpm was speeding, yet there was another 2,000 still to delight anyone except the arresting officer.
Yes, I told the seller I wasn’t buying, even after his instant offer of a discount.
I much later drove the last injected Twin Spark, slippery smooth whether at 2,000 or 7,000 rpm, but truthfully, with no power at all below 3,000; in traffic, it was plain hairy, like some early turbo. It was very nice, and perhaps my one was ill in some way, but it had lost all the low-rev/high-rev charm from closer its youth.
Was the Twin-Cam 6-cylinder used in the Alfa Romeo 2600 also related to the Twin-Cam Four? Since have heard claims it was indeed related to an earlier version of the Twin-Cam 4-cylinder whereas the later Twin-Cam 4-cylinder engines were said to be significantly lighter.
Seems a pity Alfa Romeo were not in a position to develop a much lighter version of the Twin-Cam 6-cylinder from the Twin-Cam 4-cylinder before it was replaced by the V6.
No, the 2600 was related to the slightly earlier 1900 four.
Architecturally quite similar, but a bigger unit. IIRC, FNM stretched those to 2300 for its ‘new’ big Alfa.
In 1975 I bought a ‘69 1750 Berlina. The engine looked beautiful with the twin Webers, but it also looked intimidating. I had friends who could not keep the carbs in sync on their MGBs, so I was worried about the Webers, but they never gave me a problem. It was an amazing engine in a wonderful car, but unfortunately it rusted badly.
DOHC two valve heads with an included valve angle of 80 degrees per Wikipedia, 90 per another website. Without checking on the other DOHC engines of the time such as Jaguar or Ford, this is a common 1950-60 valve angle. The Twin Spark, which debuted in 1987, reduced the valve angle to 46 degrees and is significantly different from the previous engines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Twin_Cam_engine
I had a ’92 Alfa 2000 Spider Veloce from ’99 to ’06. I put about 18,000 miles on it and never had a problem with the engine. Yes, the syncho on 2nd was a little wonky but if you shifted carefully, there was no grinding the gears. The only problems I had were at one point, the tach died and at another, the speedo went kaput. But I had a great mechanic in Gaithersburg, MD who took care of both. In ’06, my wife said we couldn’t afford to have three cars and I didn’t see stressing the Alfa driving it daily. So, we sold it. It was a very sad day for me but the person who bought it was an Alfaholic, so I imagine it’s still running around Cincinnati and the driver is enjoying every moment.