Practically Classics Forum

I'd tend to agree with the above in as much as I think that a better choice would be, say, a B-series or similar which at least looks slightly more in keeping than a modern, Toyota unit.

Equally, I'd agree that not using it could be damaging unless it were filled with storage oil and Vaseline then kept in your airing cupboard or somewhere...

At least you know that you can get capacitors suitable for the distributor of the original engine, I restocked a while ago on those Teflon ones.

This one is so wrong on two levels!

My late grandfather saved for most of his life to buy an Alvis (which he got not long before the war). My mother wrote it off when playing at ambulance driver during a Civil Defence exercise in, or near, Liverpool during a blackout (about 1940 I think). Grandfather was killed in an aeroplane crash in 1946, I never met him (I was born in '53). So you can imagine why I am enjoying the Alvis resto story!

The other thougths echo most others' comments - wrong engine, better to keep originality and an engine should be working - not risking harm while being left in a corner.

BTW - as Grandfather needed a car (he was Medical Officer of Health for W. Lancs), he had to get his mother's Austin (a 10 I think) ferried over from the Isle of Man! Grandmother still had her Morris for her own duties!

OneCarefulOwner wrote: If the engine you're looking to install is almost as rare as the one you're trying to save, you're likely to end up in a similar situation should things go "pop"; either a high repair bill, or fitting yet another replacement with a different heritage

This is a very good point, I just assumed you'd get 70s bits easier than 40s bits, I haven't investigated it. I had also decided that the Toyota engine would never break down.

You're starting to talk me round guys. Nobody in full support of the original idea! I like the sound of storing it in the airing cupboard, but it was enough of a struggle to get the wife to permit me to keep the freshly blasted panels in there! May also be a bugger trying to get the engine up the stairs.

pryantcc said:

May also be a bugger trying to get the engine up the stairs.

Sack barrow, rope, boards on stairs, block and tackle tied to bannisters. Simples.

Only disadvantage - you end up cooking your own meals, which takes up a lot of tinkering time. There again, you don't have to shave as often!

Popular & common 70s engines, such as the B series, can be rebuilt almost entirely with newly (re)manufactured parts. With some of the less common ones, even replacing consumables for servicing can be a trial; with an older engine like yours, canister oil filters & disposable fuel/air filters hadn't been invented, so you may actually find it easier to keep on top of such things.

I'm with everyone else. In this circumstance it would seem daft to change the original, working, engine for a less known 30+ year old lump and mystery gearbox. I don't agree with TriumphDriver that an engine swap always destroys the character of an old car but I don't think thats what this Alvis needs.

On a purely aesthetic basis, how disappointing would it be to open the bonnet of an old Alvis and find some tiny nondescript old Toyota engine.....that would be awful! The engine in my Triumph is the original, with external pushrod tubes along the head and twin Strombergs, it's big and old looking and entirely in period, anything else would look just dreadful.....stick with the Alvis motor!

If you'd bought the Alvis in perfect condition and was then suggesting swapping the engine for a modern one I'd be horrified, but since you may well have saved the car from being lost forever I don't think any of us have the right to be critical. I can certainly understand your worries about damaging the Alvis engine so there's a lot of sense in the temporary substitution.
Personally I'd prefer an older, British engine - something that could be a talking point in itself, like a Daimler 2.5 V8 or Riley. Failing that, a Rover 2000SC might have the right sort of look, is cheap, reliable and well catered for.

I really am not a fan of engine swaps. I can just about stomach a swap that would be period like a Rover car engine into a Land Rover or even a later engine in a fairly common car, a K Series into an MGB etc but never anything rare and with no link. To me the beauty of a classic car is keeping it in period with sensible upgrades such as seatbelts or a spin on oil filter. If you like the idea of driving a Toyota 1.6 buy one that it was made for. Also wouldn't go to all the effort with an engine that I hadn't seen run.

The carina engine will be a 2T pushrod unit. These engines are commom as muck in aus and regularly change hands for a case of beer. Very reliable yes, but not real powerful and it won't sound like an Alvis anymore. I'd say run the Alvis drivetrain and worry about a swap if it breaks. It will probably be quite reliable anyway. If you must do a swap, then do some research and find an engine that fits easily. A cheap engine is no good if major mods and extra expense is required to fit it.