For example do you remember the Turbo days of Formula 1 back in the 80's. Didn't they have 1.5-1.7 litre engines putting out around 1,000hp?

Get similar in the pub. When you say 2.0 litre people assume that it's the same engine as in say a 2.0 litre Mondeo or similar. Why on earth can't some people comprehend that power is not related directly to engine size?

Another example of the Yanks expertise at extracting the absolute minimum possible from a massive engine: My mate had a 1984 Corvette 5.7 litre, which had a whopping 180BHP They must really have to apply some good technology to get so little from such a large engine

"There's no replacement for displacement"

And also the yanks have cr@p quality, low octane petrol.

And also the yanks have cr@p quality, low octane petrol.

...I have a 3.o litre 8 cylinder 32 valve Ferrari in my Thema 8.32 and when someone pulls up beside at an intersection and asks "what size motor is in that ugly thing" i now just say "big enough" and leaves them in a trail of fumes.

We had three 8.32's at the garage I used to work in. Two of the engines went into a Lancia Stratos replica.

One at a time mind, but when the cambelt snapped on the first one, it was easier to stick another engine in, rather than mess around fixing the first one.

not an inexpensive engine to fix or maintain

Where in Canada do you live, Paul?

An hour north of Toronto, Ontario



p

You need to have a chat with tipoboy on here. He had a coupe out in Canada too, but has now moved south into the US

Today I put my Coupe into storage for several years

During the trip to Las Vegas my car consumed a lot of oil. Probably about 8 litres over the 6800 km drive. I don't have an exact figure as I lost track of how much I had to buy! I knew it at an oil burning issue but hoped that was all.

After the rebuild last year when the oil was cold I saw 3 bar at idle which would drop to 1.5 bar when the oil was hot. When revved the oil pressure would rise nicely.

However since then I'd noticed the hot idle oil pressure slowly dropping until it had got to 0.5 bar. When revved the oil pressure would rise still nicely. That was until August when the oil pressure at hot idle dropped to 0 and would sometimes cause the oil pressure warning light to come on. Revving the engine has less of an effect, 2000 rpm would only see about 0.5 bar, 3000 rpm about 1 bar. I knew the engine was dying so left it unused in the garage.

When cold the engine would also take about 6 seconds of cranking before it would fire up. No spluttering just cranking then it would fire and run perfectly. You could then switch it off and it would restart on the first cycle.

This is very frustrating as we actually had a lovely long summer and I could have driven it right up until today. I wish I could find someone who could build me an engine that lasts more than a season.

At the end of August I was told that Schlumberger are closing the Calgary office. All staff who had mobile status were given an offer to move to Houston. The rest were out of a job at the end of the year. I accepted the Houston transfer and are in the middle of arranging to move to Houston. The aim is to complete this by 1st January. I'll be there for at least a year. Usually you work in one place for 3 years then move on. Moving back to Canada with Schlumberger isn't an option as there won't be an office here.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my 5 years here. Love the people and the environment. I even bought a house here last December. The plan is to rent it out but the rent I'll get is only 3/4 of the mortgage and that's before any management fees and property taxes are subtracted. I'll have to see how that goes as I'll be subsidising the rent from my USA wages.

Even if the FIAT engine was running perfectly I don't think I could have imported it into the USA. To be honest I'm sick of having the engine rebuilt. Sure I get a lot of enjoyment driving it around but the cost and limited time the engine lasts is getting to me. If the car was worth anything here I'd seriously consider breaking it. However there is very little on it that is worth anything to the Canadian market (Tyres, Radio, ECU, gauges, Apexi, Alarm). If/when I return to Canada I can strip the engine down and see what's wrong. My biggest concern is that if it needs another rebore, which it probably will, I'm looking at having to import a new block.

I limped the car to the storage facility today and said goodbye. It's going to cost $1000 a year but it's heated, clinically clean and in very good company.

I still love driving so whilst in Houston I intend to replace the Coupe with a certain German car I've always dreamed of owning since I was a child.

John

If you decide to chip it, id have it remapped properly

A generic chip can often cause more problems than benefits