Fiat Dino Forum (FDF)

Does anyone know of anyone putting an american engine in a Dino Coupe?

msarni1 wrote:Does anyone know of anyone putting an american engine in a Dino Coupe?

Ultimately, it's your car and you can do with it what you want, but the question is for what purpose? Bear in mind that in today's market a Dino with no engine is probably with more than one with a non-original engine, especially if the body's been cut to make it fit. And the 2 litre gearbox will not last long behind a more powerful engine.

However. I think a V8 would not fit without surgery to the engine bay and tunnel, and the front suspension is too soft to take the weight, so more work needed. The rear axle would also be suspect under these conditions. I have heard of someone contemplating a Buick V6 (to get an engineless car back on the road) but have no further details.

Other options:
Volvo 760/780 V6. 135hp standard but plenty of tweaks available
Alfa GTV6 (Tipo 116) Alfetta V6, plenty of these have been put into Tipo 105 Alfas so there's lots of knowledge about fitting the 116 engine to the 105 gearbox. 160HP standard, 230hp in Callaway versions
Nissan 200SX/Silvia. 4 cyl but plentiful and powerful. Lighter than V6 and nice gearbox. 170hp in some versions, more for turbo

But ultimately, it might be more cost effective to find and fit a Dino engine.

I would never do that... your car looses for sure its spirit and it is worth close to nothing later.

Hard to believe that this is not a joke question
The thing that makes a Dino stand out most is the engine. There are a lot of other beautiful cars that would fit an American V8 better. What about an Iso Grifo? However, I must admit that there was a time wehen I thought it might be interesting to power a Dino Coupe with a 308 engine.

Unfortunatally I car I bought has no engine and transmission.

Then you should look for an Engine and a gearbox. They are not so rare as many coupes where scrapped years ago when they where not of worth. However it will take some Time and money but Therefore you will have an unkomparabel GT from the sixties.

A Fiat Dino, is a Dino engine surrounded by a car.. However, if I were desperate to put it on the road, I would go for an Alfa GTV6 engine..

IMHO the Barnfind's definition is impeccable: a Fiat Dino is a Dino engine surrounded by a car.
Stop

To get the car on the road, go for the Afla V6, there are probably Tremec conversions as well. As long as you cut nothing, the car will retain its value once you find a correct engine. BTW there's a 2 litre gearbox for sale on this forum.