Peter Dyrelund from Denmark is the (lucky) owner of this Alfasud ti 1.5 with Sprintex supercharger. Although the car was changed in many points it is registrated for the use on official roads. Since 1982 it has reached a kilometrage of 65000 km. It is mostly used for club racing and driver courses.

History:

This Alfasud left the factory as a red Alfasud Ti 1.5 in 1982. The first owner used it for four times as a group N racer in in the same year. From then on it stood in a garage and waited to be bought by Peter. In 1988, when he started to modify it, it only had made 1200 km. No rust could be found.

The Body

When Peter had bought it, he stripped the entire body and sand-blasted it. Several reinforcements of the body where added. That included special stiffenings of the front rails (a weak point of the Alfasud and early Alfa 33s), and around the holes for the steering rods to the wheels. It also includes bars from the lower part of the A-post to the front suspension mounting. In addition, the reinforcements struts of an Alfa 33 16V were installed into the engine compartment. The front mask was modified to integrate an oil cooler and two additonal air intakes to provide a better cooling of the brakes. Finally the body was metallised and painted in white. Then Peter fitted a Zender-kit consisting of sideskirts and a set of rubber under the wheelarch extensions which stilll can be noticed as a small black line between the body and the whellarch extensions. The bumpers (except the plastic inlay) and wheelarch extensions where painted in white, too. Then Peter fitted the rubber stripes of  a 1,3/1,5 3-door hatchback at both sides of the car.

The engine

The engine was radically changed into a high power unit. The compression ratio of the original 1.5 litre engine with 95 bhp was reduced to a ratio of 8:1 by using different pistons. Because of that, the non-supercharged engine only has a power-output of 85 bhp. A water cooled Sprintex supercharger (screw type kompressor) with a charging pressure of 0,9 bar was installed together with a SU 1 3/4" carburettor. This raised the engine's power output to 140 bhp at 5500 rpm and a torque of 220 Nm at 4000 rpm. Special cast cylinderhead-covers were mounted, too.
To assure that all the power is transmitted into acceleratíon, Peter made use of a Alfa 33 16 V gearbox, a Quaife Torsen limited slip differential and a Sachs group A alloy clutch. The oilcooler which was mounted below the front bumper saves the engine from overheating. An Iresa exaust with crossover manifold contributes to the increase in power.

Suspension and Brakes

Peter used ventilated front discs of a Mazda which were mounted on an adapter together with Mintex 1144 brake pads. In addtion to that, the car has an adjustable brake balance. The suspension got some major changes, too. The upper McPherson rubber mount was modified (less rubber), Eibach springs and yellow Koni shock absorbers were used to improve roadholding. The front anti-roll bar (22 mm) was taken out of a series I  Alfasud. The rear one is a 20 mm one. Special home made bushes (vinyl) are used, too. Instead of the serial steering rack, Peter used a more direct one with 2,7 turns from stop to stop (compared with 3,7 turns of a usual Alfasud Ti). Peter can opt between two different kinds of wheels. Either he uses 7x15" BBS RS split-rims or 7x15" Ronal A1 alloys with polished rim and white center.

The Drivers Cabin

The cabin was modified, too. A full roll cage (OMP) with extra tubes and a fire extinguisher have been fitted to provide some extra safety for the worst of all cases. Because of the roll cage (38 kg), the kerb weight of the car was increased to 900 kg. The sound insulation was removed, only a black carpet Peter made covers the metal. Peter mounted the carpet because first wanted to use his Alfasud Ti as everday transport. Electricity is controlled by a main switch. To save weight, the old battery was replaced by the one of a motorcycle. Peter and his passenger sit in Recaro raceseats with 6-point harness belts and the driver has a personal suède steering wheel.

This Alfasud is about 200 kph fast and can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in less than 8 Seconds. Peter even challenged a 190 bhp 155 Q4 on the quarter mile. The Alfasud accelerated faster than the 155.

Plans for the future

After more than 65.000 kms of racing, "Sportfahrerlehrgang" on the Nürburgring Nordschleife and long motorway passages, the engine needed an overhaul in 2002 because on piston was damaged. Peter has now a new project in the pipeline. He plans to replace the old 1.5 litre engine against a factory new 1.7 16 valve Boxer-engine fitted with an Opcon Autorotor supercharger and EFI engine management system. This engine should at least have 180 bhp.

Back

Last Update: January, 10th 2005      Created: September, 2nd 2000

© Layout and text by Tim Rauen. Photos by Peter Dyrelund and Tim Rauen.