Hello all

I'm having some trouble deciding what engine transplant i want in my exie. I first thought about the Uno Turbo mk1, as what i have heard they are the easiest to use. I have also heard of using the Lancia Delta's engines, but also be told about there over heating. And now i have seen that some people put a Punto GT into them.

Which engines have you guys put into your exies?

Thanks everyone in advance!

Hi and welcome

The choice of engines is basically whatever you can make fit - the Mk1 Uno Turbo is popular as it is essentially a straight swap. It is also very reliable as basically nothing needs to be modified.

The Punto GT is also the same block but it gets much, much more complicated - the flywheel is larger, the manifolds don't fit as well, the turbo faces the lower engine mount, etc.

The engine bay was designed to take a fiat twin cam so there is enough space for one of those but a turbo version is a very tight fit - hence the overheating issues but those can be overcome with a bit of careful design and fabrication.

The more you have to fabricate in general the less reliable it becomes.

There are some Alfa V6 conversions around but these require some pretty serious surgery to make them fit so unless you have a fairly big budget I (personally) wouldn't go there.

There are some Mazda rotary conversions around along with some less exotic (GM blocks) or very exotic (jet turbines) to be found if you look hard enough.

Yeah i've head that the uno turbo, is basically the same engine, uses the same engine mounts as well i think. I was very keen on using the uno, but it seems they are getting quite rare, are the parts cheap to get?

what kind of fabrication are we talking about when on about the GT?

I would prefer to have an engine which will fit perfectly, but which has a bit of potential. Would prefer it to be turbo'ed as well.

Yeah i have seen the videos on YouTube about the Alfa V6, did they ever get it on the road? it did look and sound nice, but looks so much hassle. Would be worth it in the end though :worship:

My budget isn't very big for the transplant as i have used most of it to restore the car plus buying the Dallara kit etc etc.

Thanks for the reply Jimbro

The Punto GT and later Uno Turbo Mk2 use the same engine.

The UT Mk2 engine is easier to fit though thanks to some very tiny differences (and a few big ones)

The flywheel is larger so you can't retain the standard X1/9 gearbox housing. The GT/UT2 gearbox is a cable shift so you either need to use a UT1 or X1/9 flywheel *or* fabricate a cable shifter (not as bad as it sounds but equally not a simple affair)

The exhaust manifold leaves the larger Garret turbo a tight fit against the rear bulkhead and pointing straight down for the compressed inlet tract which then needs to go straight through the "sling" lower engine mount.

The GT inlet manifold has the throttle cable in the wrong place so you would need to find a UT2 manifold (outwardly identical).

The cam cover from the X1/9 is needed to route the throttle cable correctly but this leaves the dipstick tube nowhere to attach to at the top so you would need an X1/9 dipstick tube and dipstick.

The GT (possibly the UT2 as well - I haven't checked) has an oil path that goes through the centre of an engine mount. The engine mount has the threaded part to allow fitting an oil pipe but the mount stops the engine fitting in the engine bay. You either have to fabricate a plate to provide the pipe fitting or cut the engine mount down so it all fits. This is a worrying detail that illustrates the onward march of the FIRE process - in essence the UT2 and GT engines are actually the first generation SOHC FIRE engines (along with the normally aspirated breatheren).

Even once you've overcome all of the physical problems you still have the plumbing and electrical issues (the same is true of any transplant of course).

The later engines generate more waste heat than the UT1 engine which means bigger oil cooler and intercooler to achieve the same and the X1/9 engine bay has less space thanks to the bigger accessories. On the plus side the later engines are a little bit more tunable provided you ditch the stock management. The UT1 management actually allows you to go a bit further but the tiny IHI turbo isn't up to much after 1 bar. The UT1 system was designed by IHI themselves under consultancy. The UT2 and GT were designed by Fiat and largely throw away the details that IHI included.

The key on all of the engines is to perform conventional engine tuning before you go for a bigger turbo, so overbore, gasflow, valves and port enlargement. The stock cam is exceptionally good already (all of the Fiat "sport" cams from that era are). This method also has the advantage of keeping the waste heat down. A bigger oil cooler and intercooler is always a good idea provided you don't go mad. As soon as you start going for more boost and a bigger turbo you are into a major cooling nightmare.

In all cases a good engine running at 1 bar should give you 130-140bhp and more torque than the car needs to be genuinely quick.

Thanks for the information

would a Punto GT engine cause havoc with the cars handling? also are GT engines easy to find? i would prefer to put in an engine which has lots of parts available.

Is there any twin cams which already come with a turbo?

I bought a gt3 engine, gearbox, ecu, intercooler, wiring loom, 2 spare sets of injectors, dump valve, an almost new paddle cluth and loads of other bits off eBay for £155 think I got a bargain, engine seems spot on from what I can see but will refurbish before install. Keep an eye on eBay seems they come up from time to time as the punto's floors seem to fall out!

Well, the Delta Integrale (8v and 16v) and the early Coupe (16v) came with turbocharged twin cams. But packaging is going to be tight, tight, tight! Uno Tub or PGT is likely to be much easier.

There's a Punto GT3 engine and gearbox on eBay at the moment no ecu or loom though, if your thinking of that root! start price of £100

Hi. Go for the UT mk1 option. A friend of mine did the conversion on both of mine, and they looked factory finish. 1st time round, used the original 15oo gearbox, and had slightly better acceleration. Fits well and goes well, just watch the bumps if you fit the intercooler underneath!

Hi everyone sorry for not replying early, but due to my computer breaking i had no access.

I'm sure i have read on this forum somewhere, to get decent performance you could fit the punto gt head onto the uno turbo block etc. Just can't find the post now, i think Jimbro had some say in it. More information on this would be great.

I have always said to myself that i would fit the Uno Turbo, due to how practicability it is to install. But after searching the web, they just don't exist. And if they do people want over the top money for them.

So i have been thinking about the Punto GT. Has anyone done this conversion before? If yes could you please share your knowledge on the problems and things needed before i start.

I am currently welding up at the moment but I will be transplanting with the GT engine the wiring isn't looking too bad to do as the harness is all self contained but you will have to make a circuit for the speedo I believe although I am nowhere near that close that you can use one of the redundant spark circuits diagrams that are on the internet there simply a couple of diodes, a zenerdiode and you may require a resistor and there is a lot of sensors etc to sort out.
If you go for a later punto you will have immobilzer issues unless you try to fit the keys and steering lock from a gt turbo, to overcome this I have ordered a chip from a tuning company in Greece he will make the chip to your specs just tell him all about your engine exactly what you intend to do for it and he will make you a chip, Punto's is what he does you can find him on ebay search under punto gt chip with a European search and he charges a lot less than getting an ecu decoded and a fraction of the genuine seb tuning chips that remove immobilizer (Seb4d £260) that I was going to order.

I made a mistake above it was mean't to say revs counter not speedo.
Been having a very quick look at the two engines side by side and it looks as if the sump will be fine as it tapers to almost nothing at the gearbox engine mount the bad news is though if anyone wants to keep the gt gearbox you will need to fabricate a new mount plate as the holes in the original mount are no where near to fitting. A new plate to fit in front with fully threaded countersunk bolts from the original mount and maybe some spigot pins for extra safety then packers back to the gearbox depth should sort it not too difficult and bolt holes are there for the snail mount.
Wish I had more time to have a better look but just had to move everything to keep the boss happy so just a quick look whilst clearing up, hope this helps.