EnginesBerlinas were built with two different four-cylinder engine sizes, common to all Alfa Romeo models of the period (except the Montreal and Alfasud): 1779 cc (nominally the 1750) from 1967 to 1971, and 1962 cc (nominally the 2000) from 1972 to the end of production in 1976. The engines are derived from the Giulia 1570 cc engine of 1962, which itself was derived from the 1290 cc Giulietta engine of 1955.
Below is a stock US 1969 1750 Berlina engine compartment, with Spica injection, "dashpot" idle circuits and dual brake boosters.
All Berlina engines are mechanically the same: aluminum block and head, five-main-bearing crankshaft (nitrided on the 2000), wet iron cylinder liners with aluminum pistons, twin overhead cams operating two valves per cylinder through iron bucket tappets. The oil pan is a large flared cast aluminum affair, holding about seven quarts of oil. The exhaust consists of paired cast iron headers feeding into a collector, feeding into a resonator and two mufflers. The 1750 has an 80 mm bore and 88.5 mm stroke. The displacement is 1779 cc, producing 115 SAE net BHP @5800 rpm. The 2000 has an 84 mm bore and 88.5 mm stroke. The displacement is 1962 cc, producing 129 SAE net BHP @ 5800 rpm.
Below is a stock US 1974 2000 Berlina engine compartment with Spica injection and Marelliplex ignition..
Photo from The Alfa Romeo Owners Bible
( Robert Bentley Publishing , Cambridge Mass.)For the United States, Berlinas used the Spica mechanical fuel injection system common to all US Alfas of the period, derived from a diesel injection system and from the V-8 injection pumps on the Type 33 racing cars. This system consists of an electric fuel pump near the fuel tank, a circular pressurized fuel line to route fuel to the injection pump and back to the fuel tank, and a timed injection pump driven by a toothed belt off the front of the crankshaft. This pump is a miniature "engine" in itself, with a pump section consisting of a camshaft and four plungers, and a logic section that determines how much fuel to inject based on engine speed, throttle opening, temperature, and other factors. Supposedly 1453 of the last US spec. 2000 Berlinas had catalytic converters and required unleaded fuel. I don't know whether they also had an air pump and air injection system. I've never seen one of these cars.
Dual Weber Carburetors
from AROO Tune-Up Clinic - Dual Weber Tune-Up Section ,
AlfaClubhouse , Alfa Romeo Owners of OregonFor the rest of the world, two 40 mm Weber, Solex, or Dell'Orto carburetors were used for the intake system. Early cars had a cross-over air cleaner system identical to the Giulia system, with a large air filter on the exhaust side of the engine and a "snorkel" to route air from the filter to the engine. Later cars had a tubular canister filter mounted directly on the aluminum air plenum on the intake side. Particularly in the 1970s, when the Spica system was not well understood or servied, many United States cars were converted to Webers when problems with the Spica system arose. Some cars are now being converted back to the Spica system as the enactment of vehicle emissions laws requires original induction and smog equipment to be in place.
Copyright © 1997 by Andrew D. Watry
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