Subject: loop alternator
Author: Ron Komoroski
Date: May 7, 2004, 4:46 AM
Post ID: 1716712138
Greg & All,
I installed an alternator on my Ambo in the mid 80's. I bought a used Suburu
GF for my son, & had to buy an alternator & voltage regulator on the way
from PA home to VA with it. My son promptly wrecked the car. As it was
headed to the scrap yard, I retrieved the new parts, and the alternator
mounting bracket. After making sure of clearance under the tank, I set about
getting it mounted. I ended up discarding the Suburu bracket except for the
long bolt that fit through the mounting "ears" on the alternator. I cut a
piece of steel pipe to fit between the ears, slipped the bolt through & put
on the nut. The next step was cutting 2 aluminum spacer blocks to bring the
alternator to the right height above the motor. Ordinary pipe straps were
used to bolt the steel pipe to the blocks, which were then bolted to the
frame up under the tank. All that was left was finding a belt that fit, (I
cut a piece of 1/2" dia. rope to fit around the pulleys & took it to the
NAPA store) The Suburu alternator pulley was larger than the one on the
Bosch generator, so some cutting of the aluminum belt cover was necessary.
The alternator was free to swing side-to-side a little, & the first time I
applied a heavy load, it moved to the side enough for the fan behind the
pulley to touch the flange on the front/bottom of the tank-VERY loud
screech- scared the hell out of me. Bending the flange out slightly took
care of the problem. I got many miles of trouble free service out of the
set-up, but it wasn't as easy as the newer designs because I had to deal w/a
voltage regulator.
Which brings up the 64k$ questions What is the part number of the single
wire, 40 watt alternator you got from Bob? Or, what car was it used on? Is
Bobs bracket on the motor,or hung from the frame?
Power starved minds want to know,
Ron Komoroski