Projects The bucket of ugly! A de-uglifying thread...

Absolutely! I remember when that happened, as it went down just weeks after the same I-5 tank trap damn near got the Plymouth in nearly the same way. The Bump was off camber and pitched you to the left hard when you tagged it in something with the typical hot rod's short suspension travel... The big problem was that it was in the left lane with a concrete construction barrier inches to the left. Sad that it got him, and scared the living S--T out of me.

 

Not Just Gary but Steel Rebel Gary. That is Gordons drive in San Leandro on that corner actually a tri corner 150th and those two although I think that might still be E 14th there that turns into Mission maybe right there or closer to Hayward at the Coke plant that we used to turn back on the strip.. Gone now it was right across from Prings restaurant the other turnaround.
Did you live there then?

 

I moved there in 69. I was 10. I lived in the Bay Area until 12 years ago when I was stupid enough to move to Missouri, the worst place I've ever lived. I hope to be out of here in the next few years, I hope. Went to Prings many times, and cruising East 14th was an every weekend thing.

 

You know what's crazy? I hit that very same bump on I5 in my brother's lowered SWB C10. It literally does scare the sh*t out of you. I remember that bump well. I do believe that it's been fixed (took them long enough). Sometimes I'm amazed at how long things like that remain unfixed. That bump honest to God probably killed a few people.

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Ok, I'm already in the dog house at home.......might as well risk the wrath of the Ninja Monkeys as well! The ONLY people who make an "OEM" SBC bracket is.........wait for it......Chevrolet!
(And before anyone gets passed, I'm not being a stickler, just a smart ass!)
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It seems to me; all the OEM short pump alt brackets were mounted on the exhaust manifolds, usually on the left side and the alternator fit just outside the edge of the valve cover or slightly over. Remember when headers came with a piece of angle on them to remount the stock gen/alt bracket.

Now my question is why does a generator look OK hanging out there in the breeze; while an alternator looks out of place?

 

I like alt's,even more so the little ones like the old Ply Valant had early 1960's. But I kind like any mounting of Gen. or Alt to be low inside frame rails #1 or #2 high/but not too high as close to center top as can be=so it at less kind of looks like a hood could cover it even if there is no hood{No hood is my fav.
There are a lot of brackets out there,I make my own when can't find something. Here a few;
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Search?query=brackets for alternator

 

Prings building is still there although it has gone through a few different types of restaurants. I think it is boarded up now. The Coke bottling plant at the other end of the strip closed maybe 30 or 40 years years ago. The only thing that doesn't change is change.
I cruised that strip in the late '50s and early '60s
Hope you can get to come back to the Bay Area. I moved to Lake Co. in the early '90s. Love it here. Still affordable by Ca. standards and just a two hour drive to the Bay Area.

 

On bending square tubing my favorite muffler shop has dies for a few sizes of square tubing and has done some fine work for me.

 

If you want a high mount tucked in alternator mount check out jitney jakes.
http://www.waldenspeedshop.com/jitney.html#

 

I found a photo of my homemade top mound alt. I did for my son's "T",you can see its a bit lower and closer to center then the ones ready made you can buy. I added a shiny alum cover for bracket.

 

My guess is because the larger size of the generator makes it look less (I'm having a hard time coming up with the right word here) spindly, flimsy....Hell, it looks more sturdy like it belongs there! Back in the day I remember cutting and redrilling / grindind the water pump end of those chrome Mr. Gasket brackets to tuck the Alt. in as much as possible!

 

I prefer the mid mount and its easy for the average joe to make . I like these especially if you have some nice valve covers sometimes it bothers the fuel pump depending on which pump you have.

Notice how the first one give a little clearance at the water pump lower hose. I'd strongly suggest that. It also is a bit more symmetrical around the pulley if you are anal about that stuff.

 

While they tuck the alt in, those mid-mounts are for long pumps, looks like the top one is a bbc.

 

Why not mount a generator high and proud like this build.

 

I made a solution out of an old billet bracket I had and an OEM piece my engine guy found in his scrap box. It actually works very well. It's a mixture of new and old. I'll post a pic and explain why I needed to do this temporarily. Here's a hint:

GRADE 5 BOLTS SUCK!

 

Fred that's the best way to do it. I'm proud of you. Grade 8s are not too expensive.

 

Thanks. I didn't BUY a lot of stuff on my car. Quite a bit was made by me and some good friends. I'm a poor guy in a wealthy mans game, so when something breaks, the thing to come out first is my thinking cap, not my wallet. Which is usually barren and dry.

 

I'll tell you how broke I was in the early '80s when I was building my roadster. I found the 32 grill and shell at a swap for $15 I dickered him down to $12.50. I think I might have had $20 in my pocket for the whole swap.

 

Gary--I`m that broke NOW.....Self Employed,eh...

 

Damn Tin Bender.... I know the feeling!

 

You might also want to check out Alan Grove Components, using them on my 45., www.alangrovecomponents.com

 

Well how long has it been since you found a 32 grill for $15. Oh I mean $12.50 And it was already moulded.

 

Okay, here's what happened and where I'm at now. Thursday night, I was doing some heavy thrashing in the Bucket. It's a Hotrod, so I was doing Hotrod stuff. Upon pulling into my storage unit, I noticed the volt gauge showing she wasn't charging. A quick look revealed a bolt had sheared off on my alternator bracket.

My plan of action was to use an "Easy-out" to removed the bolt that was still in the block. But, a friend with a portable drill that worked was out of town. Not wanting to be down for the weekend, I figured I'd use my old billet bracket. But the piece that moves the alternator was broken and no good. Bummer, but not out yet.

So, I went looking for an OEM bracket. They proved hard to find or ugly. A call to my engine guy yielded a few bits and pieces of alternator brackets, with no promise any of it would work. So, I played with the pieces with no luck. Bummed, but still not out.

I sat there and looked at all the crap I had and figured out a way to make a small OEM bracket work with my billet piece. Here's what I came up with:

You can just see the bit of broken bolt, near the lower part of the belt. I painted the little bracket black, so it wouldn't look too bad. It's actually allowed me to get better tension on the belt and I'm reading 14 Volts versus 13.5.

Now, today, I was moving some stuff around and cleaning up a bit and found a bracket that I had scored years ago at a swap meet. The reason I never used it was because the guy wasn't sure if it was for a BBC or SBC, plus, at that time I had a good bracket. But at $1.50, I just scooped it up. Here it is:


I set it up against my set up and it looks like it will work. I'll need a spacer for the lower bolt location, but I have plenty of those. My only concern is cosmetics. It will position the alternator slightly higher and out a bit more. Here's the mock up:


Now, some of you are thinking, "Why doesn't he just wait for his friend and get that broken bolt out?" The answer is, I wanted to cruise the weekend and I'm always looking at alternate ways to accomplish something. I'll probably remove the broken bolt this week and I even picked up a couple grade 8 bolts for the reinstall. The thing is, when my alternator is mounted outward, I have a better range of belt tension adjustment. This allows me to compensate and adjust for belt stretch. If I do the fix, I'll still have an emergency set up that doesn't look too hokey.

So, that's what happened, my fix and a little self discovery. Lessons learned? NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY and use good, quality bolts where needed. Ain't this stuff fun!?

 

You know Fred that is what this is all about. Keep it running using your ingenuity then find the final fix when you can.
Gary

 

Thanks, Rebel. And thanks for not quoting that entire post. whew!

 

Right there with you guys! I was down to my $30.00 this last week, with $2.58 in the bank, and a credit card.$250.00 over it's limit. I'm.not usually "THAT" broke, but the great socialist state pic of California decide to break it off in my hind quarters this month. They raided my shop
(lot) and impounded 3 vehicles for expired registration. One was there for smog repairs so I COULD register it. One was parts car for a OT project in the shop, and one was a Vette with a dead bullet. Got the Vette and the parts car back cheap ($200.00Ea.), as they were last registered out of state, but my Daily cost me almost $2000.00 to get back, and I darn near told them to keep it! Fortunately, Friday was payday, so I'm solvent again (still broke, but solvent)!

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I got to my exhaust running through the frame today, at least the first part The undercar stuff through the porters comes next. Larry

 

Through the frame looks so.... clean and "right". Great job Blue!

 

Wow Blue that's some kool shit!