Scions,
Thanks to some direct and indirect (thru his VTR article) help from Dan
Masters, I have just completed the switch over to the GM style alternator in my
Spitfar.
His detailed breakdown on the VTR pages is really all you should need,
but I have an inbred phobia when it comes to 'lectical stuff.
A short history leading up to this swap.....My less than one year old
remanufactured Lucas alternator gave up the ghost sometime before last weekend.
I say sometime as my idiot light also failed and did not warn this idiot of
the fact that my alternator was no longer charging. This led directly to my
draining the battery down to under a 4 volt charge...not enough to do anything,
let alone keep the engine running. This could not have come at a more
inopportune time, as I was the lead car in our club run over to Half Moon Bay
last weekend, carrying the kids and families of patients from the Ronald
McDonald house in Palo Alto (Stanford). We all pulled over to the side of the
road and I swapped batteries with a TR6 who had a working alternator and all
the guages needed to keep a close eye on the recharging of mine. Always nice
to travel with freinds!
So....I went to my neighborhood parts house and got your basic
remanufactured 60 A GM alternator. The mounting is slightly different from the
Lucas, one long shouldered area for the pivot bolt that I machined a collar
shim to hold the 5/16" dia bolt snugly. I also cut down a shiny chrome
universal swing type slotted bracket to mount in place of the original. This
was neccessitated by the larger mass of the GM alternator, as well as my desire
to widen the distance from the number 1 plug. I picked up a Goodyear fan belt
measuring a full inch longer than the stock one, as well as a braided grounding
strap, snipped off the modular plugs from the original wiring harness, affixed
the new crimp on ends, wired them according to Mr. Masters' crystal clear
instructions and ....VIOLA ....a full doubling of my charging capacity with the
widespread availability of GM parts and the low price that accompanies them.
One word of caution .... after completing the wiring, I turned the key
to the on position to check for the idiot light....glowing as bright as ever
....started the motor and ....the light remained on. I messaged Dan and he
replied that I had indeed followed the correct wiring, and that by all account
this should not be happening. He also added that an MG owner also reported
experiencing this very thing and that the light went out as soon as the motor
was revved. I went out this morning and fired up the ol Spit .... revved her
above 2K and .....(boom boom) out goes the light ;) (to be sung in your very
best Pat Travers voice)
All in all, a very rewarding and relatively inexpensive (read cheap)
adaptation of good ole 'murican engineering into an otherwise fine LBC.
Thanks again Dan, and don't hesitate to make this switchover listers
Chris Prugh
72 Spitfar
Morgan Hill, CA
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