mopar madness

Over the weekend I was finally able to install
the mopar to SBF alternator kit.

Just kidding.

It took me all weekend to figure out how to build one!

early mopar alternator on ford windsor 289/302/5.0

First thing to do was figure out where to put one.
On a ford windsor,
the driver side has more room,
as the heads are farther back.
The only drawback is the lower radiator hose,
and more importantly the oil filter access.
The passenger side has the timing pointer,
and is a little more cramped.

The old flathead had an early 60's dodge/chrysler alternator.
I really like the housing style and the wiring is super simple.
The little 2 wire regulator is already mounted on the firewall.
A cheap over-the-counter rebuild is $50 + $15 core,
not too bad,
until I found one on ebay for $35 - shipped!
The only drawback was not having the OTC warranty.
Of course I went with the cheap deal.
Hey that $15 is going to the coil and spark plug wires!

The box finally came in.
And of course the 7000112 alternator was not the one pictured!
Chit.
The 1965ish alternator has a symmetrical radial housing,
it's really clean compared to the chevy and ford units.

60's mopar alternator - dodge chrysler plymouth

The one I got was the gigantic ugly version from the mid-70's!
There's a huge chunky cube thing on the back side.
Every ebay seller uses the wrong picture!

70's  mopar alternator

Well what to do.
It would have cost more to ship it back to return it,
the drawback of ebay sales.
The easiest choice was to put it on the passenger side,
so the ugly part is hidden underneath.
Problem solved!
In addition,
the newer alternator uses a solid state regulator,
which is supposed to work better with an electronic ignition,
so maybe it's all for the best.
There goes that $15 savings!

template

By the time I figured all this out,
and made a template for the vague placement,
it was getting dark.
Out came the 34 watt light bulb!
I had to at least be able to test out the base part,
so out came the grinder.

saturday evening bulb work

The next day I tried to get an early start.
Nope.
There was just enough time to whip out the front piece,
and dig out a stock ford alternator adjuster bracket.

mopar alternator kit

With everything mounted,
it looked sturdy and clean enough.

test fit

As usual,
sunday night was wrapped up with a couple 34 watt bulbs!

sunday evening garage time

With monday being a partial holiday,
I got an earlier start.
First off I realized another front plate was needed,
the alignment was not quite right.
The excess length of the adjuster bracket was also trimmed.

rough pieces

Now I could get this project finished!
Finally!

mopar to ford alternator kit

Here you can see how the base plate fits.
I wish those hoses weren't necessary.

base plate

Since this is a 1990 engine,

the water pump bolts have extra stud sticking out the ends.

This worked perfect for using simple flat plates.

ford in a ford

The new alternator is gigantic,
and is 78 amps instead of the 50 amps I had planned,
perfect for jump starting friends cars.
A sound system would be nice too.

Next up - steering!

TP