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

pure feline awesomeness

First time at the SD swap meet this year,
and look at what I've been missing!

spaded cat

This would have looked so great in our living room.
Didn't even ask the price,
I may have taken it home!

TP

Skate Rat

See anything wrong with this skateboard?

custom santa cruz eyegore skateboard

Jakob got this skateboard sometime in the summer.
We pirated a bunch of skateboard parts (thanks pigpen!)
and he was able to get a decent board on the cheap.

skateboard butcher

Well the thing is this board is super fat,
kinda like the boards that were popular when I was a kid.

trimmed

Jake's been trying to get used to it,
but with his size 2 shoe it was time to make it right.
The board had such a deep concave
it wasn't really a comfortable board for me or I'd have swapped him.

Jakob Skate Rat

I hope that board wasn't collectible!
At least he can get some good use out of it finally.

TP

backyard billet

Many people think it takes a fat wallet,
or a maxxed out credit card,
to build a hot rod.

mustang to 1940 ford master cylinder adapter

Many people think it takes specialized tools,
to build the precision pieces needed.

boatyard scrap + MC template

Not the case down here in the Perich compound!
According to my STD list (chit to do)
there is an easy $500 worth of chingaderas needed.
That makes it all the more important to build rather than buy.

drillium

This little piece could have easily been had for $50,
rounded to $60 with the shipping.

holey chit

First off that $500 estimate didn't include this adapter,
so it wasn't on the list of things I can buy,
like a transmission cooler or alternator.
Although I could probably build a transmission cooler!

diamond in the rough

So armed with some aluminum boat scrap,
and a garage full of basic tools,
it was time to start whittling.

aluminum hand mill

My try to make a quick shapeless square backfired.
The adapter needs to be as small as possible,
or it will hit the adjoining crossmember.
Of course this would have been easier to cut when it was long.

template

No problem.
Clamps are your friend.

aluminum hand tool project

You'd be surprised what can be made with a worm drive!

mustang to early ford master cylinder adapter

That shaved spot is necessary on the inside part,
as it sits really tight to that x-member piece I mentioned.
I shaved the other side just for symmetry,
even though the piece is far from symmetrical.
It photographs well at an angle!
Hey what do you expect,
I'm using a frigging circular saw and a grinder!

mounted adapter

Finally the piece settled into place.
There were times when spending that $60 would have been easier,
but where's the fun in that.
I'd still be waiting for it anyway!

1940 ford holey floor

The rebuilt mustang master cylinder (cardone 10-1614) was only $16!
Yeah it's a rebuild but it should be fine for a couple years.
This is much taller than the original 40 ford version,
so it was necessary to cut a hole in the floor.

mounted master cylinder

I'll make a cover soon,
for both the transmission and the master cylinder.
For now my focus is doing the essentials to get it driveable.
If I'm lucky over the weekend I can get the lines plumbed.

TP

sloppy's chinagirl truck

My old friend Sloppy had an urgent issue with his truck.
After installing some massive lowering blocks in the back,
the front was way too high,
like a custom chinagirl minitruck traildragger.

chinagirl truck

After weeks of planning we finally found a good clear day,
and set out to work.

dropped suspension

These little trucks are amazingly simple.
There should be more of them around.
He's taken this thing farther than it's intended city use,
long trips to bonneville and san jose.
It drives very similar to an early VW bus,
with an even smaller (900cc!) engine.

spent coil over

After quickly removing the coil-over shocks,
it was obvious they were a little tired.
We figured out how to cut and torch a couple coils off,
and crossed our fingers when they went back in.

dumped chinagirl truck

Most of the day was spent doing my menial chores that happen
when stuck at the house.
Fortunately Sloppy was patient enough through it all.
Of course this meant finishing up the night to a shared 34 watt lightbulb.
Typical!
On the test drive,
there was a couple strange clunking noises.
What could they be?
Oh yeah,
tighten lug nuts!

sloppy's bosozuka truck

The little truck made it back to its home in Long Beach,
and from the looks of this picture settled down even more.
Next up is a front bumper guard, tool box racks
and some bosozuka exhaust stacks!
Well maybe not the crazy exhaust...

TP

tip of the night

Tip of the night #1-
keep jumper cables in your car.

What was supposed to be a quick trip to the grocery store,
ended up being an unplanned family outing,
on the coldest night we've had,
right before the kids bedtime.

Usually we have jumper cables stashed amongst all the junk,
but of course we had super cleaned the cars.
So the 4 sets I've got were all at home.
Sweet.
At least it was an easy fix as the battery cable was loose.

city workers or perich family?

Funny how it looks like we scored our daily drivers
from a government car auction!
We got the his and her FORD package - white with no hubcaps.

TP

pointless

In my quest to get the green 40 running on a negative budget,
I've spent more time searching for deals,
rather than just buying parts.
This is my normal building process,
so its not surprising when a gamble on a used part,
results in some time spent making it work.

autolite 302 distributor

My recent score was this 70's 302 distributor.
Okay right now I hope it was a score.
At an auto parts swap meet this may have gone for $20 or $30,
so I was lucky to find it online for a similar price.

pointless

This is Ford's early pointless electronic ignition.
Supposedly they start and run better than the old points,
although the ignition modules have a tendency to burn out.
Maybe I better find an old point distributor to stash just in case!

delco-remy regulator

The trick thing to do is swap the big duraspark ignition module,
for an GM HEI module.
Supposedly the HEI has better reliability and running characteristics,
than the original.

regulator guts

The HEI is really small,
but keeping it out of view, dry, and cool was an issue.
So here's the HOW TO hide an HEI!

regulator base

I dug out an old (hopefully) broken regulator,
and started my little project.
This took way longer than I want to admit.

heat sink

Don't look too closely this is a prototype,
although I doubt I'll ever make a second one!

HEI module

This part was the trickiest.
connecting all the wires and spades.
I may regret this part later,
but it can always be changed.

spaghetti wiring

The idea was to have the connections mimic a working regulator,
instead of using the spades as the fastened connectors.
Now the spades are semi permanent and the box doesn't need to be opened.

rasta wiring

This old regulator was picked mainly cause of the cool raised letters.
Hopefully not too many people will ask why the coil and distributor
are connected to a regulator.

modified HEI ignition module DURASPARK

Now that the HEI module is 100 times bigger with the new box,
it's harder to hide.
I've tried to keep the upper firewall clear,
but now it's time to hide it in plain site right up top.
The little black box below is actually the regulator.

ford HEI ignition

I've got no idea how it runs,
as nothing is connected!
It looks clean with a 60's vintage,
while hiding some over the counter technology.
At this rate,
it should be running by next christmas!

TP