This has been discussed often and I have been and continue to search the archives for a good answer.
What is the best choice for a Series 1 alternator complete with brackets and pulleys?
I see Fiero alternators, mid-70s Corvette, N-D from tractors, etc. I am getting close to firing up the engine in my '63 FHC and I don’t have any alternator or generator or any of the brackets. I am changing to a negative ground. I will not have A/C but I prefer to have more than 50 amps available for that someday possibility. I’d like a packaged deal with the brackets. I have the factor damper with pulley and likewise for the water pump. But no spring loaded adjuster.
You can probably purchase V-belt pulleys from Classic Auto Air. Their AC kit uses the original generator bracket with some shims for a Hitachi 55-60 amp alternator. I upgraded to a 70 amp unit (NASTRA A1234) last Spring (required minor machining of the alternator front case and a new pulley to achieve alignment…$25). The water pump pulley is from a 3.4engine…not sure about the crank…possibly the same. All except the generator bracket came in my AC kit when Retro Air owned the company.
I use a rebuilt Delco Remy CS130 that I bought from my local auto electric store. It bolts onto the stock carrier and is properly spaced for belt alignment. The stock pulley needs to be lightly honed to fit - the store did that, the spacing of the mount needs to be adjusted to permit an easy fit to the steady bracket (store just did a best match to the stock Lucas), and you need to make a short steady bracket. Easy. If you go this route I’ll send you a wiring diagram - it’s very simple. It’s a two wire alt, bypasses the stock regulator, and will operate the light in the speedo properly.
Hi Terry. THanks for the reply. The CS130 makes well over 100 amps doesn’t it? I’m not sure I will need that much power and I don’t believe the harness can handle that much power?. So, if it is fused to 50 amps or so, that’ll limit the current. As a two-wire setup I believe you’ll have the main BAT (battery) connection, then the two wires which are voltage Sense (to regulate the output) and a Lamp (for the light) and possibly a dedicated ground wire to boot. If that is what you have, I don’t need the schematic. If you’ve done differently, I’d be very interested in that schematic.
What I would also be interested in is how you installed the alternator and the brackets you modified/made. And what pulley types you used.
I understand that Bill, but if the alternator itself shorts out, how best to protect the wires and the car? One can use a fusible link, but that’s the same as a fuse. I am under the impression that the Jag’s wiring harness is rated at 45 amps, so I was suggesting that current should never be exceeded…hence a 50 amp fuse. Is there a better way?
First of all, the only place where you’re likely to use all that current is in charging the battery. You can install a 10 gauge wire, or simply parallel a 14 gauge wire with the stock wiring. The fuse is far more trouble than it’s worth.
Well dang. I’m having a slow start to this project. I need to create a starting point and I am unsure where to start. My engine, a 3.8 S1, has the two groove pulley on the crank and also on the water pump. That’s all I have to start with other than a single stud on the side of the engine.
I am wanting to go to a Chevy based alternator (I think). Most likely like what @inlinesix has used, but the Hitachi variety is a viable choice as well. The starting point has to be the bracket that the alternator pivots on. Something like this from SNGB:
Or perhaps this one that SNGB says is for converting a 3.8S1 to an alternator.
The kits I see so far, i.e., the Classic Auto Air setup assume you have a bracket on the engine. Is this the right place for me to start? The first is $100 at SNGB and the 2nd is $60, the money is largely irrelevant, but making a wise starting choice is.
Also, there is this adjusting bracket. Is this needed?
You will have a small problem fitting the double pulley to the alternator as the bore is smaller than the Chevy alternator bore, and any other modern alternator that I am aware of. Anyone with a lathe can open it up to fit the new alternator.
I went through this alternator exchange exercise about 15 years ago on my 69 E and will be doing it again with my 65 E in the next few weeks. Keep us posted on what bracket you use.
I’m running a so called ‘super mini’ alternator from East Coast Electric, using my stock early 4.2 alternator bracket. The double groove pulley (an alloy version from Classic Jaguar) was a direct fit. The alternator needed a 3/8" ID bushing installed into it’s lower pivot hole and a spacer to keep it snug in the mount. I also made a simple top stay for the upper mount.
This unit is much smaller than a Chevy based 10 or 12SI and is rated at 50 amps. I believe their current version of the alternator has an internally mounted regulator (vs the small external one shown here).
I am putting in a 4.2 from an '87 XJ6 in my car. The “new” motor already has the single groove crank and water pump pulleys. It is my understanding that the water pumps from later cars move more water and aid in cooling these cars. In any event, the single groove pulleys are easy to find. Or, opening up the double groove pulley is easy for anyone with a lathe.
Thank you Steve. I will check out East Coast Electric. Hmmm…I see they have a number of “Kits” but I assume you bought the Super Mini Alternator and did the bracketry yourself? I do think the regulator is internal now. I’ll have to call to sort out what works for the Jag I believe.
Will your early 4.2 bracket fit my 3.8? Would you know the p/n?
Thx David. My water pump is presumably an uprated model for the 3.8. I’ll check out CJs to see if they have a set of pulleys to convert my double groove. That may give me some options.
The only bracketry I had to do was the upper stay, and only because it was a different length than stock.
As I recall I also shimmed the alternator back from the bracket with a .032 AN washer to get the pulley alignment dead on.
So as a starting point, I believe I need to either make my own alternator adapter bracket or use the one offered by the usuals. Here are pics of what is offered.
My “get going” plan is to purchase this bracket and then an S12 type GM alternator. I’ll have to get a pulley to adapt to my duplex belts. Or, change out my duplex pulleys.
Before you start buying brackets, we need to get the terminology straight. The 61-64 S1 uses the 3.8 block. The 65-67 S1 uses the 4.2 block. Different mounting boss castings/locations on the two block designs. I suspect that the bracket offerings from the usuals are for the 4.2 block. Maybe not, but you want to be sure before purchasing.
Now, you can use an original generator bracket from a 3.8 like RetroAir did. That will position the alternator very low on the engine and force the use of a small case alternator like the Hitachi. The reason is that the frame clearance limits the amount of movement for belt tensioning in the low mount position. If you want to use a larger case alternator, you will have to use (fabricate?) a bracket that positions the alternator higher on the side of the engine (in the area where RetroAir located the compressor on the 3.8 S1). Fabricating a bracket using the 3.8 bosses on the engine should not be difficult…I’d start with a used generator bracket and modify as necessary. (Place an ad in the classified). Perhaps one of the brackets from the usuals has already done this. You just need to be sure that what they’re selling is for a 3.8 block, and not for a 4.2.
