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Low mount, passengers side. I think most of the problem is the diameter of the alternator (140A Bosch).

The standard brackets use the two mounting bolts in the block, with the alternator pivot level with the top bolt. The brackets move the alternator outboard until they are past the vee of the engine, then move the alternator backwards (by one bracket's thickness). This makes the alternator sit level with the block, but outboard about 3".

This seems complex - why not just pivot off the top block hole with no bracket? I think I learned this one the hard way, as that is how my homemade bracket works. The alternator/belt load is too high for a single pivot bolt, and will shear it off. The standard brackets share the load between the two bolts in the block, and two ends of the pivot bolt at the pivot (i.e. no bolt has the entire alternator/belt weight on it in single shear). My bracket has all the alternator /belt weight on a single bolt in single shear... little wonder it eventually snapped.

To get my chubby alternator in, I need to be flush with the block (to align pulleys) but further inboard than the factory brackets (to let the alternator swing without hitting the subframe). I could make a bracket that does that, but to avoid clashing with the vee of the block it would need to sit a lot lower. From memory (10 years ago...) when I tried to mount the alternator that low it clashed with the sway bar.
Thought about making a bracket like the above this week, but got lazy... I have no plate to hand. Will try increasing the shear strength of the bolts on my homemade bracket. If that does not work, I'll make the lower type bracket.

Cheers,
Harv

The wet weather was not kind to the wagon. It's been in the driveway under a car cover, but the heavy Sydney rains were a bit more serious than what I had planned for. Of course, stupid me had left the two front windows down 1/2"... it was under a car cover, and it has weathershields... should be fine, right?

Not so fine. The car cover is water-resistant, but ended up saturated. Water then ran under the weathershields, as the corners do not seal to the body. Ended up with wet front carpets, mainly the drivers side. Carpets up, underlay out, and a couple of days of airing. Still moist, but not wet-wet. Pouring rain when I left for work, so no option to dry it any more. Back under the cover until I get home again.

It didn't like being locked up again either. The carpets ended up dry, but with the warmer Sydney weather the residual water boiled out and condensed on the windscreen/dash. Got home again, wiped out the dash, and all good. A couple of days of airing over Easter and it's all dry.

Took it for a run, and has a miss at mild load. Seems to go away under application of my right boot. Miss cleared itself after a morning's driving. Fingers crossed.

Took it out to the drags last night. Pretty disappointing - 15.36s@90mph. It's done 14.2s@95mph (once... just before Number 1 Son grenaded the diff). I've lost a second there somewhere. Will start with the simple stuff - fuel and air filters, check plugs, take it back to the track.

Makes me wonder though if that period of being humid in the car might have stuffed the MSD ignition box. They are designed to live in the engine bay on a firewall, and have drain holes so I'm guessing are pretty weather resistant. I've got it bolted under the glovebox... no direct water on it, but it would have been humid for a while. Hoping not to have to replace the box, but will see if the simple fixes work.

Cheers,
Harv

Easy fix -

- more gears
- more converter
- NOS

Preliminary look-see:
Fuel filter OK, replaced.
Air filter OK, cleaned.
Choke maybe 1/3 on (cable readjusted and now wide open).
Accelerator pedal bent from moving carpet around, and cable end out-of-whack. Carb not getting WOT. Fixed (though cable was fraying and needs replacing).

Suspect I've found the problem. Play suspended by work. Will put it back on the Great Black Dyno once I'm home again and see. It was a good reminder in any case that the cable end setup I made (HZ pedal) was far from ideal... good time to fix it properly.

Cheers,
Harv

I played around with a HZ setup for years and could never get it comfortable. In the end I found adapting cable to original pedal worked best.

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The carb end of the cable is OK, and mates up to the Holley pretty neatly. The square plastic grommet in the firewall fits OK. It's the pedal end that is crapping me. The firewall shape is different between FB/EK and HZ, so the pedal sits at a different distance from the firewall. It makes the cable about 1/2" or so too long, even with the threaded pipe adjuster wound right out.

A smart bloke would have had the cable shortened. Being a little slow, I added a spacer/washer arrangement under the cable end-ball. My threaded pipe adjuster had been butchered by the last owner, so the spacer/washer/adjuster assembly is not overly square. If it goes cock-eyed (and me bending the pedal let it do just that) it grabs the cable and mauls it.

I'll make up a longer threaded pipe adjuster (with no butchered end) which should sort it. If that fails, I'll swallow my pride and shorten the cable.

I'm hoping that my solution fixes the lack of speed... the young bloke spent the last week making "15 second" jokes

Cheers,
Harv

Back home again, throttle pedal bent back to correct shape, new cable and new custom adjuster. Test fire, runs crisp. All good.

Move it up the driveway, and a horrible noise out of the gearbox. Loud CLANG! every time I move between gears, even when stationary. Not good. Roll underneath, and find the three flexplate-to-convertor bolts loose. The nylock nuts must have been reused when the motor was rebuilt a few years back, and no longer are grippy. Tighten them up, and noise gone. Put new nylock nuts on the shopping list.

Out to Eastern Creek to test again on the Great Black Dyno. 14.05s. Much better . Second run at 14.02. So, so close to a 13. Third run and tried to squeeze every last ounce out of the torque convertor at the line. Overdid it a bit, and brakes couldn't hold it. Crept forward, red lit, and fluffed it. 14.2. Called it a night as The Last Child's VL developed an 'orrible miss and was limped home.

Number 1 Son reckons if I remove the unsightly windshields it run 13's. 96mph top end says that it should be good for 13.5s, so still some room left.

Cheers,
Harv

Hi Harv,

How many ponies does your engine have ?

Greg

400 at the crank.

Cheers,
Harv

Apparently the last weekly street meeting at Eastern Creek was a "JDM theme". Perhaps they meant Just Dad's Machine. Spot the imposter skulking in the staging lanes


Cheers,
Harv

Now I’m happy… into the 13’s
Cheers,
Harv

Maaate!

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more gears , more converter - 12's here we come

Good job! Just for the record who was the pilot, Harv or No 1 son?

Hi Harv,

How much does the chariot weigh ?

Greg