Bill :
I'd be happy to discuss alternator conversions with you, but mine was done many
years ago on a shoestring budget (it was cheaper than buying yet another
generator), and probably isn't the best way to do it.
I just wandered through a junkyard until I saw a smallish alternator (which
happened to be on a 68 Mercury Marquis) and bought it, along with it's external
regulator and wiring harness. I had a friend with a lathe machine out the hole
in the original generator pulley (which was damaged from being loose on the
generator shaft) to fit the alternator shaft. Most people today use an
internally regulated GM alternator (I believe it's called a 10Si model) and
apparently you can buy an appropriate pulley.
On the TR3, I removed the extension for the front generator mount (which was
thrashed anyway), and then cut the alternator body so that the belt would line
up when the alternator pivot was held against the engine front plate. (The
first cut wasn't enough, so I cut again. The second cut was too much, so I
added some washers between the pulley and the alternator.) Originally, I
secured the alternator pivot with just a stout bolt through the engine front
plate, but I later added a section of pipe as a spacer to the rear generator
mount, and a longer (grade 8) bolt. The alternator body also had to be cut a
little to let the engine front plate (which I was unwilling to modify) fit
between the bolt and the alt body.
For the sliding alt mount, I just flattened out the original gen bracket, so it
fit behind the tab on the alternator.
This setup has worked fairly well for many years, the main disadvantage is that
it's a pain to change fan belts or R&R the alternator. The original junkyard
alternator lasted many years, but finally died a few weeks ago. I bought a
rebuilt at the local parts store ($22 !) and swapped all of it's parts into the
modified housing. That one lasted about 2 weeks, until the housing bolts fell
out (apparently I didn't get them tight enough). I just did it again last
weekend, this time with lockwashers and Loctite on the bolts. The junkyard
regulator didn't last as long, but the electronic replacement ($16 at K-mart)
has lasted over 10 years.
I mounted the regulator on the blanking plate next to the original regulator
(which I left in place as a terminal strip). Other than the wires to the
alternator, it has only one connection, to the warning light on the dash. I
connected that wire to the D terminal on the old regulator (which is also where
the dash light connects) and removed the wire from the E terminal so the cutout
relay couldn't close. I found that I needed to add a resistor across the
warning light, as otherwise I had to rev the engine up to get the alternator
'started'.
I originally ran the alternator output to the A (or A1, I forget) terminal on
the old regulator, leaving the other wires in place, but I realized last summer
that the shunt inside the regulator was failing, probably because it was never
designed to carry 60 amps, and I currently have the three heavy wires (original
A, A1, and generator output) spliced together in mid-air. I need to find a
more appropriate way to splice them. There's another connection in the alt
output wire (formed with ring terminals and a 1/4" bolt) where I've connected
the "high-power" items (H4 headlights, MSD ignition, Hayden radiator fan), it
would be nice to combine all of them.
I think that covers it, let me know if you have any questions. I believe
there's also some information on the VTR website.
BTW, as a further test of your current charging system, you could try
connecting a jumper between the D and F terminals and starting the engine. If
the regulator was the only problem, your red light should go out, and the
ammeter should show charge. Don't let the ammeter go past the halfway (15 amp)
mark.
If the regulator is the only problem, chances are that you can get it to work
awhile longer by cleaning the contacts on the voltage relay (the one with the
screw adjustment on the contacts).
Randall
Bill & Skip Pugh wrote:
>
> Bingo!... I measured .4 volts here (digital VOM) so I have ordered a
> new regulator from Moss.
>
> >a visual. Thrown solder indicates a regulator problem that will also damage
> >your new generator. (BTDT, switched to an alternator <g>)
>
> Randall, I would be very interested in switching to an alternator, if
> you could provide details I would be most appreciative.
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