<<Well the old charging system finally failed on my 69 2000, so it's
time to do the conversion. I checked out the 311.org site and it seems
pretty easy. ...Any other words of wisdom or "alternate" choices out
there?>>
Well, using the term 'words of wisdom' regarding anything from me is a
'stretch', but I just finished this same swap on my 69 2L yesterday and
here's a few notes.
1. I had to remove the radiator in order to provide more access room,
reduce the contortions and frustrations. It doesn't mention that on the
311s.org site, and it probably could all be done by a smaller set of
hands without this removal. All the rest of their info I followed
religiously and it was an excellent reference. 'Course now that I'd
removed the radiator there was so much exposed that could be
cleaned/primed that it tripled the project time..... By the way, why is
the 2000 radiator shroud not 2 pcs like the 1600? Next time it is out I
am going to split it.
2. I got an early (pass. side) alternator mount from Stan (thanks Stan!)
3. sizing the fan belt took a while. The alt is very high in the belt
loop, and its adjustment swing does not change the length dramatically.
Final one that did the trick was 15380DR (38" length, internal 'teeth',
Pep Boys stocking part number), and it required a little turning of the
water pump pulley to get it to clear the final pulley (pop on), but not
so much that it does nasty things to the belt. p/n 15388 (38.8" length?)
was easy to install but had the final adjustment within 1/4" of the end
of the adjustment bracket, which I didn't like considering there might
be a bit of stretch when I first warmed it up.
4. I didn't have access to fabricate spacers to properly move the alt
forward to align the belts. I used a combination of nuts which slid
over the pivot stud to get the proper alignment. I found a size of
nylock which fit perfectly over the bolt nonthreaded size. Smaller
increments of spacing can be had with the use of jam nuts instead of the
nylocks.
5. The early roadster alt mount proper fit pivot bolt has .310 OD. The
GM alt has a pivot ID of .390. Bushings can be had thru McM-Carr or
other machine suppliers. I have not installed them yet (too anxious to
get back on the road), and don't have any strange vibrations, but it
would be wise to take up this slop, else it will, in time, egg-shape the
pivot holes in the alt housing.
6. car sat for a "long" time, so I took Gordon's advice and marinated
the cam and shot oil down the cylinders, and 40 seconds of cranking and
Voom, she is alive again! (course my neighbor has blocked my garage
door with his 'toy' trailer, but that is what I get for being on ramps
since September!) Could have been shorter cranking time, but it was
still on the ramps so the fuel pump really had to pull.
7. this is just my own quirky choice, but since I used clamp-on
electrical connectors for all wiring, I applied 'liquid electrical tape'
to all the connections. (this is also used as 'pliers handle dip' for
insulating, I think it is urethane) This comes from the amount of
corrosion encountered during boat repairs, and works quite well in
sealing moisture, keeping the gremlins from growing.
Good luck, happy roadstering, I'M BACK ON THE ROAD! Fergus O. 69 2000,
HB, CA
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