My High Amp Alternator, how I did it, and you can too Options

[McMark]

My original thread with real pictures

I won't be making/adapting these anymore, so I wanted to share all the info I found.

I used the MechMan Alternators 150amp (Part Number: 7771150) but it's been discontinued. It's listed for a 1991 Ford F-150 5.0L motors. There are two different alternators with the same body (pictured below), the wrong one has the connector at 2:00 and the RIGHT one has the connector at 10:00. There are other options, but if I were doing another one, I would order the Bosch AL562X which is a 75A unit. There are aftermarket builders who make these up to 220A. Adaptation should be similar for all.

The image below should hit most of the major points, but here's a few extra details:

*If I were doing more of these, I would look into just making an alternate version of the upper and lower brackets to work with an unmodified Ford alternator. That way if you need one while away from home, it's possible.
*The unit I bought had an internal fan, the stock Ford units use a front mounted fan. If anyone tries this they'll have to confirm that the fan + pulley still line up with the fan pulley. Visually, it appears that the internal or external fan setup occupies the same space (compared to each other) but the internal just has extra material in the case to encapsulate the fan. So I suspect the fan will be a non-issue.
*These Ford alternators also use a ribbed belt, so a V-Groove belt would need to be sourced. I looked quickly on eBay and it appears that they should be pretty easy to come by.
*Offset drilling the upper hole is almost impossible to do freehand. You'd need to take it to a machine shop. I built a drill jig to keep my drill bit in the right place. The difficulty of this step is another reason why I'd recommend someone design new brackets -- you wouldn't need to drill this out and could simply loosen/tighten the upper bold 'from the back'. I'd be happy to loan out my drill jig. It worked for me and it should work on these, but I can't guarantee the location is perfect on all variations of this alternator.

And finally, when grinding/milling/cutting on the alternator body make sure to tape off any holes where bits of metal could enter the alternator.

[malcolm2]

I guess I will keep this thread going until I make a decision about being able to upgrade. Our other member, Pete Newman is more than willing to make his HO ALT kits, but will require 10 buyers and I can't wait that long. Spring is coming and I want to DRIVE. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif)

As time allows, I have been doing some research and I see WHY the ALT you suggest needs to have the holes modified. I found a video of an ALT being removed from a late model VW bus. I believe that is the ALT you suggested. It just did not make sense to me as to why a 79 bus ALT using a TIV engine would not be an exact fit. Now I see.

The top bracket for the ALT is different than ours. I wonder if I can find that bracket for use on the 914. The bus bracket is also anchored on the exhaust. Not that I will do that, but that is part of the difference. You can almost see the anchor bolt in this picture. It is kinda behind the red line at the btm. And you can see the bracket in question is rusty at the anchor point, no doubt from the heat of the exhaust.

Any BUS guys out there have a bracket I could buy? Know the part # or a good place to buy it?




Here is the whole video, if you are interested. It is pretty long. This screen shot is about 8 minutes in.

https://youtu.be/qwYcKWBbqjM