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Make Your Own Elephant Ears
Page 3 - Alternator Mount
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1 Patterns Part 1
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2 Patterns Part 2
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4 Finished Product
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The alternator is
basically located at this point, but it still needs a front pivot bracket
and needs to be correctly aligned.
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The two nearest bolt
holes on the pump were the easiest choice to make a bracket from. You must
have at least two attachment holes to keep the bracket from moving. Find an old bracket thats
perfectly straight and bolt it to the alternator. This will allow you to
measure the distance to the pump bolts, to determine the spacer lengths. The spacers were cut
from old alternator spacers...we all have a drawer full of these dont we? Now, once again, break
out the shingles. Measure the center to
center distance of the two bolts on the pump and drill matching 3/8 holes
on your shingle.
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The third hole will
positively locate the alternator in relation to the engine, so you need
to be sure you get it right, and that the alternator pulley is indeed perfectly
parallel with the crank pulley. Fore and aft isnt too important yet, just
thats its parallel, meaning the alternator isnt hanging down in the front,
or angled in or out towards the fender. A straight edge from
the crank pulley to the alt. pulley with tell you how close you are. In
addition, put a level or angle finder on the crank pulley and then duplicate
that reading on the alt. These two methods will ensure its square with
the crank in every direction. Once you're sure the
alt is squared up, use a scribe or pointer to mark the third hole directly
in front of the pivot bolt on the alt. This isnt easy, as its
very hard to see exactly if you're centered or not.
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This is what you'll end
up with. Now bolt it on and check
all your angles again to be sure the holes hold the alt. in the proper
location. Dont force it around though. Just hold the alt. loosely where
ever the bracket locates it. You can force the soft pattern but you can't
force the finished metal bracket, so if its not precisely correct, make
another pattern and try again. It'll take a few tries to get it perfect.
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Once you get it right,
scribe lines 1/2" away from the holes to get your shape. With 1/2 all around,
and a 3/8 hole, you'll need to find something round thats 1 3/8" to make
the radiuses. This shock bushing did the trick for me. A utility knife
is also handy for trimming.
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Heres the final pattern,
ready to trace out. Again, a quick slide
across the blacktop makes a smooth edge for easy tracing
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The extra piece of alum.
from the ears worked nice. The easiest and fastest
method of cutting it is with a cut-off wheel on a 4" grinder. Aluminum
cuts ALOT faster than steel, so be careful you dont slip. Just as with
the ears, file the edges nice and zip it across a wire wheel to finish.
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The finished bracket.
Well worth the time. Once the strap and spacers
are painted, this will be just as nice as any aftermarket kit. And alternator
mounts aren't available that work with elephant ears, so you're stuck doing
this work yourself anyway. This turned out to be
the final alignment for me, and everything lines up well. |
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