Cool Alternator Bracket

[RikN]

I'm new to the forum, but I have read many of the member tech tips regarding all kinds of things. I recently built a B&B cobra, and after numerous junkyard trips, late nights on the internet, and countless opinions from various sources, I have found some shortcuts as well as some parts that work well with my particular application. Since I have gained so much information from this site, I feel as though I should return the favor.

One of my woes while building my car was the unsightly alternator bracket that jutted up from the left side of my motor (302). At first, I decided to scrap my Mustang backwards rotation pump in order to use a clockwise rotation waterpump (from an 87 rand Marquis). The number is 58231 (Cardone) for the heavy-duty cast iron pump with the larger impeller, or 58225 for the aluminum pump with the smaller impeller. You can get pictures of these and just about any other part from www.partsamerica.com . I used the aluminum pump. My water pump and lower pulley were also from the Marquis (it is one of few Fords in the late 80's with a normal rotation serpentine belt drive). I also used a GM alternator with an internal regulator (it fit in the Ford bracket but I had to drill the lower hole a little larger).

Everything worked fine on the car, but it looked rather unappealing. After zillions of junkyard trips, countless internet pulley searches, and loads of extra purchased parts, I found what I was looking for. From a '73 Ranchero, I found the perfect alternator setup. On the right head (passenger), just below the valve cover, is an aluminum bracket that bolts on with two bolts. On the lower right of the wter pump, another bracket. Finally, there was a bracket that went from the alternator ear on the bottom to the water pump for adjustment. That's it. The hard part was finding a pulley for the water pump. Finally, I found a 4 inch aluminum hard-coated pulley with the proper grooves from Jones racing. The next step was finding a lower pulley, and I ordered it from Summit. It is simply an ASP steel underdrive pulley (just over 4 inches). Finally, the alternator. Because the factory alternator from Ford on a 73 small block is very short, I couldn't use my GM. After much deliberation, I opted for the 55 amp Ford alternator and an external TRANSISTORIZED voltage regulator. I realize many of you prefer the internal setup, as I did, but the external setup is fine (it also is in a much lower temperature location) All said and done, my alternator sits between the water pump pulley and the crank pulley. The ratio for water pump is perfect (in my opinion). It is overdriven at approximately 4%, which is far below the factory 40% but better thn the underdriven -22% some people opt for. If anyone is interested, I have photos and part numbers.

P.S. I also found that an '84 master cylinder fron a Cherokee with manual brakes is AWESOME for 4 wheel discs...inside, it is drilled from the factory with an equalization hole between the reservoirs and the magic 15/16 bore.