various alternators for '74 X1/9

V

Vido Peran

True Classic
I see alternator listings for 33amp and 44amp alternators for the '74 X. Is 33amp sufficient if there's no AC?

BTW, is a Bosch alternator any better/worse than a Marelli alternator? I'm seeing prices at the usual parts places of $170 for a rebuilt alternator, and I shudder.

Vido P.
 
I will tell you a story...Back at the end of 1975 I bought a 128 sedan from a lady that worked at the news paper with my wife. The car was not quite a year old and the lady had charging problems almost from the start. Soon after I bought the car I noticed that the fan took a lot of amps and ran a lot especially on hot summer days. The fan would run for a few minutes after shut off and would come back on as soon as the car was restarted. The PO did a lot of town driving that included short drives with turning the car off and restarting after short periods of setting. I put a cut off on the fan so that it only ran when the car was running. That solved the problem until I put on some driving lights and a modest sound system in. The car was originally intended for my wife to drive and I promised not to change things but it was a fun little car so I had to have the lights and music but the charging system would not keep up so I took a look at the alt. My memory says it was a 35 amper. I put a 70 amp on and never had charging problems after that. If you are getting a new alt I say go for the most amps you can pack into the space. I have a Marelli 70 amp that has been going for the last 19 years @ 3500 miles a year = 66500 and it is still alting. If I ever have to change it and I am still able to work on cars I plan on a GM alternator.
 
Hi Vido. I think '74 North American spec. X1/9s - without a/c - came with a Bosch 33A alternator. I think by '75 they came with a 44A Marelli unit. I dont know if they are physically interchangeable (that is if the brackets were the same), but I do believe the wiring was different and require a different voltage regulator (which in those years was external).

So....if your X has the Bosch unit, probably best to stick with that. 33A should be more than enough for your purposes. You would only need more than that if had some huge stereo, or a bank of extra driving lights. Or drove lots at slow speed in a snowstorm with wipers/rear defogger/heater/lights going full blast.

Yeah, you could try to rebuild yours. But would likely need at least brushes, bearings, diodes, etc. - if you are lucky.

And yeah, you could take it to a local rebuild shop. But for a thorough job there, gotta be at least $100.

But....in reality....I think your best option is to just poke around the internet for a rebuilt unit. Like here:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...104893,electrical,alternator+/+generator,2412

Only $50 for a fully rebuilt unit

Or here on Ebay for $80:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FIAT-128-X1...ash=item21055fe784:g:-v0AAOSwo0JWQSnQ&vxp=mtr

I'm sure if you poke around enough, you could find even cheaper !! Prices seem to vary a lot.

Compare carefully the pics of anything you buy, to your existing alternator, to see that they match perfectly. Note most rebuilt units come without the pulley, fan, and condenser. These will have to be transferred over from your existing alternator. Which is another reason to stick with the same Bosch or Marelli unit you have currently.

Hope this helps. Cheers, Doug
 
rx1900 said:
Hi Vido. I think '74 North American spec. X1/9s - without a/c - came with a Bosch 33A alternator. I think by '75 they came with a 44A Marelli unit. I dont know if they are physically interchangeable (that is if the brackets were the same), but I do believe the wiring was different and require a different voltage regulator (which in those years was external).

So....if your X has the Bosch unit, probably best to stick with that. 33A should be more than enough for your purposes. You would only need more than that if had some huge stereo, or a bank of extra driving lights. Or drove lots at slow speed in a snowstorm with wipers/rear defogger/heater/lights going full blast.

Yeah, you could try to rebuild yours. But would likely need at least brushes, bearings, diodes, etc. - if you are lucky.

And yeah, you could take it to a local rebuild shop. But for a thorough job there, gotta be at least $100.

But....in reality....I think your best option is to just poke around the internet for a rebuilt unit. Like here:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...104893,electrical,alternator+/+generator,2412

Only $50 for a fully rebuilt unit

Or here on Ebay for $80:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FIAT-128-X1...ash=item21055fe784:g:-v0AAOSwo0JWQSnQ&vxp=mtr

I'm sure if you poke around enough, you could find even cheaper !! Prices seem to vary a lot.

Compare carefully the pics of anything you buy, to your existing alternator, to see that they match perfectly. Note most rebuilt units come without the pulley, fan, and condenser. These will have to be transferred over from your existing alternator. Which is another reason to stick with the same Bosch or Marelli unit you have currently.

Hope this helps. Cheers, Doug
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, Doug! The link to RockAuto.com led me to the Pure Energy brand which is owned by MPA, a rebuilding wholesaler whose U.S. facility is in Torrance, in S. Calif., a few miles from me. A call to MPA got me the Bosch and Marelli part nos. at O'Reilly, AutoZone, and PepBoys. The retail prices for the rebuilt alternators at those places run between $40 and $50 with core return, shipping, and sales tax added. Now all I have to do is find out which brand of alternator my last mechanic installed. I think it was a Marelli, but not sure.

Vido P.
 
You are most welcome Vido. Yeah, pretty easy to tell what is on your X now. Just look at the Rock Auto listings. Click into the pics and you will find 3 pics of each type. Most telling pics are the ones showing the back side of the alternator. Lots of easy to see differences there.
 
ng_randolph said:
You should disclose that while you can make a GM alternator fit, it is far from a direct bolt-on. Modifying lower bracket, improvising on upper bracket etc.
Click to expand...
Yes, good point. Some have done the GM alt the easy way, I am NOT one of them (I did it my way, which is to say a very masochistic way). Easiest is to bolt on a better version (rebuilt) of what came on it!
 
rx1900 said:
You are most welcome Vido. Yeah, pretty easy to tell what is on your X now. Just look at the Rock Auto listings. Click into the pics and you will find 3 pics of each type. Most telling pics are the ones showing the back side of the alternator. Lots of easy to see differences there.
Click to expand...
You're right! And interestingly . . . I can see that what I have is the Marelli, although the car's 3-prong Bosch-intended plug has been kludged to fit it, and my 1974 factory spec book indicates an alternator of 44 amp capacity was standard, i.e. a Marelli. Here's what I think happened: My car, built in December, 1973, probably got the 33 amp Bosch alternator. Later in the model year, there was a switch to the 44 amp Marelli alternator, and some mechanic along the way ordered (or could only get) the Marelli unit and had to kludge a 2-prong plug for the Marelli onto the OEM 3-prong plug which had been meant for the Bosch unit. Now my option is to continue with the Marelli kludge (which has a 3rd wire/connector hanging free) or un-wire the kludge and install the intended lower capacity Bosch alternator. Does anyone know WHY Fiat switched from the 33 amp Bosch to the 44 amp Marelli in 1974?

Vido P.
 
rx1900 said:
You are most welcome Vido. Yeah, pretty easy to tell what is on your X now. Just look at the Rock Auto listings. Click into the pics and you will find 3 pics of each type. Most telling pics are the ones showing the back side of the alternator. Lots of easy to see differences there.
Click to expand...

O'Reilly and AutoZone said that their "supplier" (MPA - Motorcar Parts of America) was out of the 44amp alternator, but PepBoys said that they had the 34amp alternator in stock in their warehouse.
But AutoZone said that the 60amp alternator for the X1/9 was listed as in stock at MPA. So I called MPA about the interchangeability between the 60amp and 44amp alternators, and MPA said that the bolt holes and the plug socket were identical. Since the 3-prong plug for the Bosch 34amp had been jumpered to a 2-prong plug for the Marelli 44amp, I decided to go with the 60amp Marelli just to avoid problems with reverting back to the Bosch
3-prong plug. I figure that the only difference will be faster battery re-charge with the higher capacity and that during re-charge time the greater drag on the engine will be tolerable. We'll see . . .

Vido P.
 
Does anyone know if Allisons 95 amp will fit in a 74? Its costly but seems like a great upgrade...
 
pdxgeo said:
Does anyone know if Allisons 95 amp will fit in a 74? Its costly but seems like a great upgrade...
Click to expand...
I'm starting to feel that the '74, being 43 years old now, and in the age range of a "classic", should stick with as-designed parts. That is, only those parts should be substituted which are a major pain to service, e.g. the breaker point ignition, the ungeared OEM starter. In the case of the 44amp Marelli alternator, I had mine rebuilt for $76 this week, tax included, at a local hole-in-the-wall rebuild shop, and it runs fine with no wiring or plug modifications. Also, since my '74 X has no power anything (including engine), no A/C, and the radio is a Sony AM/FM of the same vintage without a cartridge tape or CD player, even 44amps is overkill. I'd consider an LED conversion for the headlights, but that would require less power than stock headlights.

Vido P.
 
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