What did you do to your X1/9 today ?

Peter - I got to say I am really impressed with your X! Every time you post pics of it just looks better and better.

nice...
 
Some mis-communication going on...My X is non/AC so it uses one belt. I just was hoping to see how that new bracket that has to be cut and the spacer tube that has to also be cut look in the final product installed and then I can figure out how to achieve that same end result.

I've already started shopping for the Alternator and parts needed so I will definetely go for it and hope for the best.

'PeteX1/9

P.S Hopefully someone knows (i.e. Bob Brown) do I need the one wire or the 3 wire Alternator that are both available for the 78 Camaro w/350 as the mod mentions ?
 
Excellent Pete

I love those wheels on your car. The previous set of wheels looked out of place, these are perfect IMHO. Just beautiful. :thumbsup:
 
Pete, get the 1-wire alt.

It will go real easy for ya that way.
If your X has the late model harness, you can use the same wire as was run to your original alternator.

If you're going to do this and you have an old harness in your X, you "could" run the alternator output lead to your starter, but personally I'd run it back to the +12V distribution point in your fuse box. (The heavy EMF kick-back the starter produces isn't good for the diodes when you hook the alternator directly to the starter.)

Let us know if you take this on. As Tony says, this ain't rocket science.
 
If you are talking about Ogdensburg, New York then that is only 65miles away (one hour drive) so just tell me the date as soon as you have your schedule and I will definetely be there. My cousin in his '84 Alfa Spider would love to come and watch aswell.

Looking forward to it,
'PeteX1/9
 
I took a step backward. Had a long pipe in the front trunk. When I went to open it up again the pipe must have gotten pinched in the hinge and I have a nice dent on the nose piece from the inside out. :mallet: Looks like a cracked a piece of the hinge right off too but I haven't found the piece so that could have happened before me. I don't like adding ouches, only fixing them.
 
well, its finally all good news, I've been that busy with owrk and the weekends have just rained, But this weekend finished all the bits, washed polished and took the top off and with a borrowed trade plate enjoyed driving araound the Dandenong Ranges for a few hours on Sunday, Now its off for its road worthy inspection and registration
 
GM Alternator mod is well underway.....

I didn't want to waste anytime so I went to a local autoparts store and purchased off the shelf a 63 amp Alternator with a 3 year warranty and the wiring harness for the mod. I was hoping for a 100 amp but it had to be ordered so I passed. I removed the Magnetti and did the mod to the bracket so hopefully I will find the adjustment arm and have this done by the weekend.





I found the adjustment arm by Mr. Gasket online but still searching locally.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0727814570&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT

'PeteX1/9
 
By the looks

You'll need to add a regulator to that white lead.
Refer to this reference when hooking up. (HERE)
(There's good info about alternators in general in that article)
You can get a grounding regulator at your automotive store,
or find something like this to hook to that white lead. (HERE)
(Instructions are included)

Good luck!
 
adjusted vaves...

I was able to get almost all of the valves adjusted today but i ran out of proper size shims.

Much quiter now. Well, at least the engine is now anyway.
 
Bob,
I thought anyways that I bought the exact same Alternator as the one shown in the mod.

Have a look at this: I copied this for the GM mod write-up....

Used an alternator for a "78 Camaro w/350" and wiring adapter, straight off the shelf at Advance Auto, $50.... crimp an "eye" on the red/battery wire and connect to output of alternator along with the brown wire to the starter. 1/4" spade on the white wire goes to the blue/violet wire you disconnect from back of orginal alt.

alternator.jpg


Please let me know if I am wrong about this before I continue...

'PeteX1/9
 
Peter, you can do that, but

What that does is send the full output of the alternator to the battery. (if you hook it up as described)
Again, that's OK if you don't take a lot of long trips with your car.
Some like it this way because the X has a tendency to drain a battery over a couple months from sitting.
(Our dash clock is a primary reason)

Your alternator doesn't have a built-in regulator, hence the plug that controls the field windings
with the red/white wires. You can configure the voltage regulator to control the pos. or neg. of
the field winding wires, depending on your application.
The black/violet wire in the X is an (eventual) ground, but to my knowledge is unregulated. Someone
correct me if I'm wrong. :happy:

Trust me, this isn't meant to scare you. The hookup is easy and I'll gladly help you. The regulator
is an easy hookup. Just find a place nearby to mount it. Might be able to find an electronic
version if I look around. That would be my choice.

I've seen these alternators work with the white field wire not hooked up at all. Takes high RPM to
get it to kick in though. :mallet: (don't do that)
 
Bob,

I think this alternator has an internal regulator with external voltage sense. White wire goes to the charge light in the instrument cluster, red wire is the remote sense. It works fine with the sense wire connected directly to the alternator output, but you could also connect it to the battery positive. The regulator would then compensate for losses in the alternator to battery wiring.
 
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Peter... you are OK...

Bob... I dunno if you are necessarily WRONG... but the alternator as is does have a regulated output and works just fine on LONG trips also. There are no external regulators used that I know of since GM went to alternators... from generators. And I was THERE! HA!

As for battery drains over months... its not necessarily this alternator as I have let my car sit for 2 months at a time (rarely... but I have...) without a tender and the battery spins the starter just fine!

I haven't pulled the drawings... but I believe the purple/black lead goes to the ECM and then to the voltmeter... and then to ground eventually as you noted... which is NO different than how it was wired to the Marelli or Bosch.

Lastly Peter... I guess I misread the A/C thing... I swear I read that ten times and though you had an A/C car. This is now a snap!

Anyway... wire it as suggested in the link and you should be OK... and maybe start a separate string here... We'll be watching!
 
hey pete

this is just a test run.. right?

send us some pics when you get the chrome one installed
 
years ago I swapped my stock alt for one from a small Nissan <? light truck outta the junk yard. It was a 90 or 120 IIRCC it bolted strait on with only a shim a.k.a washer to space it correctly and I used the stock belt. only cost $20 and 20 minutes of labor
 
Whoops... just thought of something...

1970 or so MOPARS had alternators that had an ELECTRONIC remote Regulator... real P.O.S.'s too!

They mounted to the firewall with two bolts and washers with very small "tits" and had a harness back to the alternator. The factory "dipped" the steel-cased regulator in a black paint for rust prevention.

My story now follows... After weeks of trying to figure out WHY my battery would not stay charged... and after testing the alternator and replacing the regulator and also the battery 'cause what else was there??? I finally saw these little bity tits on the washers that held the regulator to the firewall. Hmmmmm!

What if the friggin' thing needs to be GROUNDED, I thought... and indeed it did!

Painted firewall and dipped-in-paint regulator did a pretty damn good job of insulating it and stopping it from working. I can only guess that the original stopped working due to some corrosion but the NEW replacement never worked due to its NEW paint.

All this is to say... now... I'm not SURE now that GM ever had an external regulator as well... but I am sure that this alternator that Peter has does not require one...
 
GM Alternator Mod is Done,Done,Done!!!!:headbang:

I found the Alternator bracket at a local auto parts store this morning so I jumped into it. I can't thank Tony and everyone enough for giving me the confidence to take this on. Honestly it was so easy and straightforward that once I had the Alternator bracket at home and I cut the mount that bolts to the engine block last night I had the Alternator bolted up and the car running within an hour. It cost me less then $100 total and I had to keep asking myself if I was missing something as it was that easy and it lines up so perfectly with the other pulleys that it looks like it's always been there.

I measured the voltage at the battery with the car idling 13.92V so I'm very excited and at least the alternator bracket is chrome.

I wired it exactly as the mod write up says to which takes about 3 seconds.

GM Alternator mod for Non-AC X's revised....

I've made a list of parts to complete this mod for non/ac X's

1) Champion 7127M Alternator (63 amps) $60.00
2) Mr. Gasket 9851 chrome adjustment arm (cut 5 1/4" off the end and re-drill a hole centered as in photo) $10.00
3) HP 3870 wiring harness $3.00
Use the same long bolt and nuts and washers to mount to the engine block bracket.
Use the bolt supplied with the alternator and one washer as a spacer to bolt the alternator to the chrome bracket.
Wire it as the mod suggests, red to alt+ along with wire from starter and white attaches to the dash exciter wire.
That's it!!!!

As per original write-up:

Take the bottom bracket from the block and cut it back an inch. before and after pic's side by side, note the pencil line on the left:


bracketstogethercopy.jpg










Crimp an "eye" on the red/battery wire and connect to output of alternator along with the brown wire to the starter. 1/4" spade on the white wire goes to the blue/violet wire you disconnect from back of orginal alt.

alternator.jpg












'PeteX1/9
 
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Peter, my above post was not correct...

Did a little more searching on that alternator.
It indeed does have a built-in regulator. What threw me off was the white connector and mountings
right below the connector where the red/white wires coming out.
I still don't know why they designed it that way. (having a red wire come out of the connector
only to be re-connected back to the +12V output post) I originally thought it was the 2 wires to
control the alternator's field windings.

Anyway, I found this photo relating to the Alternator you posted earlier, and as others have said, the X's
black/violet stripe wire will connect to the white spaded wire that exits the connector. (marked
below as ind. light) The big post connection runs directly to the distribution point in the fuse
box or the battery. (not the horn relay!) Battery is best if your running a new wire, otherwise use the existing wire
in your X as before. Easy hookup. Hope this helps. Sorry for my confusion.

attachment.php
 
11-23-10

I haven't been tinkering with the car much over the last few weeks. I guess Ive been saving myself for the job I planned a while back, initiated about a week ago, finalized last evening, and set into motion today. That would be packaging and shipping off my 1100cc Yugo head and cam box to Midwest/Bayless to have worked over and to be returned ready to bolt on my X....once I take the current head off :rolleyes:. I'm on such a high right now :headbang:
 
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