Alternator Upgrade

After much research on the topic of OEM Mustang alternators, I decided to find a suitable upgrade to replace the original 45 amp unit. I trolled the internet and came across multiple forums that discussed the subject and after reading THIS forum thread I decided to go with a 1990's ford 3G alternator. The one I bought on ebay today was a rebuild from a 1992 Lincoln Continental. I believe it is te 150 Amp version (as opposed to the high output 200 Amp version.) I searched for Ford Taurus alternator's as fist since I read a lot about people using those for their Mustangs and Broncos, but the one for the Lincoln Continental was cheaper.

The alternator is internally regulated and will come with the clip that plugs into the back which will allow me to splice it into my wiring harness. To purchase one from Autozone or even Kragen/O'Riley, it would have cost at leats $150. I purchased a rebuilt version on Ebay for $69.00 including shipping. The alternator won't ship until Tuesday or Wednesday, but I'm in no particular rush to get it either.

A guy in Indio said that I could have his 1966 Mustang power steering mount so I'm just waiting on him to let me know when I can pick it up. I've seen most of those on Ebay for around $200 used. This would be a big win for me if I can pick it up. I may pick up a water pump and drive belts this weekend since I'll be working on the car on Saturday while Lauren is working.


I also purchased a 1967-70 Mustang battery tray which I'll need the top half of to weld to my existing '66 battery tray to allow for room to install a 24" wide radiator from a 1969 Mustang. The one I'm looking to get is aluminum and with shipping will cost around $250, but it'll be worth not overheating in this desert climate. that part is still yet to come, but it's on my list of things to get in the near future along with the gas tank kit for a 1970 Mustang (22 gallon.)


UPDATE 04-16-11

The Alternator is now installed. I un-bolted the back of the case and rotated it so that the wires came out of the bottom instead of the top.

Starter On Its Way

I ordered a high-torque mini starter for the 'Stang and expect that it will arrive sometime at the end of the week or the beginning of next week. I still have a little more to spend so I may buy a water pump and the spark plug wires as well as a few other things. I'd like to put a high output alternator on the car, but I may have to hold off on that for a few years. 

Product Description :

Applications:
Brand New Mini Racing High Torque Starter for Fords

(1992-96) Ford Bronco 4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L w/ AT
(1992-2002) Ford E Series 4.2L, 4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L
(1992-98) Ford F Series 4.2L, 4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L
(1990-91) Ford LTD Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis 5.0L
(1994-2004 Ford Mustang 3.8L
(1992-95) Ford Mustang 5.0L
(1990-97) Ford Thunderbird 3.8L, 5.0L
(1990-92) Lincoln Mark VII 5.0L
(1990) Lincoln Town Car 5.0L
(1989-97) Mercury Cougar 3.8L, 5.0L

Also can be used on these older models:

1965-68 Ford Mustangs  289 CID
(1982-91) Ford Mustangs 5.0L (302 CID) w/ AT
(1968-79) Ford Mustangs 5.0L (302 CID) w/ AT
(1969-73) Ford Mustangs 5.8L (351 CID) w/ AT

YOUR VEHICLE IS 1991 OR OLDER WE INCLUDE FOR FREE THE WIRING HARNESS ADAPTER KIT WITH INSTRUCTIONS

This starter will replace older 4 inch and 4-1/2 inch 9 tooth bendix gear starters also providing a 50% weight reduction and requiring less cranking amps while cranking with twice the torque!

The PMGR (Permanent Magnet Gear Reduction) Type  starter is a smaller size, it provides better header clearance and reduces the effects of a hot start.



Starter Family:    Ford PMGR
Type:    PMGR
Voltage:    12 Volts
Rotation:    CW
Teeth/Splines:    10 Teeth/Splines
Pinion/Splines OD:    27.7mm / 1.091in
DE Housing Number:    371-14035
Mounting Hole 1:    10.0mm ID Unthreaded
Mounting Hole 2:    11.0mm ID Unthreaded
New or Re-manufactured:    New
Approximate Weight:    8.405 lbs / 3.82 kg 


UPDATE: The starter was delivered on Monday April 4th and included the wires for the adaptation into an older car. I didn't buy spark plug wires, I did buy a high output alternator, mounting brackets, an aluminum water pump and a 1969 mustang battery tray to fit a 24" radiator. It was installed in my entry on 04/16/2011

Header Bolt-Up

After teaching at Pipeline this morning I went over to my parents house to work on the Mustang since Lauren was at work. I started with a cup of coffee and a jalapeno and cheese bagel and some chit-chat with my parents before heading outside to get started on the car.

Mr. Gasket header gaskets and bolts

My dad recently purchased some parts for his 351-Cleveland motor and while he was at it he bought the necessary header gaskets and bolts for my dinky 302. I had already found eight header bolts in the garage and the guy that was selling the new bolts had an opened set of twelve that was missing two. It worked out perfectly for me since the guy sold my dad the bolts for $2. The gaskets were $17.95 (typical for header gaskets for a 302.)

Driver's side header top view

You can see that these shorty Headman headers barely fit inside the small 1966 Mustang engine compartment. This side was a bit of a hassle to squeeze in but it ultimately fit.

Passenger's side header from under car

The passenger's side has all kinds of room for the header without the steering column, power steering rack clutch cable, etc. in the way. I'm sure it will be pretty easy for the exhaust shop to fit the 2.5" tubing on this side when that day comes.

Driver's side header from under car

The driver's side of the car has a slightly different story. The collector of the header is about 4" away from the clutch cable ear on the bell housing and it looks pretty darn close to being in line with it as well. It's hard to say at this point but my guess is that the exhaust shop will be able to fit the exhaust piping with little effort. My only other concern is that the tubing will run right by the power steering cylinder with its rubber sleeve. I'm not sure that it will be a problem, but it's worth looking into once the exhaust is installed.

Coil mounted and hooked up to Pro Comp distributor

The final thing I wanted to do before heading home was to find a place to install the coil since the front right side of the motor was going to be out of the question with the power steering pump going there. Although it was a tight fit, I finally found a spot on the intake manifold after using a 1" spacer to move it up off of the manifold a little. As you can see it is almost touching the driver's side valve cover, but it fit nicely. I used open u-shaped connectors for the distributor wires (red for the hot and blue for the ground since I didn't have black.)

I should have some money to buy additional parts soon as I will be working nine hours of OT for the spring NABT hosted in Santa Monica on Saturday. I should also be getting a bonus check for 2010 sometime in the next couple of weeks. My goal is to use said monies to get the motor running (starter, spark plug wires, water pump, alternator, radiator, etc.) How many parts I am able to purchase will largely depend on the amount of my bonus check.

Motor Maddness

Original 6-cylinder accelerator linkage

Today Lauren had to work today which gave me the perfect opportunity to work on the Mustang before going to dinner at Benihana's and then to my men's softball game at the Grove. I started off the day with a plan to modify the accelerator linkage which was previously used for the straight six. It was designed to pull the arm on the 1-barrel carburetor DOWN on the left side of the motor while the V8 linkage is designed to pull the arm on a 2 or 4-barrel carburetor BACK on the top of the motor. It's quite a different setup and I wasn't about to spend $50 for a new linkage when I am fully capable of modifying my existing one.

Modified linkage for a V-8

I started by cutting the stock linkage where it started to bend forward to go alongside the straight six (but was now running into the middle of the V8 motor.) I then mounted the linkage and found out at which point I needed to cut the top half of the stock linkage to remove the bend and also allow it's height to meet the carburetor throttle. Once marking it and cutting it, I had to bevel out the end that was going to be welded onto the linkage so that I wasn't welding a flat surface to a rounded surface. You can think of it like the difference between trying to pick up a drinking glass with your hand straight and flat versus cupping your hand to fit the shape of the glass. I used a grinder to grind down the center of the top half just enough to fit about 1/2 way down onto the bottom half.

The gas pedal reinstalled with modified linkage

Locating the correct spot to weld the linkage together was tricky because moving the weld a couple of centimeters at the base changed the location at the top by inches which changed the location the gas pedal inside the car (by making it either too high or too low.) On the fourth spot weld, we had found the right spot. Now the gas pedal sits right where it should and when it is about two inches off the floor, the carburetor is at full throttle. I had to leave a couple of inches due to sound deadening, carpet and a floor mat that will eventually be installed.


From a backside view, you can see the Holly stamp on the rebuilt carburetor and in the bottom left corner you can see the Holly fuel pump that I bought from the guy that sold me the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel in San Juan Capistrano. The linkage that is attached to the carburetor was found by my dad in the garage after looking though trays of nuts, bolts an other parts. It was bent up and had chipping paint, but I was able to straighten it out and clean it up. It is adjustable which could prove useful once the carpet is installed. You'll notice the water temperature sending unit on the back of the motor (right side of picture) which had previously been located near the distributor, but was now in the way and had to be moved to the back of the block. I filled the hole with the plug that was in the back of the motor.


From a front view you can see the new distributor installed that my dad bought a few weeks back. We hooked up the vacuum line to the carburetor, but haven't yet hooked up the coil. since we don't quite know where it will be able to mount without the power steering pump installed. My dad pulled a set of rubber valve cover gaskets and installed those as well.


Here is a top-down view of the motor where you can see we still need to install the alternator, power steering pump, water pump, pulleys, headers, radiator and spark plug wires. Of course there are still other things that need to be installed such as the starter, gas tank, battery, air filter and fuel lines from the tank to the pump to the carburetor, but we'll get there when we get there.

Modified Linkage painted and installed