FairlyRandom

Show panel installed to hide my non-functioning AC equipment shame

Lol wish I had found a stock size pump when I was bashing my car and wrecking my eardrums

Yes, me. Crate 383 had an oversized mechanical pump. The cutout was about 1/2" too shallow to fit the pump, so out came a handheld propane torch, a 3/4" round steel bar, and a big hammer. Slowly shaped the cutout by heat, bash a little, test fit. Wash, rinse, repeat until I had about 1/4" gap all around. A few passes with a flap disc in the angle grinder cleaned up some of the carnage, and then applied POR15 and glossy Rust-Oleum top coat. With solid engine mounts, that's plenty of space to prevent contact.

Thanks for the details fellas!

I lied. After pulling the failing alt, I found stamped numbers in the case I missed before as they were covered by the mounting bracket. There's a lot of paint on this case, so the numbers aren't super clear, but it's a Delco-Remy unit, and has "1102463 61" and on a separate line "2CI", or possibly "2C1" and then illegible stampings after that. Not sure if it's worth having it remanned? Hope this info helps someone out there

From AutoZone site: "Duralast Platinum EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery) ...A reinforced retainer, full-frame positive grid and thicker negative grid resist corrosion and extend battery life -1.5 times the cycle life of conventional batteries -Proprietary carbon additive for faster recharge that increases battery life -Greater vibration resistance and enhanced durability" Mostly, it has a 3 year full replacement warranty vs 2 years on lower models

Just to close the loop in case this is helpful intel for folks, I started looking at the instructions and other docs related to the various alternator options I was looking at, and noticed gage requirements by output for different amperage alternators in one of the docs. I settled on a 10si case option in a 70 amp output. It's not black, but maybe a rattle can of high heat Rust-Oleum will be employed. According to Powermaster, they state that a 10GA power wire at 4' or shorter is acceptable for 85a and under. THIS LINK WILL DOWNLOAD A PDF WITH THEIR WIRING RECOMMENDATIONS. As far as I can tell, the power wire in my car is indeed 10GA (.16" with housing, verified with calipers), so I should be all good. I've also settled on THIS DURALAST BATTERY to go with it. If anyone sees anything that looks out of whack with this plan, please let me know. As of yet, no wrenches have been turned.

That's part of the problem - the alternator in there now has essentially no P/N showing anywhere on it. No label indicating the manufacturer, no serial number, nothing.

Yeah, it's definitely smaller than 6...10 is probably right. So, I'm likely going to go with a 50 amp and try to paint it vs tear apart my wiring harness to replace the wire coming off the alt.

Thanks fellas. Can anyone confirm the alternator amperage from the factory? Can anyone confirm the wire gage for the power wire coming off the factory alternator? I think those are the main questions preventing me from clicking "order now". The unit i want to put in requires a 6 gage power wire per the manufacturer, but I'm not sure how big the wire in place now is.

So, alternator might be dying. The car has never had an issue starting until the other day. I jumped her, and she fired right up and purred like nothing was wrong. I took her for a drive out to the Friday night cruise in, and she was right as rain. But when I went to start her back up to leave after sitting for about 90 mins, wouldn't start again. Hooked up to a multimeter, and idling she was seeing about 13.2 volts at the battery with everything turned on (wipers, high beams, radio blaring, interior light on), and voltage stayed at 13.2. with the engine running, disconnected the positive from the battery and she kept putting along, even with everything on...lights did pulse with the engine rpms though So my issue is: Parts store tester shows the alternator is juuuuust above the "bad" indicator on their machine. Battery also dropped to 8ish volts when tested for load. Battery is probably toast. But is the alternator? I kinda wanna change it just for peace of mind because it's a holdover from before the engine swap. I have no idea how many miles are on it. My 2 questions: Does it make sense to change the alternator? If so, how many amps do I want? From what I can tell, stock is about 50 amps. I'm wanting a black one to match the engine theme, but Im striking out finding one under 80 amps. Will I need to rewire the power system to accommodate that power? From what I've read, having high amp capability is like having a huge fuel tank. You'll only draw what you need. The only time a rewire is really necessary is if you have those amps available AND you draw them all with something like a big bass stereo with subs and amps, and/or an air compressor for a bagged setup. Am I being vain wanting a black alternator, should I just go with a stock looking 50 amp unit? I know I said 2 questions...

The Blueprint 383 is an aluminum head, aluminum intake motor. With stainless headers replacing the cast iron manifolds, that motor package probably weighs over 200bs less than the stock small block. My 72 definitely sits an inch or 3 higher after this exact swap (I did not reinstall the AC compressor after the swap though, so I probably dropped another 40lbs or so)

More engine bay cleanup...some additional looming of the exposed wires, and routing some of the charcoal and wiper fluid lines under the outer fender. This was about a week ago And today Can't wait to ditch that AC unit...so ugly

Cleaned up some of the firewall wiring. Went from this: To this: Just added some braided split loom and strategically placed zip ties. I'm happy with it! This was just step 1. Eventually, I want a really clean, tucked looking engine bay. All the mess you see on the driver's side inner fender will get routed between the inner and outer fender. The AC box will come off and I will probably re-remake my plug wires to route behind the back of the block and up from under the headers. Yes, they'll be very long wires, but it's not a drag car, so I'm not trying to wring out every last pony.

Trying to convince myself that there will still be some warm days in SW Ohio this year...resisting the urge to put the trickle charger on in the battery, give her one final dusting, and wrap her in a cover for hibernation...