Can we please stop hotlinking pics?-Page 2888| Off-Topic Discussion forum |

tuna55 MegaDork
10/13/15 1:15 p.m.

mattmacklind wrote:
Jumper K. Balls wrote:
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

He probably got himself off of the side of the road. It's not an ideal fix, but it probably worked OK for a while.

Jumper K. Balls UberDork
10/13/15 1:31 p.m.

Oh no, you misunderstand. This was off of a "how to convert to an alternator" portion of a website who's owner proclaims to be a "guru" of the particular model.

I appreciate a good bodge more than most. My time in industrial maintenance taught me the simple beauty of an emergency repair, it also taught me that there is nothing more permanent than a temporary fix so the bodge better be good, but that alternator mount?

Jumper K. Balls UberDork
10/13/15 1:32 p.m.

NOHOME UberDork
10/13/15 1:33 p.m.

mattmacklind wrote:
Jumper K. Balls wrote:
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

It is an MG so its going to fail no matter what.

Jumper K. Balls UberDork
10/13/15 1:34 p.m.

rcutclif GRM+ Memberand Dork
10/13/15 1:36 p.m.

mattmacklind wrote:
Jumper K. Balls wrote:
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

You should just use allthread and then you only need 2 or 3 nuts. (you can leave the other 7 of your motor mount nuts attached).

Streetwiseguy PowerDork
10/13/15 1:40 p.m.

rcutclif wrote:
mattmacklind wrote:
Jumper K. Balls wrote:
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
You should just use allthread and then you only need 2 or 3 nuts. (you can leave the other 7 of your motor mount nuts attached).

Make the rear bracket longer, to lose those two nuts, cut a piece of tube for the middle stack, and you have a perfectly good mount.

NOHOME UberDork
10/13/15 1:45 p.m.

Jumper K. Balls wrote: Oh no, you misunderstand. This was off of a "how to convert to an alternator" portion of a website who's owner proclaims to be a "guru" of the particular model. I appreciate a good bodge more than most. My time in industrial maintenance taught me the simple beauty of an emergency repair, it also taught me that there is nothing more permanent than a temporary fix so the bodge better be good, but that alternator mount?

The rest of the story:

For the prototype setup I used a hand full of 3/8" hex nuts which slip right over the 5/16" rod. As fate would have it, 3 nuts = 1 inch, and the center space was very close to 2", so half a dozen hex nuts did the trick. Two more hex nuts behind nicely made up the space to the rear bracket. The rear bracket also has slightly slotted mounting holes (see larger picture with loose bolts) so the bracket can float a bit and the two hex nuts are close enough.

As a matter of expediency I cut the rod to length and threaded both ends 5/16-24 UNF. The back end got two hex nuts jammed together to make a bolt head, which was quicker than welding one nut in place. The front end got a steel flat washer to protect the aluminum ear on the alternator, plus a lock washer and hex nut. Original bolt for this alternator was 10mm, so the mounting holes are a bit larger than the 5/16" rod. Just push the unit gently toward the engine block to square it up while tightening the long bolt, and it makes a very rigid attachment. I will consider later if I might replace the long rod with two shorter bolts to eliminate fiddling with the half dozen hex nuts in the middle, or maybe make a tube spacer or two for neatness.

Three months later I had the radiator out (for an unrelated reason). With a little extra time available ...I also made a pair of tube spacers to replace the eight large hex nuts on the main pivot mounting bolt.

Turboeric GRM+ Memberand Reader
10/13/15 4:11 p.m.

Streetwiseguy wrote:
rcutclif wrote:
mattmacklind wrote:
Jumper K. Balls wrote:
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
You should just use allthread and then you only need 2 or 3 nuts. (you can leave the other 7 of your motor mount nuts attached).
Make the rear bracket longer, to lose those two nuts, cut a piece of tube for the middle stack, and you have a perfectly good mount.

I thought this was MG OE, when they converted to alternators in the late 70s. At least as well done as the suspension height fix to meet bumper height rules...

Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
10/13/15 4:34 p.m.

nderwater wrote:

Attention to those chasing "patina" in their rat rods and VWs: this is what it really looks like. It comes from battle. You can't fake it.

Brett_Murphy GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
10/13/15 4:41 p.m.

Mezzanine HalfDork
10/13/15 5:46 p.m.

Jumper K. Balls wrote: I appreciate a good bodge more than most. My time in industrial maintenance taught me the simple beauty of an emergency repair, it also taught me that there is nothing more permanent than a temporary fix so the bodge better be good, but that alternator mount?

As another former/current industrial maintenance person, this makes me wish I'd taken more photos of some of the bodge I've seen or had a hand in. It would be a whole thread of its own.

We had one millwright that you didn't want anywhere near a planned job. But when we were in the ditch and looking for the shortest way out, this was the guy to have around. He invented bodge.

Mezzanine HalfDork
10/13/15 5:48 p.m.

Bike bodge

Mezzanine HalfDork
10/13/15 5:53 p.m.

Mezzanine HalfDork
10/13/15 5:57 p.m.

Knurled GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
10/13/15 6:24 p.m.

See how it is muddy? After it broke at Nationals in 2011, and this temporary bodge allowed us to finish first and second reardrive cars in Mod 2wd (last year before the class split), I sort of kept driving it that way. For something like a year.