I have just put one of these on my '84 and thought I would comment on it: http://www.gowesty.com/library_article.php?id=1201 It obviously side-steps the possible failure of those studs/holes in the block by using the much meatier holes made for the power steering unit. Comes with more parts than shown to accomodate installation on engines w/o a power steering pump (like mine). The mounting holes in the bracket allow some wiggle-room so care must be taken that the alternator (pulley) ends up in the same plane as the crank pulley. Biggest design concern I have is that the bracket only offers a rear support (the original had support for the lower alternator mount both front and rear. This seems to put a lot of faith in that bolt which now must carry the load held only by the threads at its far end. Just an ordinary 80mm bolt I think -- the kind I have bent from time to time. Other concern is that the lower bolt is held by threads tapped into the (1/4 inch) metal of the bracket. I would have preferred to have seen a large nut welded on the bracket -- but I'm no engineer. At first when I just eyeballed the bracket I saw the ear with the threaded hole was not square with the plane of the crank. Uh oh. But then I did a trial fit of the lower bolt and saw that the threaded hole was just a bit crooked and thus the bolt ended up in the exact position it needed to be. Odd, but perhaps they make the bracket then use a jig to bore the hole as needed. I'm still not an engineer. Have a 5000 mile trip planned fo next month and beyond -- I will, of course, carry the old parts along just for luck. In summary: the appears well made, solves the problem it is meant to, time will tell if it is well-designed. One question for those still reading -- what is the thinking on belt tension? On some of my old cars I keep the belt almost loose, but those are low-demand units. On the Westy I have always kept the belt pretty tight (and yet can get a chirp out of it on hard acceleration with electric load occuring). The reason I ask: If I could get away with a looser belt I would feel better about this design. Thanks! Geo |
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