For the edification of those who cared to ask, here is a summary of my
recent Alternator Replacement.
I sought the help of others on the list for guidence in replacing the
Lucas alternator thet recently went belly-up. Many suggestions were
received, considered, reiterated, re-considered and finally discarded.
It seems that the GM alternator does require some fabrication and
additional parts. Since I wasn't in a position to do those at this
time, I elected to go back to the Lucas 36 amp alternator.
The Bosch Unit was not in stock at either of the local stores, so I
didn't have the opportunity to compare mounting hardware. I do
understand that it is pretty much a plug and play installation (to
borrow a computer term). The cost however, was more than the Lucas
Replacement.
A Mitsubishi alternative was suggested, but I did not receive details on
the particular unit during my time schedcule.
My parts store sold me a remanufactured Lucas unit for $89.99 and gave
me a lifetime replacement warranty. Little did they know, that car will
be in my family through many lives. So I elected to go with the path of
least resistance and put the Lucas on. After installation, I turned on
the key, the ignition light glowed Bright RED!. On starting the car, it
immediately went out and stayed out even while idling with the lights
and radio on. So I'm now a happy camper.
I have however learned a few things:
1. The Spit and GT6 while using a similar Lucas alternator have
different mounting brackets. The GT6 (and I'm sure the TR6 as well)
have a bracket that mounts the alternator lower than the Spit. This is
because the oil filter on the Spit is in the way of a lower
installation. On the 6 cyl. the oil filter is further back and out of
the way.
2. The GM alternator has the attaching flanges 180 degrees opposing and
must have a longer bracket fabricated to move the top of the alternator
further away from the engine. A longer belt, of course would be
necessary. I was initially stumped by the appearance of the mounting
flange on the GM alternator because the pivot flange is a couple inches
wide. My thought was that there was no way that could work, until I
realized that if one includes the required spacer, the Lucas unit is
about the same thickness. (My own thickness prevented me from getting it
right away) One fringe benefit to the GM mount is better access to
number 1 spark plug.
So there you have it. Now perhaps the Spit will keep going, and going,
and going, and going,....
Regards,
Joe Curry
PS Thanks to all those whose wisdom and patience I pressed into service
on this job.
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