Alternator for Y-Block with added a/c

[ROKuberski]

I am in the process of putting in an aftermarket a/c kit in a Fairlane 500 w/292/Auto.  The a/c kit comes with a compressor that mounts in the location of the generator.  On the a/c suppliers website they say that you need to get a bracket for a Delco 1-wire alternator and install that. 

Has anyone done this?  Had any problems?  Can you tell me where you got the alternator bracket?  Where was the single wire run to?  I assume that the voltage regulator is no longer used in this configuration - correct?

Thanks,

Rich

[Frankenstein57]

Rich, I did this conversion. Used a bracket kit from vintage air,mounted a rear discharge 508 sanden compressor in the area of the generator.The kit bolted up well, I did have the alternator out front of the other components, had to adjust the spacing. The one wire alternator , I ran a wire over to the battery side of the soleniod. This setup has worked very well, I haven't logged alot of miles as the car is in the paint shop. And there is no voltage regulator. I posted some pictures awhile back , but can't find them. Maybe on another site.whose ac system are you using?   Mark

[ROKuberski]

Mark,

I purchased and installed an a/c kit from Nostalgic Air.  It came with everything (almost) that I needed.  My car originally had air and as a result it had a three groove pulley system.  That third pulley caused interference on the alternator bracket, but I just took my lathe and cut 3/8" off of the two spacers and made a 3/8" offset in the one part of the alternator bracket, using a band saw and welder.  The alternator bracket now fits perfect.  I got the Sanden compressor, but it had side discharge connections for the hoses and I can tell you that this will NOT work.  Last Friday, they put a rear discharge plate in the mail for me.  I will have to remove the alternator and compressor to install this plate on the back of the compressor.  I bitched about this and am not sure if they are going to charge (~$50) me for this modification or not.  With luck, I should have this modification made and have the system charged and working by about July 11th.

My alternator is a 12SI and it is a three wire unit.  (Both the Delco 10SI & 12SI will work, but the 12SI has higher output and better cooling.)  At first I was looking for a single wire unit, but I found instructions on the internet for connecting the three wire unit.  I have it working with the original wiring and even the dash idiot light is working.  This is a very simple modification on the wiring and the three wire units are much more common than the single wire units.  I paid $35 for mine at a local junk yard.  After more research, I found that rebuilt ones can be had for about $50 from local parts houses, but mine is working fine.

If anyone wants photos of the alternator bracket modifications or wiring instructions, let me know.

Rich

[Frankenstein57]

Rich, that's good info on the alternator, should save someone some trouble. I wonder if I can make the idiot light work with the one wire. I also had a side discharge compressor, it wouldn't work, ran into the heads or headers. I sent it back to Summit and they paid the freight! It was my mistake, and a guy at vintage air who said it would work. You have the ideal system with the 134A evaporator, I used a mid 60's under dash R-12 unit, with the rest of the stuff 134A. Seems to work good, frosted the evaporator at first, but I was running it in low ambient conditions. The high side pressure was a bit high. I'll follow up on the install after I get it out of the paint shop.  Mark

[ROKuberski]

Mark,

I don't have a clue on how to use the idiot light with a one wire alternator.  I also have a '37 Chevy with a 6 volt Delco 10SI one wire alternator.  I do have this running through the amp gage and that works fine, but the idiot lights are much different in how they work.

Here is the link to the place where I found my information.  It turns out that the "GEN" light is a critical component in the three wire application.  Also, I have found that when I first start the engine and it is at idle, the "GEN" light stays on.  As soon as I raise the idle a little it goes out and stays out.  It must have to do with the speed of the alternator having to reach a threshold before it starts to generate power.  Modern cars idle at higher speeds than these older cars.

http://www.ranchwagon.com/tech/alt/alt.htm

http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/Delco_Alternators.html

I have heard that if you replace the evaporator valve on the under dash unit that they will work okay with R-134a.  

Rich

[Frankenstein57]

Rich, that's all good info.  I have converted several auto ac's to 134a, and all worked well. My 87 t-bird needed a new hose after 2 years, but the hose was 23 years old. So I'm dedicated to make this 60's evaporator work. I'll keep everyone posted. Just got home from the paint shop after working 10 hours today.  Put a new core support bolt and spring kit in, trying to get the hood lines good so we can paint this badboy, summer is fleeting around here!  Mark

[ROKuberski]

Progress continues.  I got the replacement back for my compressor today.  This has the low and high pressure ports on the back instead of on the side.  I have the hoses cut to length and placed in the connectors.  The low pressure side, where the connection port is, is in an awkward location, but I think they can deal with it.  It only took me an hour to remove the battery, battery box, alternator and compressor, then make the swap on the back plate and then put it all back in.  I have too much practice with this operation.

I still have to make the power connection to the ignition switch.  I have the switch out and think that I need to connect at the top center connector.  I verify that with my meter before I put it back in.

I will get the system charged Monday morning.  Hopefully, there will not be any issues.  I'll let you all know.

Rich

[RICH MUISE]

quote: Put a new core support bolt and spring kit in, trying to get the hood lines good so we can paint this badboy, summer is fleeting around here!  Mark
Mark: Not to change the subject...but were you able to find a new core support bolt somewhere?...they're kinda oddball, and mine's corroded pretty badly. I know it would probably work as well with a hex bolt, but it'd be nice to keep it original design.

[Ford Blue blood]

[quote: summer is fleeting around here!  Mark [/quote]

You're right Mark, I was in Pardeeville for both days of summer!

[quote:..but were you able to find a new core support bolt somewhere?...they're kinda oddball, and mine's corroded pretty badly [/quote]

Rich try an Ace hardware store, noticed they had a huge selection of carriage bolts in our store here.  Couldn't begin to tell you if they got large enough to fill the need, just remember a butt load of them in the bins.

[Frankenstein57]

When I bought this car, there was a complete bolt,spring and shim kit in the extra parts. It was used but in good shape. As far as a carriage bolt is concerned, the core bolt is machined down at the end, I think that is part of how it works. Now you got me thinking, I'll have to study it a little closer. A good lathe man could make one, Mark

[ROKuberski]

To return to the original topic, I got my a/c system charged today.  No problems.  They put in about 1.75 pounds of R-134a and I was getting 37 degree air out of the coils.  We too now have wet and cool weather, but it will soon heat up again.

One thing that I have noticed is that I have had a little belt slippage, mostly when just starting the car and turning on the a/c.  The compressor has two grooves, but the way the brackets are made, only one belt can be installed.  I will see if I can tighten up the belt some more to stop slippage.  It would have been so easy to have two belts.  The compressor could have been moved .63" (the width of one groove on the pulley) towards the front and a two belt pulley added to the alternator and there would never be any slippage problems.  I may yet make this modification, it will be very easy to do and the only cost will be about $25 for the two groove pulley for the alternator.

Rich

[Frankenstein57]

Rich, some other guys have commented about belt slippage. I was looking at the setup for altering the compressor mounting to accept two belts. I haven't driven it enough to slip the belts. This topic was discussed on the y-blocks forever site, one guy posted some pics of his two belt setup. It's been hot as hell around here for a week or two, where are you from?   Mark

[ROKuberski]

Mark,

I live in Arvada, Colorado, northwest part of metro Denver.  It was a blistering 78 here today.

I would like to see how someone else is tackling this problem.  I believe that my solution for installing two belts is very simple, assuming that you have the same brackets that I have, I can provide a detailed description of what my plan will be.

I am not sure, but you may be able to use this link to see what I have in mind.

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=b94bf3e4f9fccec1#!/?cid=b94bf3e4f9fccec1&sc=documents&uc=1&id=B94BF3E4F9FCCEC1%21380!cid=B94BF3E4F9FCCEC1&id=B94BF3E4F9FCCEC1%21475&sc=documents

If this entire link is not shown as active, copy and paste it into your browser and it should work.
Rich