Tuesday, August 7, 2007

August 7, 2007 Alternator Upgrade

I intend to put a decent stereo and heated seats in the MGB so I was a bit worried about the stock alternator and its thirty-something amp output.
People say it has trouble keeping the wipers going strong when the headlights are on.
So, after reading about it on many sites I decided to go with one of the most popular MGB upgrades: the Delco alternator. Luckily, the Delco alternator that originally fit a Saturn will bolt into an MGB if the face is rotated one third.
Originally I went to the local wrecker's all-you-can-carry-for-$50 day and pulled 3 good Saturn alternators, but in the end I decided that I would invest in a new one with a warrenty, just so I knew I had a working one.
Alts top
In order to rotate the alternator face, I needed to loosen 3 torx connectors. One of which is hidden behind a plastic shroud. I used the dremel to cut a hole for a torx socket to get to the fastener
Delco Access to bolt
Cut the connectors from the original Lucas Harness and spliced them to the new Delco Harness from the salvage yard
Harness Splice
I used a chrome pulley from a GM that I picked up at performance improvements. It's a bit bling for my tastes, but you don't see it much when the rad is installed.
In Position