Had to fabricate a pair of brackets to hold the new alternator in position. Finally got that done today. The fan belt is sized and in place. Now gotta run a wire from the alternator to the coil. Gotta fix the door latch so my passenger doesn't eject unexpectedly. Gotta recharge the flat battery and fire it up. Make sure the fuel, oil and water pumps work. Make sure the thermostat actually opens on schedule. Make sure I have more than first gear.
Gawd, I hope it all comes together and I actually get to play with the thing this year!!! That old 315 starts, but doesn't want to keep running. Course with no water circulation I didn't exactly let it warm up much! [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
You are not alone. My current pain is trying to separate the hubs from the drums on my truck. They Have Become One. Only way to pull the drums was to yank the wheel bearings. Probably will have to have a machine shop press out the hubs - the BFH persuader isn't doing it, even with liberal doses of penetrating oil...
But I could probably fire the engine up [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] - like that would do me any good.
Soak it each nite, and give it a couple taps. Usually works things loose in a few days. In the case of pistons, sometimes weeks....
You might try soaking it in Coca Cola too. It is acidic, and is good for loosening stuff like that.
You might also try heating and cooling it with a torch, taking care not to warp things.
That Roger Welch "Rusted knuckles/busted tractors" book has lots of great info on this. He loosened up lots of stuck stuff on old Allis Chalmers tractors he rebuilt.
My 57 took me 5 years to get done, and to be honest I've never stopped working on it [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] My 79 T/A took 4 years.
I'm currently reworking a 79 F-150 4x4 that I bought to use since giving my Chevy truck to my now-driving son. The older I get the less time I seem to have to spend, but I still remember to just enjoy the work for what it's worth. Despite the seemingly endless hours of work, it gets done.
But, there's ALWAYS that "one more thing" ....... [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
Well, I ought to look at the bright side. The local mechanic has let me keep it in his service station since last winter while I worked on it as time permitted. I've been keeping him supplied with fresh coffee and Jack Daniels as payment.
Got the alternator installed thanks to a new bracket I welded overnight. Got a couple of wire runs to fabricate. Gotta recharge the battery. Maybe by this weekend I can finally drive the old truck home and start tinkering in the evenings...
Thanks for the reassuring words, guys!
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Pete
[img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] Er.....ah....not to be adding to the pile, but how about using an OIL PRESSURE ACTIVATED SWITCH to feed current to that alternator. It's a more professional way to go and is a lot better. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Caterpillar does it like that on the diesels because the engine can stop with the "run" circuit still "on" and that's not good when you have a line to the alltee-nader. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
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