Hi folks. I'm having some trouble mounting an alternator on this Camaro. The car came with the engine sitting on the mounts and the trans chained up. It's a 350 sbc from a 79 something or other lol. The trunk was full of parts including the alt. When I install the unit so that the pulleys line up there is no way I'll be able to install the rocker cover, the alt is to deep front to back. Does anyone know of a shallower alt that would fit. Thanks for any info, Wally

 

If it's an alternator for a '83, it should fit just fine...

 

What is hitting the Valve-Cover?

...The Charging Cable Bolt/ Stud, or the Case of the Alternator?

Which Model/ Series Alternator do you have?
Short of Tall Valve-Covers?
Perimeter or Center Fastener/ Bolt Design Retention Valve-Covers?

ACTUALLY...

You know what would be fantastic/ great/ incredibly helpful???

...Some Images!


Please and Thank You.

 

Haha yes. I will take some pics the next time I'm up there. It's the rear bearing that's protruding over the head by about a 1/4". Tall valve covers and I'm not sure of the alternator series. How do I figure that out? Are there numbers on the case that tell me? Thanks for the help

 

The correct alt should be just yerbasic 10SI. Was introduced in the late 60s, used through the mid 80s; bolts right up to any small block with the right holes in the heads, when using the right brackets.

I can't begin to guess why yours doesn't fit, just from you saying "it doesn't fit". Makes no sense. The only explanation I can think of is that your accessories (WP & crank pulley) are for the "short" water pump, which locate the belt about 5/8" or something, closer to the block.

Pics of EVERYTHING would help, as vorteciroc pointed out. Compare the alt you have with pics of a replacement one such as from AZ or rockauto. If it looks like those pics, it's the right one. (or right enough to fit, anyway)

 

Ok. Here are some pics.

 

It's obviously those janky after-market alternator brackets. Get the right brackets or put a spacer on there to bring the alternator away from the rocker cover...

 

Wow, that's really MESSED UP, with a capital EFFF...

You can rotate the rear half of the case with respect to the front, to move the stud to the top instead of the bottom... just take out the 4 bolts holding it together, rotate it 180° WITHOUT LETTING IT COME APART MORE THAN 1/8" or so, and put them back in when the holes line up. Tighten to maybe 80 inch-lbs or so (a little tighter than you can get with a nutdriver but not by much). The stud should be on top and the plug-in connector toward the outside.

And TL is right, just get a complete set of the right factory brackets & pulleys, and do away with whatever all that other crap you have. It's a GIANT mismatch of random junkyard and aftermarket stuff. Just find a mid 80s V8 vehicle and strip THE WHOLE SETUP off of it. There's supposed to be, for example, a spacer that goes on that long bolt that's about 2" long, that goes between the alt and the head. It's not impossible that the inner alt pulley groove (the alt pulley our cars came with only had that one groove) would line up with the outer groove on the other pulleys. You might could even put a nut behind the alt on that long bolt, to hold the alt firmly against the rear of the bracket on the bottom there, and it might line up enough to "work", although I wouldn't leave it like that for long. You'd also need a nut against the head to keep the bolt from trying to bend that bracket inward.

 

Sorry guys. I purposely left out any spacers I have and slid the alternator all the way back against the valve cover to show that the pulley was still too far forward to line up with the water pump and crank pulleys. Does that look like the right alt? The car came with a box of factory brackets too but some of the bolt holes don't line up. There are extra brackets in the box from different models so I'll have plenty of leftovers lol. Even still, the alt is against the valve cover and the pulley is to far forward! I m lost🤪

 

Start with getting the correct alternator brackets. Make sure you have the correct waterpump for that car. If things still don't line up after that, you may need to buy an alternator...

 

Yes it is the right alt.

No you don't have it in the right place.

The inner alt pulley groove needs to line up with the outer WP & crank pulley groove. The outer alt belt groove cannot be used. The inner WP & crank groove is for the PS & AC.

Put it on right and maybe it'll line up better.

Lay the rest of your brackets out and take a picture. Number each piece, including spacers, bolts, pulleys, etc. We'll try to help you put it back together right.

Might not be a bad idea to get rid of the dual groove alt pulley and put a single groove one on there. The inner groove of the dual might not be in the same plane as the correct single groove. Should be but don't get me started on lying. Once you get all the right brackets installed in the right places it'll be alot easier to figure stuff like that out.