In a past life my J2000 was fueled by a single Holley 2bbl caburetor on a modified version of the factory intake manifold. That was a good setup because the carburetor was on the same plane as the alternator, but because the single carb was centered on the motor there was plenty of gap there. It was a bad setup because that factory manifold wasn’t exactly great for making power, and neither was that Holley 2bbl, but it was necessary for whatever class they were trying to race in.
Now when I got the car, the 2bbl and manifold were nowhere to be found and I couldn’t find a replacement...and that was fine with me because I wanted dual side drafts anyway. But a pair of Dellorto DHLA 40s is significantly wider than a single Holley 2bbl, and clearance between the passenger side carb and the alternator was going to be an issue. I had decided to burn that bridge when I came to it and so hadn’t thought about it until just the other day.
I did know I had to remove this large chunk of metal from the end of my nice, new manifold in order for my crappy, old alternator bracket to bolt on. I did that job with a hacksaw...I could have used a reciprocating saw but I didn’t want to risk the blade catching, shaking the manifold, and maybe breaking it because those things are powerful. So fifteen minutes and two blades later, it was removed and the bracket fit fine.
It appeared it was going to be very close...and luckily for me, close is all it was.
I actually had to hang the alternator in front of the bracket rather than behind it, but that appears to have done me a favor: the old alternator was a ribbed belt pulley, and it ran on the inside groove of the crank pulley...the new alternator is a v belt pulley, and can be ran on the outside groove of the crank pulley. Basically I needed to hang it outside for the space away from the carb, but that also served to perfectly line up my pulleys. As my dad is fond of saying, I must be living right.
My next problem is an interesting one: theres a hole in the center of the head which I believe used to feed the EGR port. My new manifold obviously has no such provision...the hole is 3/4 in wide and looks like somebody tapped it for a plug. It doesn’t seem to be tapered like a pipe thread, so I’m going to grab a 3/4 in bolt and see if I can thread that in there. If I can, I’ll go in as far as I can, mark it, cut it to make a plug, and stuff it in there with red Loctite. The alternative is sealing around the hole between it and the gasket and the gasket and manifold...it won’t be a high pressure thing, but it will be a high heat thing so I would rather have a plug.
Besides all of that, nothing new. I need to get the motor finished so I can get it off the stand and into the car so that a) the Pontiac will run, and b) I can clear a spot on the stand for a 5.3 LS I’m buying for the Cutlass drag car I’m also buying. No rush on that though, one car at a time...for now.