Reply to "Erica needs to get hosed....."

Glad that went well!!!! I managed not to break anything else.....!

Tomorrow or Friday will clean up the timing cover plate a bit, degrease the water pump and harmonic balancer pulleys and bolts etc and anything else while I have the parts washer open.....

While I had some time....procrastinating about busting off this fitting......I tried something that I had noticed on Thomas T's post somewhere else on this forum.

He posted a pic of his EFI engine and I noticed that his GT5 engine used the stock Ford alternator bracket and adjuster to retain the alternator!

Since I had all of this apart... AND because I had a spare set of factory brackets on a spare engine......I decided to check it out!

So, in the pic below, you will see Ford factory 1970 bracket, spacer, bolt, 1973 adjuster arm (from the Pantera!) and the "normal belt" 10AV1040 size. The alternator is WAY out on the adjuster....so a stock belt (for a Mustang) is probably like an 10/11AV1030 or 1020 and would bring the alternator closer to the center of the opening.

I tried my cover and it seemed to fit without any clunking...... or scraping. I wasn't out to prove anything....just show that it would appear that normal Ford parts could be used in the case if you didn't want to use the DeTomaso crazy bracket to mount your alternator.

Now, this alternator is a late model R3(?) version with the built in regulator. As fitted, the wiring would not be able to plug into this as the opening faces the timing chain area of the block! BUTTTT, I think that if I were to re-clock the rear of the alternator about 120 degrees, life would be grand!!! And there isn't any reason that rotating the rear of this alternator shouldn't be possible from what I can tell! For all I know....someone already did that to make it work in this car/config....!

Anyway.....I think it looks like a potentially good fit!!!