Big Block Bantam

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I took my home made gas tank over to my forever friends Terry & Lee's to pressure check it for leaks. I was confident that I welded this one air tight and they would no leaks, or maybe one or two. Can you say, "twenty". Holy Cow, the thing was full of minute leaks on the welds.

Many thanks to Lee & Terry for finding and Tig welding all the leaks.
 

Made brackets to mount the alternator down low.

I'm a little concerned with the amount of crank pulley the belt is in contact with. Looks like less than 1/4 of the pulley. I think you may run into problems with the belt slipping with the low mount. I believe the low mount is generally used with electric water pumps as that allows the belt to grab lots of pulley. I think you may be happier if you raise the alternator up some with brackets similar to the picture attached. Jegs sells them for under $100 but I'm pretty sure you could easily make something like this. I also posted a pic of their low mount brackets for you to compare.

You might also want to consider using a smaller crank pulley to slow down the alternator and water pump. Pretty hard on alternator bearings spinning at about 20000 rpm when the engine is at 6000.
 

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sc, I have a couple cars with that Speedway low alternator mount. It is actually lower than the one I built. I did find a longer belt (in my massive supply of items bought and not used) and rotated the alternator up. Had to modify the pieces a bit. I've got more wrap in the crank pulley now.

My friends Terry & Lee, who run the shortened Studebaker (Tator) at the Meltdown Drags have been going 7,000 rpm with a stock alternator for 4 years now. So far, no problems. I guess I'll take a chance.

Thanks for the suggestions and the benefit of your experience.

You know what you're doing Bob. I still have some concerns but I've been wrong before. Hope it works for you. I know that Terry's car runs real well having seen it in action.
 
Bob, I ran the same alternator setup on my BBC injected altered. It worked out fine for 6 years and we ran that motor 7200 RPM on the 1 - 2 PG shift. Rear end looks nice, you did go with a MoPar 8 3/4? That setup will work for years in this type of hot rod. I only broke one Ring gear in my NE-1 dragster and that was with a Blowen / alcohol BBC at 1100 HP.

Very nice, keep up the good work.[dr:):)
 

Pretty well buttoned up the rear end and suspension. I won't use the drag radials. Probably pie crust slicks or some Craigslist regular slicks. Without the sheet metal apron on the back a lot of the mechanicals show from the rear.

Monday morning at 2:30 I woke up with chest pains. With my heart history I didn't take any chances and went to the local hospital. Everything checked out fine. Had a nuclear stress test and did very well. One less health matter to worry about.
 
Glad to hear your OK bob.
You did the smart thing by going to the hospital. When I had my heart attack at age 42 the only thing that saved me was that I knew what was happening and went to the hospital. the nurse later told me that most men just tend to ignore the pain or don't do anything about it and then it's too late.
The build is looking great. Keep at it.
[P [P [P
Torchie
 
Ha Bob, Glad all the tests came out good. With our like medical history you did the right thing. take care of your self.:)

Car is looking fine. Wish I lived closer so I could buy a ride.;);)
 

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