V8 Super Beetle Project

[V8 Super Beetle]

Thanks for posting that picture CMD. I like that. Especially the bottles.

[Mock1racer]

Yeah, thats not a bad idea. How do you hook it up where you dont double the voltage, or the amperage? Sorry, electrical not my specialty.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Al....most....there...

I got a couple milestone's accomplished. My time was cut short this Saturday when my Husky decided to dig his way out of the backyard. I drove all over the neighborhood looking for him just to come home to a muddy Husky right across from my house. I don't know where the mud was at. All the dirt around is dry. I guess that's what Huskies do best. Find mud...and escape.

Any who, I finally made up my mind and made an alternator bracket which I think came out really well. I basically took the low mount bracket I bought and cut it up and welded it to the frame. Easier said than done. The alternator does have full range of adjustment, so I'm happy. Now I just have to buy another belt.






I also bought a new more manageable size battery and relocated it to the back. I made an frame try for it. The plan was to bolt it in above the exhaust on the passenger side to help distribute weight, but that didn't happen. I wound up welding the tray in on the driver's side for ease of access.






I'm also having to rewire / reroute everything through the interior of the car. No biggie, but just another thing I have to add to my list of TTD before I can get to body work.

Just a couple more things to do before the next stage.

• Make an alternator bracket
  
• And make a battery tray to relocate it in the back.
  
• Rewire engine
  
• Finish the hood
  

I'll post pics of the battery setup soon.

[hellraiser]

wow its realy coming along

[V8 Super Beetle]

It's getting there. I know I've said that about a million times, but it's actually getting close to the end. Just a handful more fabrication things to finish up, then it's on to body work and paint. I'm lining up with one of my friend's boyfriend, to get the car painted. He's a pro painter and offered to paint it in his garage for $200. Not too bad.

I've ordered my the remaining parts I need and they should all be in today or tomorrow. Well, most of them. I'm trying to get this thing finished before August. Baby on the way which will eat up my time and mine. lol. That's a good thing though.

[Mock1racer]

Do you think that mounting the alt on the frame will work? Duh, I'm sure it will work, what I mean is, if the alt is mounted in a fixed position, and the engine flexes on the mounts it might sling the belt off at high RPM.

[Mock1racer]

OR, since the alt is on the driver side, engine flex will pull on the belt making it tighter and could either pop it, or put stress on the pullies and wear out the belt faster.

[V8 Super Beetle]

I finally found the right size belt for it.

I've came up with a solution. Just spring load the alternator, if it become a problem. I could make a spring mount tab on the sheet metal and hook it up to the alternator bolt. I don't think this will be a problem though because the mount mounts sit on the frame. The mounts are at their lowest setting and I feel every vibration of the engine. Well, as much as a balanced engine makes.

So, I'm going to test it out tonight to see how it acts. I think I just might do the spring thing anyways. Shouldn't take a but a 30 minutes to button up.

[notchman]

I've seen an alternator mounted under a car driven off of the drive shaft but I've never seen one mounted like this. I can't wait to see how it works out.

[humbug]

I was considering mounting my alternator to the rear end/running off of the yoke, but since I'm using an MSD ignition, I was worried about starving the electrical system at every stoplight or traffic backup.

If you are using solid motor/trans mount, you'll minimize the engine torquing away from that alternator, BUT solid mounts have some drawbacks. They'll intensify engine vibrations through the car, make the drivetrain more abusive on the chassis, and even harshen up the ride.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Well, I took it for a spin with the new alt mount. No issues other than my whole car vibrates more. It a combination of the new sheet metal in back and the top alt bracket being on the body. No biggie cause the car vibrated anyways from the engine sitting on the frame. The fact my mufflers are dumped and my rear section sheet metal acts as a muffler and an amplifier, doesn't help.

Sure does feel like a race car though. It does ride pretty smooth. I took my dog for a spin. Haha. He didn't seem to mind the loud car cause he really enjoys to "Ride". I thought it would scare him. Nope.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Got a few things done this weekend. Really just testing things out and tweaking (checking valve lash, snugged up the headers / collectors and played with the fan in push / pull mode) to make sure everything is is running right before I move onto paint. All seems well except the alternator.

I wired up my alternator and took the car for a test drive. After driving around the neighborhood for about an hour, I parked the car in the garage, turned it off, and attempted to start it back up. Well, it was very slow to turn over and it wouldn't fire back up. I did let the car sit and cool for about 15 minutes and it fired back up.

So I'm not sure if the battery was drained some and the alternator isn't wired correctly or if there's another reason the engine wouldn't turn over while at operating temp, which has never been a case. I did have my electric fan running the whole time and it draws some amps.

Could someone look over how I wired my alternator and tell me if it's correct or what to do so it is correct?

I have about a 4 gauge wire going from the battery post on the alternator to the battery post on the starter. I have a 2 gauge ground wire going to the frame. On the #2 post, the plug to the right, I have going to the battery post on the alternator, but I have a switch between it to turn it on and off. I have a 12v indicator light, which has yet to work, hooked up to the number 1 post and is ground to the body.

The dummy light has never worked and I'm not quite sure the alternator is charging. Any help would be appreciated.









I now have all the parts I need to finish the car, just about. There's a couple small things I'll have to get off a parts car.

Rebel Wiring Harness




Parts from Bap/Geon.




Here's a project that's been taking some time away from the bug, but one I've enjoyed doing. I've been working on finished up painting the nursery and installing chair railing. I just need to touch up the paint. Still got to put together the crib, hang curtains, and whatnot.

[Mock1racer]

I'll check mine out tonight and let you know about the wiring. you might have one not hooked up right. I did mine by the 1970 Chevelle diagram.

[hellraiser]

and thats why im going with the gm one wire alt lol

[V8 Super Beetle]

I figured out what the problem is. It took looking over the diagram again and again, but it's cause I have the jump switch in the wrong place as well as the "dummy light".

Mines setup real simple, but I still managed to misunderstand the diagram. LOL