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Everyone who has a 1955-1962 235 engine in their truck knows the Engine's Cooling Fan is not located in the center of the radiator. This has caused many cooling system problems and thanks to an ingenuous Adapter designed and produced by Dave Folsom, this situation is entirely preventable. In case this is news to you, Dave makes an Adapter that replaces the plate on your water pump and raises the water pump about 2-1/2 inches. You need a specific water pump, AirTech AW-108N and the stock 216 fan blades to do this conversion. It's WELL worth the trouble. It also ends the problem of the radiator being too close. Life is good until....
This weeks Tip is what to do about your Alternator when you do that. Since the bolt placement is different on this water pump, you need to use the lower bolt on the Alternator side to mount the top Alternator Bracket. This presents a problem because the angle is all wrong. Before we get ahead of ourselves, THIS is the Alternator Bracket System that is the most popular:
http://www.classicparts.com/1955-62-.../#.VsnEc5wrKHs
The smaller thin top bracket is the problem. Using the most likely bolt hole on the water pump, the angle is all wrong for ANY Alternator since the bolt is too low by about an inch. To bend the bracket, cut an upside down V in the bottom of the bracket at the turn closest to the Alternator but near the base, and take it over to the engine with the Alternator mounted from the bottom only, and test fit, bend to fit perfectly, then weld what's left of the the V shut. Then you are just a NAPA Premium 7440 Belt from calling it a day. The upside down V concept is the same thing you do to a tree before cutting it down, so it's not a hard concept to grasp and makes your Alternator system nice and sturdy at the same time.
This weeks Tip is what to do about your Alternator when you do that. Since the bolt placement is different on this water pump, you need to use the lower bolt on the Alternator side to mount the top Alternator Bracket. This presents a problem because the angle is all wrong. Before we get ahead of ourselves, THIS is the Alternator Bracket System that is the most popular:
http://www.classicparts.com/1955-62-.../#.VsnEc5wrKHs
The smaller thin top bracket is the problem. Using the most likely bolt hole on the water pump, the angle is all wrong for ANY Alternator since the bolt is too low by about an inch. To bend the bracket, cut an upside down V in the bottom of the bracket at the turn closest to the Alternator but near the base, and take it over to the engine with the Alternator mounted from the bottom only, and test fit, bend to fit perfectly, then weld what's left of the the V shut. Then you are just a NAPA Premium 7440 Belt from calling it a day. The upside down V concept is the same thing you do to a tree before cutting it down, so it's not a hard concept to grasp and makes your Alternator system nice and sturdy at the same time.