69 alternator bracket (w/headers)

[Jeff Broughton]

I recently purchased a 69 small block (non-original motor) with Hedman headers. The alternator bracket looked to be home made, and within weeks, both the upper and lower brackets were broken. Now I'm having trouble finding brackets to replace them. My current set-up is as follows: small block with headers and long water pump, alternator on driver side, no air or power steering.

I found a two-piece design at a local shop that bolts over the front header tube and then to the alternator, but apparently it was designed for the short water pump, because when installed the pulleys didn't line up.

Surely my set-up isn't that unique? Anybody else run into this situation?

Thanks!

Jeff Broughton

qwikv6@hotmail.com

[Joe L.]

Re: 69 alternator bracket (w/headers)

Jeff-----

My recommendation is as follows:

Assuming that you have 69+ cylinder heads which are drilled and tapped on the ends for external bracketry, use bracket GM #14015539. This bracket (or its ancestor, actually) was used starting in 1972. It attaches to the front of the left side cylinder head and mounts the generator.

Then, use a stock short Corvette water pump and all other pullies used for stock configuration

[Jeff Broughton]

Re: 69 alternator bracket (w/headers)

Thanks Joe! I had hoped that someone made an aftermarket bracket that would work with the long water pump and headers, but it sounds like I'm going to have to switch back to the short pump.

Thanks again for your help.

Jeff

[Joe L.]

Re: 69 alternator bracket (w/headers)

Jeff-----

There may well be an aftermarket bracket available for your application. I would think that there would be a similar, cylinder head mounted alternator bracket for the long style water pump. In fact, GM might even make one but I can't find any reference to it. I only provided information on a set-up that I am familiar with that I know will work. There may be others available, though.

[Jeff Broughton]

Re: 69 alternator bracket (w/headers)

OK Joe, one last question. I will also need the upper bracket (the one that allows you to adjust the belt tension) for this set-up. Do you happen to have the GM part # for that too?

Thanks again for your help!

Jeff Broughton

qwikv6@hotmail.com

[Joe L.]

Re: 69 alternator bracket (w/headers)

Jeff----

Use GM #460754. It's still available for a current GM list of $7.15.

[Gerry Davis]

69 stock brackets

Maybe you can help me resolve my pully alignment problems. I recently had my L46 engine rebuilt and now the pulleys won't align. I only got the car in April and did not notice any misalignment in the pulleys before we pulled the engine. I tried to replace the water pump with a correct one, but it is somewhat longer. Is this what you mean by long and short pumps? I measured the height of the "correct" pump and according to the shop manual it is correct within my measurement abilities. With the incorrect original pump (short) we still had to put a washer under the alternator pulley to get it to line up The power steering looks ok, but the a/c is way off, so it's not been connected. I'm thinking these brackets and/or pulleys may be from a later model. (The alternator is a '72, and I have a lot of '72 parts on the car, I think that's when it was wrecked). I have been looking in the catalogs at replacing all the brackets and pulleys, but don't want to just go off throwing parts at it without some logic. Any suggestions?

[Joe L.]

Re: 69 stock brackets

Gerry-----

These can be very difficult and frustrating problems. The only way that I recommend to resolve them is to check to be sure that you have all of the correct components for your car. If you use a TOTALLY STOCK system, all of the pullies should line up correctly. If just one component is changed, it will throw everything off. So, in this case, CORRECTNESS is important for reasons other than NCRS/NCCB judging points.

As far as waterpumps go, there are basically three different water pumps. First, there is the short pump used on all 55-68 Chevrolets with small blocks and 55-70 Corvettes with small blocks. Second, there is the short pump used on 71-82 Corvettes with small block and certain 73-90 HD trucks. Third, there is the long style pump used on most 69-82 Chevrolet small block applications except Corvette and HD truck. There are slight differences between the pulley hub spacing on the 55-70 and 71-82 short pumps. However, the pumps cannot usually be interchanged (assuming the pullies are original) since the 55-70 pumps used a 5/8" pilot shaft and the 71-82 used a 3/4" pilot shaft. Your car was originally equipped with the 55-70 short pump with 5/8" pilot. If your water pump pullies have a 3/4" pilot hole in the center, then you have the 71+ style pullies and must also have the 71-82 Corvette short water pump. These will not work with the original 1969 set-up that I'll be describing below

Your pullies should be as follows and most pullies (except alternator) will have the part numbers stamped on them:

alternator------------------GM #3909817* (GM #10495191 might also work)

water pump (rear pulley)----GM #3890419* (GM #3995642 might also work)

water pump (front pulley)---GM #3883234*

crankshaft (rear pulley)----GM #3911013*

crankshaft (front pulley)---GM #3751232

power steering pump---------GM #3770509*

AIR ("smog") pump-----------GM #3917234* or GM #14023170* or GM #14087008

AIR pump spacer ------------GM #3933186* (1/2" thick)

parts indicated with (*) are GM-discontinued but may be available in reproduction

If you are using a 72 alternator, that will cause no problem, but you must use the correct alternator pulley. For 1969 with 350, the alternator mounted to a boss attached to the front of the left side exhuast manifold and was further supported by a stamped steel bracket the leg of which attached to the top left hand water pump stud. This bracket is GM #3846565 and is still available.

If your alternator is attached to a cast iron bracket which bolts to the front of the left cylinder head, that is the 72+ configuration. To use that system, you have to use a complete 1972 pulley system and a 71-82 style Corvette short water pump. And, that's a whole 'nuther matter.

[Gerry Davis]

Re: 69 stock brackets

Joe,

Thanks you so much for all the detail in your response. I will try to get the numbers off my pulleys, and check against your list. I am planning on getting flight judged someday, so I will try to get it as close to original as possible.

Gerry

[Jeff Broughton]

Re: 69 alternator bracket (w/headers)

Joe, I used the brackets you recommended, switched over to the short water pump and related pulleys, and everything worked out great! Not a cheap fix, but it should work a lot better than the homemade rig the P.O. had on it. Thanks for your help!

Jeff