Hey guys, The car constantly had a flat battery, the tach would bounce all around and the car would occasionally just stall out. I don't believe the alternator had ever been rebuilt and I never quite got over ~10.7V at the battery. After going through all the threads here I finally pulled the alternator out. The tip on obstruction wrenches is CRITICAL. My wife calls them Italy Fingers, which I find tragically hilarious. I live in Atlanta and it seems that all the alternator shops around me are either permanently or temporarily closed. Does anyone have a recommendation for a rebuilder that could handle this project and would be willing to ship? On a related note, is the 83A upgrade worth doing? What benefits does this have for a '78? Thanks! E
Why not just buy a new alternator , thats what I did for my 89, It was not that expensive. Im sure you wont have a problem finding one. Thank you
Here.. http://nationsautoelectric.com/services.html They build our custom units for the race engines. They can do everything from rebuild to sky's the limit. Here's the thing, the tiny metric belt is the limiting factor on amperage, most one can support is 110, that's pushing it for belt life. For a stock systems 65-100 is fine, 95-100 helps though.
UNLESS you have a real VALID REASON, Probably NOT a good idea unless it's a race car (Like Scott's (SMG's) Application). https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/81-gtsi-spare-alternator-85amp-yes-no.642102/ Mine like yours is a 2V, Single Belt. Ferrari went to the 2-Belt set-up for a reason.
@smg2, thanks for the tip! I will contact them on Tuesday. @mwr4440, that's a great thread. I'm planning on switching to LED headlights, which I imagine should reduce draw. From there, I was going to swap out the stereo to a simple single DIN, Continental Bluetooth Radio. I don't imagine that will draw much more (maybe less?) than the 70s era Blaupunkt in the car today. Thanks for the tips!
The Collective WISDOM of FChat NEVER Ceases to Amaze me and HELP Me make the wisest decision for ME. SMG is one of my BEST Resources here. He talks, I LISTEN. Best of Luck on your Project.
Evan: I send my alternators and starters to ABC PARTSWERKS in Naples, Florida (920-378-5538). Good luck! Alan N.J.
If you've pulled the alternator out yourself, you could clean and rebuild it yourself. I did mine years ago (can't recall where I got the parts), I see SuperFormance has at least the brush component: https://www.superformance.co.uk/308/electrical.html
Having just rebuilt my alternator 3-4 months ago (and I knew how to do it before I started), here's some advice: have a shop that specializes in this, do it. My rebuilt one looks stellar, and from all research I could do, had the correct parts. It was certainly assembled correctly. And it still fails under load. To save hassle, I bought another one and will eventually take my rebuilt-one to another shop and have them test it fully on a dyno and determine why the hell it's still under-performing. So, consider avoiding the pain I went through.
Just curious - I assume the Ferrari alternator is just a standard (originally) Bosch alternator model with that vent cover attached to the back. Is that correct?
Unfortunately, no. It's an obscure tractor unit of European use. It's an oddball, however the guts are easy enough to replace, though if memory serves the stator is odd sized as well. Off the shelf replacements don't exist if that's what you're asking.
Like radiator repair, alternator rebuilding seems to be a dying industry. I had so many train wrecks trying to find a competent rebuilder in Texas I am sending them to California to have my old guy do it. Same with most machine work.
It's like VT radio and tv repair of yore. It's gone from repair, to component replacement and next up is throw out the vehicle and get a new one. At some point even getting the internal parts is going to be impossible. Look at the new gearboxes, internal seals and components that are not available, period.. have to get a whole new box. Some enterprising shops are getting custom made lip seals... That's all that needs fixing in most cases..a lip seal. But to the mfg... Bin the whole thing! Tangent... McLaren control arm ball joint... Have to buy the entire arm, yet the ball joint is held in with internal clips, it's rebuild able from the mfg.. but no, they don't supply the ball joint. Huh? So does a shop invest in 5k plus units of ball joints or just have the customer buy a whole new arm? It's absurdity like that, that's why we are losing the art of repair... It's just R&R components.
Quick update: Adam at Nations declined to rebuild the alternator. He said he was unfamiliar with the unit after I sent a picture. The guys down at ABC Partswerks are going to tackle the job, although they're running 10 days, so we'll see how it goes! Thank you for all the recommendations!
I rebuilt mine and described it in detail here: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/dereks-308-engine-rebuild.535247/page-16 The only test I didn’t do was a megger test on the field and stator windings but the resistance test showed no shorts or earth leaks and it tested fine on the bench. I had some Chinese Bosch copies (65 amps) that I sold for $200 on eBay but demand was low so I didn’t order a second batch after the last one sold a year ago.
Derek - I don't need an alternator rebuild (yet) but for the day that I might, I read the post that you linked re the alternator. EXCELLENT write up/pics..superb job. I didn't check to see if it's also part of the site's Technical/DIY thread but if it's not, it should be!!! Very nice work.
ABC was fantastic. They are the most friendly guys and they did an excellent job on the alternator. Looks brand new and is pumping out the electricals like nobody's business. Highly recommended. $250 for the complete rebuild.
