The POS 408 progress pics....

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haha yeah you might have yours together before me! I've been taking my time. Just when I am making progress, I have a house, son, a wife, or dogs that will somehow screw it up. Yesterday it was the furnace. The day before, my sheltie ate weird berries in the yard and was tripping like jimi hendrix.

But I am still able to eek in an hour here and there to get things done little by little.
It's easy to build strictly an LA, or a mag, but when mixing parts between the two it becomes a real pain in the ***. There isnt much at all for a magnum with a serpentine setup to make it look clean. Where I am at now is having to figure out how I will mount enough of an alternator to power a monster e-fan all the time, and not have it hit anything and also clear the dipstick. The valve covers might be a problem, but I love them and they are staying and not being modded.

You have any suggestions cracked? I'm kind of thinking hard at a distance right now.
What would do the job and work with my 7 rib pulleys on a mag engine?
 
POS, That is a nice dipstick! I still need to figure out which one I'm going to use for my 408...It has a 7 qt deep rear sump pan on it. So, I'll probably have to do the same thing you did!
 
mopardude318 said:
POS, That is a nice dipstick! I still need to figure out which one I'm going to use for my 408...It has a 7 qt deep rear sump pan on it. So, I'll probably have to do the same thing you did!
Click to expand...

It's stupid, but I loved it from the moment I saw it and had to have it even though it wouldnt work. I made it work though. I also now have to make my own alternator bracket to clear not only the dipstick, but the damned valve cover.

That stick as it comes is 21 inches and is not flexible.
It's designed to go straight down into a front sump.
It WOULD work perfectly in any setup like what cracked posted above.

But yeah in a rear sump the stick from a magnum needs to be swapped into the handle and also cut down a bit.

If you decide to do it, let me know and I will measure the stick for you.
I think the milodon tube is 10 or 11 inches and the magnum tube is 16.
Stock magnum dipstick is like 36 inches!
 
OK, so today I was playing around with an alternator and bracket.

Since I am a stubborn pain in the *** and I always get what I want, and just like everything else, I am determined to make the serpentine system work TOO. lol I had a problem though. This late model denso alternator (the only one that delivers the amps I am going to need) hits the valve cover. I am NOT cutting the beau-ti-ful valve cover, so we're working around it.

Please excuse the crusty bracket and alternator. It's been sitting for a long time. I took a magnum accessory bracket and cut the driver side off.
Driver side on a magnum supports the a/c compressor. It was a ***** cutting this thing since none of my wheels could get in there where it needed to be cut. So I busted out some oldschool and cut it with a hacksaw.:angry7: DAMN that was fun.


alternator2.jpg


As you can see, I have a wrench in the far side holding the alt up. It's now a high mount.:cheers:

I am going to eliminate the serpentine tensioner and in the place of the wrench I am going to make a turnbuckle-style tensioner. This gets rid of the tensioner that will be in the way of the dipstick and just eliminates an ugly piece from the engine. Simplicity is the name of the game even though sometimes this whole thing seems so complicated.
And you're NOT gonna throw a serpentine belt. EVER. This is why I wanted to keep the rib belt.

Some other pics....

alternator5.jpg


yeah with the belt routed like that I need a ribbed idler pulley. You didnt think I was gonna run that cheesy old thing did ya? I am however going to use that there bracket. When I am done massaging it youll think it was an aftermarket piece. I have a little bit of trimming and deburring, then I'll clean it and polish it up till it looks as close to the pulleys as I can get it.
making this turnbuckle tensioner thing is going to be interesting. I guess it needs to be forked on one end and a tube on the other end for the bolt to go through. Wish I could find a little coilove shock type thing that was strong like a normal tensioner. that would be cool, but back to reality.

More pics...

Clearance issue I was dealing with...now there's a little room to play with belt tension and stuff. Yes the hood will clear this.

And you know what? It doesnt really hide the look of the engine. I think cleaned up and polished with a new idler and alternator, this is gonna only add to the engine. people might hesitate before realizing it's a piece of the magnum bracket. Let them scratch their heads. That's what makes it fun!
alternator6.jpg


Other side showing how much more room there is. When this is together I will be able to see and get to everything still without necessarily having to pull the alternator. This is a plus.

alternator4.jpg


See that stuf with the nut on it at the top of the bracket? I forgot that A/C lines were up there where the alternator now is. Probably the same height the lines were. Very close. If you have a magnum engine you know how much you hate it if you discover a leak in the bypass hose, or want to replace a temp sender or fan switch screwed into the intake....well with this dealio you dont have to take CHIT apart to get to that stuff anymore. You would normally have to take off the alt, compressor, and the accessory bracket. Now you just do what you gotta do with it all together.:read2:

alternator1.jpg


So, what fabtabulous fabricators on here wish to contribute some info on parts I could use for the tensioner mechanism? You know, just in case there is something to offer that I dont know is available to make my life easier? Hmmm?

And what do you think of the whole idea? Cool? Or am I retarded?:toothy10:
I kinda like it. I dont know what else to do without having to whip up a whole new serpentine system. I would love the march system, but damn it's too expensive.

P.S. The power steering goes on the driver side head! hehe not a vise grip!
 
That's what I'm thinking, but do you think that will be sturdy enough? i know some other brackets employ them, but I'm wondering if the alt will move side to side with just heim joints and a tube. Maybe not!

Gonna have to find a GOOD hardware store that has this junk so I can play with stuff in the store and see what will work. I need it to sit just like it does in the pic. I will start with a belt that is almost too tight to put on with the alt touching the valve cover and crank it tight to get the height in the pic. The belt wont go anywhere.
 
If you eliminate the serpentine tensioner, then as the belt stretches it get loose and slip. The tensioner is spring loaded and keeps the belt tight. With the serpentine belt, all pulleys have to be perfectly even with each other. Personally I go with V belts and save a headache
 
Supershafts said:
....the dipstick doesn't interfere with the crank, or actually rod on that mag?
Click to expand...

Nope. it goes right into the track in the pan and there are no clearance issues.

I asked you if you experienced this with an h beam rod and you didnt answer. I'm using the scat I beams. maybe that's the difference? I dunno.
No problems here.
 
dodge freak said:
If you eliminate the serpentine tensioner, then as the belt stretches it get loose and slip. The tensioner is spring loaded and keeps the belt tight. With the serpentine belt, all pulleys have to be perfectly even with each other. Personally I go with V belts and save a headache
Click to expand...

LOL I know the science/speculation behind it.:-D
But I am curious as to how the aftermarket systems using a rib belt aren't stretching and flying off the pulleys without a tensioner...

I had the same serpentine belt for over 10 years. Entire life of the truck.
I replaced the tensioner twice. The tensioner stretched. LOL But the belt is still fine.:cheers:
 
Well maybe it be just fine. You gonna get this done before winter, they are talking about lows in the 30's this weekend here in mich, I got my 340 done July 4th but sure its not a killer motor like yours. Good luck.
 
dodge freak said:
Well maybe it be just fine. You gonna get this done before winter, they are talking about lows in the 30's this weekend here in mich, I got my 340 done July 4th but sure its not a killer motor like yours. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'll have the engine ready to drop in within the next few weeks I hope. I'll be updating this through the winter.
 
POS Dakota said:
Nope. it goes right into the track in the pan and there are no clearance issues.

I asked you if you experienced this with an h beam rod and you didnt answer. I'm using the scat I beams. maybe that's the difference? I dunno.
No problems here.
Click to expand...

H beams, both hit the guide, not to hurt the rod or crank but it would make a noise, and then when the guide is clearanced the dip stick is useless, the rod will catch it and pull it
 
Supershafts said:
H beams, both hit the guide, not to hurt the rod or crank but it would make a noise, and then when the guide is clearanced the dip stick is useless, the rod will catch it and pull it
Click to expand...

Ok. Yep, same thing as my local buddy over here. he had to notch the rail for the rod bolts to clear. I faintly remembered him saying this when you mentioned the same thing, so I talked to him about it yesterday.

That was one thing that was really cool I thought about the I beam.
No notching, or clearancing. Some shops charge as much as 175 bucks to do rod clearancing!

Where in LI are you from? I was born in brooklyn and lived there till I was about 6, then lived in elmont. Small world...
 
I grew up in queens in HB, then moved out east Mastic Beach for the business and to be closer to all the racing i love to do, then we had bridgehampton RC, hamptons DS, Riverhead O, now we only have Riverhead..

My road car and drag cars are waiting for drag racing and road racing to return.

Your friend didn't have to change the pan ? seemed the clearancing needed for the guide exposed to much of the stick, that got pulled too...

None of the LA's had this issue...
 
POS Dakota said:
Exactly. Nothing on this thing fit out of the box. Everything had to be corrected, modded, converted, inverted, twisted, ground and thrown into the wall at least once to fit. ha!
Click to expand...

Here's what we did for the alter. There is a alter. that puts out 160/130 amps (ford) and fits. We didn't need it so far.

0822001105.jpg


0822001053a.jpg
 
Looks good.

I am using the late model serpentine 7 rib pulley serpentine system which is making this so hard to do. There's no 7 rib pulley that comes in a press-on version like the old mopar alt, and there is no late model mopar alt that will fit in that position using the older bracket. So I'm forced to do some custom stuff to make it work to my satisfaction.
And yeah, I want plenty of amps to run a heavy duty dual electric fan ALL THE TIME if necessary, a stereo, HID headlights and fogs etc...

I am going to call march and discuss this with them. If they can spin me a 7 rib idler pulley, I can make this all work. In the past week I kind of stepped back from it so I can think about it here and there. I have pictures of EVERYTHING on my computer so I dont even have to go into the garage to look.

Reason I am going though so much trouble is to end up with something original.
Oldschool, but with a modern spin on it if you will.

I could go buy v belt pulleys and be done, but I really want this to work.

Very clean engine compartment BTW. Nice job.
 
Supershafts said:
I grew up in queens in HB, then moved out east Mastic Beach for the business and to be closer to all the racing i love to do, then we had bridgehampton RC, hamptons DS, Riverhead O, now we only have Riverhead..

My road car and drag cars are waiting for drag racing and road racing to return.

Your friend didn't have to change the pan ? seemed the clearancing needed for the guide exposed to much of the stick, that got pulled too...

None of the LA's had this issue...
Click to expand...

That is awesome that riverhead still exists! I went there a couple times with my dad when I was a kid. I'm 37 now...I think I was 9 or 10 back then. My dad's gone now. Wow. LI is such a great place. Don't ever leave...trust me. I lived in Elmont right next to queens a few miles away from Belmont Race Track (horse racing).

Regarding the pan, he only had to notch the rail for the rod bolt to clear and that was only in a couple spots. It might just depend on which rod it is...and I dont know what rod in specific he used. His engine is a 390 (stroked 318) so that could be another variable, I dunno. I thought the blocks were the same though. He doesnt have problems with the dipstick pulling though. That 390 runs high 12s in a 4x4 clubcab dakota! Imagine being out on the town in your challenger, or camaro and getting the crap knocked out of you with a 4x4 truck. Oh the humanity.:-D

But yeah, the LA doesnt have this issue because the stick goes straight down into the sump at an angle. That milodon dipstick is specifically for an LA. I just wanted it to work for the magnum because of what an excellent looking piece it is and the fact that there is nothing available for the mag that I liked. There may only be a chrome version of the same factory stick for the mag. They sell handles too on ebay, but when I saw the Milodon I knew one way or another it was going to work for me. But it all clears and no interference with anything. I was going to get the kevko truck pan which had the dipstick in the sump, (would have been less trouble) but hell it's the same thing as a magnum pan really. My mag pan was in pristine condition once I cleaned it, so I went with it. And it worked without any mods to the pan using the forged scat I beam rod.
 
67gtx said:
Here's what we did for the alter. There is a alter. that puts out 160/130 amps (ford) and fits. We didn't need it so far.

0822001105.jpg


0822001053a.jpg
Click to expand...

Questions.

1) Did you get rid of your ameter?
2) Do you have a part # for this?
3) Is it a 3 wire or a 1 wire?
 
Is it just me or do the high amp powermaster alts for early fords look like a direct replacement for a late mopar?
 
Their a little different, you just have to change the spacers. I can't find any pic's of it, darn. But it bolted right in, it about hour to change or make the spacers it. It was a one wire, which made it easy.
 
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