What I Did After My Vacation . . .

[SlowLane]

d) new brushes at the top, used brushes at the bottom. The brush on the right was my problem-child, always annoyed with oil vapors and a lousy tension spring:

Colin, are you sure that weak spring tension is the culprit here? From the imprint on that brush, it spent a lot of time rubbing up against the side of the brush holder in the same location. It brings to mind a dim, distant, memory of replacing the brushes on my Beetle and finding that one of the springs had got cock-eyed somehow and had hung up on an edge of the brush holder, thereby preventing it from applying any force to the brush beyond a certain point.

[Amskeptic]

Colin, are you sure that weak spring tension is the culprit here? From the imprint on that brush, it spent a lot of time rubbing up against the side of the brush holder in the same location. It brings to mind a dim, distant, memory of replacing the brushes on my Beetle and finding that one of the springs had got cock-eyed somehow and had hung up on an edge of the brush holder, thereby preventing it from applying any force to the brush beyond a certain point.

Spring is weaker than the top one, but the marks showed decent enough contact spot against the beveled notch in the brush. Crap rebuild. Rear bearing is not pressed into endplate, it is "shimmed". This causes radial runout which really exercises those brushes as they bob up and down following the commutator. I am discouraged with the cheap rebuild techniques that indeed get them out the door to survive just past the "warranty" without any true care for the longevity of the unit. Ya think any of them consider that anyone would drive his old antique generator-equipped car around the country at 6,500 rpm for six months and 20 some odd thousand miles?

I will check the rectangularity of the guide next generator pull.
Colinhow'syourweather?

[SlowLane]

Ya think any of them consider that anyone would drive his old antique generator-equipped car around the country at 6,500 rpm for six months and 20 some odd thousand miles?
Colinhow'syourweather?

No, I expect that would be the last thing a re-builder would consider. Face it: statistically, you're less than insignificant.

At the risk of being labelled a heretic, have you considered treating Chloe to an alternator upgrade?

Weather here is wet and warm, thanks to the "Pineapple Express". Starting to feel right at home for me (originally hailing from Vancouver BC).

[Amskeptic]

At the risk of being labelled a heretic, have you considered treating Chloe to an alternator upgrade?

WHAT?

At the risk of being labelled a heretic, have you considered treating Chloe to an alternator upgrade?

WHAT??

At the risk of being labelled a heretic, have you considered treating Chloe to an alternator upgrade?

WHAT???

At the risk of being labelled a heretic, have you considered treating Chloe to an alternator upgrade?

No.

[SlowLane]

WHAT?

WHAT??

WHAT???

You really ought to see a professional about that progressive hearing loss.

No.

Mmm, 'kay. Is that "no, I hadn't considered it", or "aitch-eee-double-hockey-sticks no I would never sully a wonderfully period-correct specimen such as Chloe with anything as crass as a modern charging system simply to make my travels less trouble-free and besides I live for the challenge."

[hambone]

I like generators too. Streamlined and sufficient.

[Amskeptic]

Is that "no, I would never sully a wonderfully period-correct specimen such as Chloe with anything as crass as a modern charging system simply to make my travels less trouble-free and besides I live for the challenge."

I wuz gunna say "I like the streamlined and sufficient charging dynamo that is currently installed" . . . once I get it sorted.

[SlowLane]

I wuz gunna say "I like the streamlined and sufficient charging dynamo that is currently installed" . . . once I get it sorted.

Streamlined ... right. Very important in a voltage generating device, I 'spect.
Wouldn't yours be more aptly described as "scream-lined".

[Amskeptic]

I wuz gunna say "I like the streamlined and sufficient charging dynamo that is currently installed" . . . once I get it sorted.

Streamlined ... right. Very important in a voltage generating device, I 'spect.
Wouldn't yours be more aptly described as "scream-lined".

Very good point. Yeah PAL STREAMLINED . . . you fancy-panschy VANagon owners know NOTHING about accelerator pump links gouging into alternators, you know NOTHING about the generator stands that crack from metal fatigue, the big huge barnacle of a stator just all bloated against the carburetor, and most important for clean classic aesthetes, the visual composition is horribly imbalanced with that Hoover Dam sized alternator crowding out the rest of the engine like a dodo bird in a sparrow's nest.
Screamwhiner

[SlowLane]

fancy-panschy VANagon owners know NOTHING about accelerator pump links gouging into alternators, you know NOTHING about the generator stands that crack from metal fatigue, the big huge barnacle of a stator just all bloated against the carburetor,

I count myself blessed that I need know nothing about carburetors beyond the happy fact that I don't need to know anyhing about them.

I wasn't suggesting that you use one of those poorly-engineered excuses of an aftermarket alternator "kit". VW started to install alternators on Beetles and Ghias in '73, so they must have sorted out the clearance issues by then (I know at the least that the fuel pump was redesigned to make room, and yes, it did look like it had been squashed to one side).

As usual, you know best. Sorry to have distracted you from your book.

and most important for clean classic aesthetes, the visual composition is horribly imbalanced with that Hoover Dam sized alternator crowding out the rest of the engine like a dodo bird in a sparrow's nest.

Oh, aesthetics. Yeah, I totally get that. The '74 and later Beetle engine compartments looked 'orribly crowded with that alternator, the EGR and other smog stuff.

But tell me this: would the owner of, say, a 1961 bus look at Chloe's engine compartment and shudder at the unnecessary complication and the huge bulky 12V generator which replaced his beloved, anemic, uber-streamlined 6V one?

[Amskeptic]

would the owner of, say, a 1961 bus look at Chloe's engine compartment and shudder at the unnecessary complication and the huge bulky 12V generator which replaced his beloved, anemic, uber-streamlined 6V one?

Uh no.
See? (the 12vt generator is pretty much the same size as the 6, just a little longer . . . more streamlined.
Colin

[SlowLane]

See? (the 12vt generator is pretty much the same size as the 6, just a little longer . . . more streamlined.

I was referring to the fact that 6V generators, at 90mm in diameter, were "slimmer" (hence, more streamlined) than the 105mm-diameter 12V generators.
It was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to the old saw that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or rather, that aesthetics is all in the mind.
Which your two photos illustrate perfectly:

Would an early bus aficionado reject the 1970's engine layout as aesthetically unpleasing? As in, "What's with all the hoses? Why is there an octopus attacking that poor engine?"

[Amskeptic]

beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
aesthetics is all in the mind.
Which your two photos illustrate perfectly:

Why, I NEVer! I feel faint.
Colin
(wait until you experience the beauty of these fine powerplants propelling you up the hill at 25 mph)

[SlowLane]

(wait until you experience the beauty of these fine powerplants propelling you up the hill at 25 mph)

With every impatient redneck and his grandmother giving you the evil stink-eye as they risk their own worthless necks revving the snot outta their POS pick-up trucks to pass you on that twisty forested one-lane road with zero visibilty around every blind stinkin' corner?

Been there. That's when I learned to smile and wave.

[satchmo]

Water cooled Vangons have an alternator bracket that is well know for cracking too, as does the wonderful diesel Rabbit circa 1979.

Just thought I'd throw that in. Sometimes an upgrade of the OE stuff just makes sense. Other times, not so much. (Chrome fan shrouds and see through distributor caps, anyone?)

Tim