Bubba strikes again....

[macrisel]

So I'm sure you have all been there.� On your first Willys, you dive in and start repairing things, get it running, maybe paint it to make it shine and then you drive it and enjoy it.� I did the same thing with my '51.� Now, I'm to the point where I have been a part of this forum now for over 5 years, read Bob W's book a couple of times, attended several Willys events and generally expanded my knowledge of all things Willys.� I have started to go BACK through my Jeep and fix everything I (or Bubba) did wrong the first time around......(pretty sure Ryan can relate� )

The project for this past weekend was a simple one.� Fix a front seal that was dripping a smaaaaalll bit of oil.� Nothing much and I really wouldn't worry about it except with it leaking on to the pulley, the oil gets slung all over the inner fenders and hood.� I live down three miles of gravel road so the oil mixes with the dust and makes a nice mess of everything under the hood.� Besides, it has been about three or four months since I had to turn a wrench on the jeep and that just won't work.� However, when I took the belt off to start the project, I noticed it had a very nasty groove cut into one side of it.� Upon further investigation, I found my generator pulley stuck out about 1/4" further past the other pulleys......which I somehow didn't notice when I rebuilt the motor.�

Now, I know my generator is an original one so I eliminated that.� When I rebuilt the motor the first time, I noticied my generator bracket had broken and been "fixed" at some point.� No big deal at the time, it worked (I thought).� Now I started thinking the bracket was incorrect and stuck out too far.� Easy fix.......I had aquired a '47 Willys truck and would swipe the bracket off of it.� That's when I realized Bubba had struck again...here is a photo of my generator bracket.

Yes, as you now realize Bubba took a torch to my front plate...for some unknown reason...and notched it to make room for his "improved" bracket.

So now I will have to rework Bubba's bracket to scoot the generator back 1/4" to line up with the other pulleys.� The fun never ends!

[1955CJ-5]

I was going to say that I have seen those brackets on ebay....but now I see that the section of front engine plate is missing..........wow....

But, it seems to me, that if the rear generator mount hole was in the right place, the pulley would line up...so was the generator just mounted on the wrong side of the bracket ears??

[macrisel]

You know, I thought about that.  My generator currently fits BETWEEN the two bracket arms.  I think on an original setup, the gene mounts behind (towards the firewall) the front plate and behind the bracket.

If anyone can snap a photo from underneath of an original setup I would appreciate it.......

Hawk, any chance you can set your generator on and snap a photo from underneath while you have your motor on a stand?

[1955CJ-5]

Yes, I think you are right about the way the generator mounts....so I guess you will need to move the front ear back or put a spacer in there........

Then there is that other option....

[macrisel]

That other option shall remained unnamed for fear of it coming true.  It crossed my mind very briefly but was quickly banished due to fear of what it may again lead to.  Bad enough a 1 hour seal replacement job is turning into a bracket re-engineer.  I don't think the torque output of the L-134 is enough to cause concern of the plate twisting.... :-?

[1955CJ-5]

You'll be fine as long as that ice cream maker doesn't seize up....!!

[Ryan_M]

Ahh....I am not the only starting a "51 3A Revisited" thread. Since mine is half ripped apart I just went out and took this pic. Looks like you have what started out as the right bracket but was added onto when the engine plate was cut out(?). I don't know. Take a look and see if this helps.

[Ryan_M]

What does your generator look like? Could it be the "wrong" one that Bubba made fit?

[athawk11]

Hawk, any chance you can set your generator on and snap a photo from underneath while you have your motor on a stand?

Ooooh, I wish I could help.� If you saw the job that Bubba did on my 12v generator conversion, you would be proud of yours. � I'm still trying to figure out how to 'professionally' install mine back on the engine.

Tim

[macrisel]

What does your generator look like? Could it be the "wrong" one that Bubba made fit?

No, the generator is correct.  In the past I thought I had a different issue with it and traced it down at that time as the correct one for the jeep.  I have no idea why they would butcher the front plate.

The jeep was in pieces when I bought it.  The previous owner had tore most of it apart to rebuild it.  The only thing I can think of was maybe in the past, Bubba tried to put either an alternator on it or a different generator and this was how he made it fit.  Since then, someone prior to me located an original generator and stuck it back on the jeep.  Who knows. 

Like I keep telling all the car guys I run around with, jeeps are like nothing else in the classic world.  These were work horses meant to be used and several parts from 20+ years could (and would) be interchanged and made to fit.  I mean, how many Chevelles or Mustangs were used to dig ditches, plow fields or used to bounce around the woods like a 4 wheeler?

[athawk11]

Just so we can all marvel at Bubba and his skill set,� here is what I meant when I could offer no help to Mac...

[1955CJ-5]

Creative!

Here is a bracket I saw the other day...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Willys-Jeep-Generator-Bracket-MB-CJ2A-CJ3A-CJ3B-CJ5-Picup-Station-Wagon-/191089105768?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c7dcc5b68&vxp=mtr