View Full Version : Alternator cut out for xe conversion!!
Could someone make me a cut out for my engine bay for the alternator please as it will save me alot of time and hassle and im not very good at fab lol I will pay and come collect if not to far away or pay for postage! Here's a pic of what I'm after!
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/honie5/a3b85509.jpg
Cheers dan!
Stop being a mincer and get your hands dirty
Only one way to learn! Draw it out on paper template, then add some extra tabs for folding over and cut it out of suitable thickness metal!
mk1nova_rich
05-04-11, 05:10 PM
thats a perfect piece for a beginner!! Cutting the chassis leg and welding it in is the hardest part lol
be a man and just use a hammer...being a trust nova the chassis leg should be rust therefore thinner and easier to bash, rather than weld :)
If your going to do it then do a proper job and box & weld it :thumb:
Pistol Pete
05-04-11, 06:09 PM
Hammer. Looks better IMO. Box cut out looks out of place in the bay. But when it's all together you can't see it anyway lol
...and while you're at it, put your phone on charge lol
markc20xe
05-04-11, 06:26 PM
if in doubt hit it with a hammer lol
Hammer. Looks better IMO. Box cut out looks out of place in the bay. But when it's all together you can't see it anyway lol
Same IMO. Never understood the fetish for doing it the 'proper' way!
Haha I copied that just before I went to bed lol to be fair there's not much rust! Just wanted it to look decent but Spose if I do it sensibly can do a tidy job with a hammer lol will be quite soothing to! Does the alternator just touch the chassis leg or is it in need of alot of bashing?
Just mind if it's a gte or gsi you'll need a big hammer lol, double skinned legs ftw
No was only a 1.2 so will be wafer thin as usual!
matthew172
06-04-11, 09:55 AM
put a slit in the corner of the leg with a thin cutting disc, hammer the top part in first then hammer bottom part in to meet and weld along the ridge where the 2 have met, thats how i always do it
Ive done it this way a few times.
General Baxter
06-04-11, 11:12 AM
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a191/baxters83/SDC10224.jpg
so much neater, blow lamp and a 'small' hammer lol
can't believe half of you monkeys still use the 'hammer method' if you can call it a method lol
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/gunny07/34c1800b.jpg
can't believe half of you monkeys still use the 'hammer method' if you can call it a method lol
Charge your phone! lol
can't believe half of you monkeys still use the 'hammer method' if you can call it a method lol
to be honest, bending a piece of metal sheet, when compared to chopping a piece out & welding in a box shape, is actually a better solution. or spend some time & effort mounting the alternator on the front, or modding the bracket so the bolt doesn't stick out is a better solution.
Cheers for the help! I'll give the blow torch and hammer ago it looks neat and hardly noticeable plus I reckon I could do that lol one I've done it I'll get some pics up!
Hammer method is used by people who cant weld or fabricate,anyone can smash summat with a hammer
That'll be me then! I'm good at most things but going to do aload of practice before I let myself loose on my car with the welder!
Yes but youve admitted that,thats fair enough,its the ones who cant weld who claim "its better" that make me lol
Yer true I see your point lol
andy, this argument will run forever, but each version is actually a bodge. because both will weaken the chassis leg to a degree...
moving the alt. is by far the better option.
Im bored so will start a debate.....
Banging it in with a hammer imo will weaken it more as in the event of a crash impact, its already weakened and will crease easier as its not straight....
Whereas when you cut it,your welding something back in thats just as strong,if not stronger than original.
Would be interesting to see a crash at 30 using both methods...
The best solution to this is to realise that fitting a big block is so last decade and is only going to make your nova slide through a hedge into a field due to massive understeer
Keep the small block :d
@Baxter, WTF !? Did you spray that engine bay with oil ? lol
The best solution to this is to realise that fitting a big block is so last decade and is only going to make your nova slide through a hedge into a field due to massive understeer
Keep the small block :d
Agreed..:thumb: :d
I agree ed in most cases I'd say tune a smaller engine for rally going engines etc but in my case the only time it will ever be abused is up the strip won't be someone who drives it as fast as I can all the time will hopefully be something nice to look at and pose so want best of both worlds! Plus isn't my daily so thought why not! Just your own preference isn't it!
Im bored so will start a debate.....
Banging it in with a hammer imo will weaken it more as in the event of a crash impact, its already weakened and will crease easier as its not straight....
Whereas when you cut it,your welding something back in thats just as strong,if not stronger than original.
Would be interesting to see a crash at 30 using both methods...
Tbh neither is too ideal, welding it creates sharp corners which = stress concentrations, the chassis leg is obviously thinner in that section by design, and the weld has gone through a heat cycle basically hardening the material and thus making it brittle. Basically if you were to put it under stress the first part of the leg to fail will be the corners around the weld on the boxed section, could however make it stronger with perfect welds and thick plate, but that could cause a stress concentration around the whole thing.
Hammer method thins the chassis leg again by design, stretches the metal, and may well cause microscopic tears in the material, it may also have the same effect as shot peening which could make it stronger in the right crash situation due to it being pre stressed into compression and the crash exerting tension forces.
Welding comes out on top because it looks tidier and more professional when done right.
However the really big question is considering the complex shape of a nova at the time and the complete lack of computerised FEA, who says the shape of the chassis is ideal in the first place, box may well be going into a completely useless unstressed section of material.
The law of physics is great and all that but we are talking about a XE in a Nova? lol
Hence my last point lol Although reading it back it sounds like more laws of physics, in simple terms... it probably doesn't matter, but smashing it with a hammer makes you look a tool
I started to hammer mine out before I eventually welded it and some mechanic was stood next to me like - :wtf: lol
brainsnova
06-04-11, 03:32 PM
Weld as you stitch weld the bay anyways
Tbh neither is too ideal, welding it creates sharp corners which = stress concentrations, the chassis leg is obviously thinner in that section by design, and the weld has gone through a heat cycle basically hardening the material and thus making it brittle. Basically if you were to put it under stress the first part of the leg to fail will be the corners around the weld on the boxed section, could however make it stronger with perfect welds and thick plate, but that could cause a stress concentration around the whole thing.
Hammer method thins the chassis leg again by design, stretches the metal, and may well cause microscopic tears in the material, it may also have the same effect as shot peening which could make it stronger in the right crash situation due to it being pre stressed into compression and the crash exerting tension forces.
Welding comes out on top because it looks tidier and more professional when done right.
However the really big question is considering the complex shape of a nova at the time and the complete lack of computerised FEA, who says the shape of the chassis is ideal in the first place, box may well be going into a completely useless unstressed section of material.
or to repeat what i said... both ways are a bodge.....
but mk999, am i right in thinking that cold bending is better than hot bending??
Haha to be fair although physics confuses the hell out of me that actually made sense either way is not ideal but In the end it's just your own preference I guess!
L33 LEG
06-04-11, 04:13 PM
Same IMO. Never understood the fetish for doing it the 'proper' way!
Same again. I hit mine a couple of times with a hammer and it fit in nicely. Only took a few seconds to do and would of been alot tidier job than what i would of done with a welder lol
or to repeat what i said... both ways are a bodge.....
but mk999, am i right in thinking that cold bending is better than hot bending??
Well first you'd have to define hot and cold bending, as 'cold' is anything under 700 degrees for steel. It's more likely to fracture if it's stone cold, as in room temp. Not sure on the details of working steel above 700 degrees, it's normally heat treated afterwards.
Pistol Pete
06-04-11, 06:48 PM
Hammer method is used by people who cant weld or fabricate,anyone can smash summat with a hammer
I can weld. Did a fair bit of the work on my car. My mate did the major front end stuff. For my alt clearance I cut a cross type slit, hammered it back and then welded it up, ground it back and primed. Each to thier own i guess.
andy, this argument will run forever, but each version is actually a bodge. because both will weaken the chassis leg to a degree...
moving the alt. is by far the better option.
Another reason why the HH kit is a good idea i guess??!!
But as you rightly say Mowgli...this debate will roll on.
I machined down the casing,pulley, nut and shaft. The slotted the holes in the alt bracket so it could be moved right on to clear.
Think the cut out looks nasty.
Pete the hh kits dont do anything up that high iirc.
Pistol Pete
06-04-11, 07:01 PM
I machined down the casing,pulley, nut and shaft. The slotted the holes in the alt bracket so it could be moved right on to clear.
Think the cut out looks nasty.
Pete the hh kits dont do anything up that high iirc.
But with this and the seam welding it will help. BUT it is a Nova when all said and done. Crumple zones were not even thought of then!!!
But with this and the seam welding it will help. BUT it is a Nova when all said and done. Crumple zones were not even thought of then!!!
The whole car is a crumple zone, way ahead of its time!
Pete if you think of the way the cut out and welding is done(on the seams) it would/ill bent in the op direction to them.
Pistol Pete
06-04-11, 07:15 PM
The whole car is a crumple zone, way ahead of its time!
lol
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