Magnificent W11 Sold In US

[allymally]

Driving these cars is what its all about I would not buy either of the cars in the links! even if I had the money.
A spot on replica would indeed be expensive, around £60/70K I would estimate.

Bye for now All the very best

Happy Christmas to All xxx

[gbilawsky]

Jon,

My apologies. I forgot to respond to your question regarding the alternator. The alternator is manufactured by Denso and distributed by NSA in the US. Here's the part number: NSA ALT-5021. And, here's a link to the NSA Catalog that has the specifications. Just enter ALT-5021 in the search field:

http://kwikfinder.net/nsa/
http://www.nsaproducts.com/products.html

Glenn

[Westfield 129]

Another alternative alternator is the Kubota forklift alternator. I use one from WPS. It's a copy from China, but has been incredibly reliable for the last 15K miles. Very small and light, with plenty of power to run halogen lights. You can pay anywhere from $300 (Genuine, excellent ND), down to $80 USD (My WSD, which has worked perfectly well being turned to 6500 RPM daily) for this alternator. PN 12189N. The thing puts out more than twice the power of the old Lucas, weighs half as much, and so far has outlasted 5 of the Lucas units, which had constant failures of the regulator and rectifier, as well as bearing problems when revved constantly to 6000 RPM. So far, the WSP is doing perfectly well. I have used several of these in the last few years, with excellent success. At less than $100 for a powerful, lightweight, compact alternator, this is an amazing bargain.

Both alternators (the ND listed by gbilawsky, a Suzuki Samurai or Subaru part, also available at a bargain price from WSP), and the WSP forklift type need a slight modification to the cast forward case mount tab, and a turnbuckle adjustment that will need to be fabricated using a LH/RH threaded sleeve, and a pair of LH/RH thread rod ends.

The Forklift alternator needs no aft mounting. It attaches to the water pump tab only, cleaning up the side of the engine, and eliminating the custom built rear tab that the larger Suzuki or Subaru part requires. This sort of mounting has been done here for over a decade, with no problems.

Modification for installation of the alternator is covered in the build album on the Westyxiownersbuildersdrivers site, and in the LAST XI album on the Westfield_Eleven site. You can do this with a hand file, or you can have expensive machine work. I used a file on three of them so far. Perfect alignment.

[jonclancy]

Thanks Glenn - I thought it was.

DB Electrical in the US supply a Denso copy for just over £40 delivered to a US address - eBay link below. All that's needed is a turnbuckle and bolt (and to sort the wiring). Another side-project that's been on the radar for a while...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... ink:top:en

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-ALTERNATO ... 53eb04c12c

[Westfield 129]

Same unit that I am currently using. Excellent deal, btw.

Mounting requires a small cut at the inside facing of the alternator forward mounting tab to align. This is noted in my build albums, or is easily determined by eye when you get the alternator (right around 1/8~3/16" or so) The mounting hole may need to be drilled as well for a fractional bolt (I like to have all the same type of fasteners on my cars). I did the original cut with a cutoff tool, then finished level with a hand file. Any alignment adjustment can be accomplished with a shim washer, if necessary.

Custom made pulleys are also available, which may eliminate any need to cut the alternator mount.

Turnbuckle adjustment is easy, especially if you use hex stock for the turnbuckle. The alternator can be adjusted by hand or with a spanner.

This s a surprisingly quick bit of work to do the conversion. Maybe an hour or less. Also very satisfying, especially when you check the voltage from the alternator, and find all that extra room on the cool side of the engine. Very neat. Wiring is simple. Just don't hook the 12v exciter to the light circuit. It blows the warning light... But the thing will still make volts. Don't ask... Good thing that the rectifier/regulators are cheap.

[gbilawsky]

Well...she's finally finished and now can be called magnificent for those who are inclined to do so. Still awaiting the single cockpit bodywork, windscreen and hardware from the factory to complete that conversion. Attached are some shots I took today.

[gbilawsky]

A few more shots...

[alleggerita]

Glenn,

That is a fantastic looking car! I wonder how the engine is looking. Did you get the fuel injection to work?

What is this black pod on the dash top behind the steering wheel?

[gbilawsky]

We have made further gains on the fuel injection issues, but it is still not totally resolved to our satisfaction The car is going into a performance tuning center this week to iron out the final quirks. The small black pod on the dash is a camera mount that was installed by the prior owner. I forgot to tell the paint shop to close the holes and paint over it. I may use it again at some point, so no real harm done.

[Splat]

Wow!