Interesting alternator swap
#1
Interesting alternator swap
A friend was racing his 951 yesterday and before the first race his battery died. Looks like his alternator was toast. So I pulled the alternator from my spare car and rushed over to do a quick swap.
When I got to the car this is the alternator they showed me:
When I got to the car this is the alternator they showed me:
#2
Turns out the previous owner cut down the stock 951 mount to fit this much smaller alternator. So now we had the much larger 951 alternator to install and a handful of problems to solve before we could install it (space out the mount, get a new belt, figure out how to tension it without the stock tensioner, etc.)
But first we thought we would try to identify the old alternator. There were no brand names, no numbers, no casting marks on the old one so really we had no way identify what it came out of. I speculated that it was from a 1983 944 but really didn't have a clue. I took it to a local parts store and together we went through pages and pages of pictures of alternators to see what it came out of. After a 1/2 hour we found it .......it's a Suzuki Swift alternator! For racing it makes full sense as these alternators are cheap and in good supply whereas the 944 alternator takes a week to find and cost a bundle - not something good to have when you are racing on a weekend and in need of an alternator. We had to drill out the upper mounting holes for the 951 10mm bolt but other than that it fit pretty good. I know on 951's with big turbos we have to grind down the case of the alternator to get them to fit. Would a conversion like this make sense? Or is it not powerful enough for day to day driving?
But first we thought we would try to identify the old alternator. There were no brand names, no numbers, no casting marks on the old one so really we had no way identify what it came out of. I speculated that it was from a 1983 944 but really didn't have a clue. I took it to a local parts store and together we went through pages and pages of pictures of alternators to see what it came out of. After a 1/2 hour we found it .......it's a Suzuki Swift alternator! For racing it makes full sense as these alternators are cheap and in good supply whereas the 944 alternator takes a week to find and cost a bundle - not something good to have when you are racing on a weekend and in need of an alternator. We had to drill out the upper mounting holes for the 951 10mm bolt but other than that it fit pretty good. I know on 951's with big turbos we have to grind down the case of the alternator to get them to fit. Would a conversion like this make sense? Or is it not powerful enough for day to day driving?
#5
I have been searching for sometime to find an alternator that will fit nicely with the top stock bracket. This one looks like a good fit. What year Suzuki Swift is this alternator for? If I can find one with 80 amps or so I might be doing the same conversion.
#6
Do you happen to have pictures of the alternator ducting? I found a random duct in my front bumper area that leads nowhere and Im thinking that I am missing part of the ducting to the alternator.
#7
Originally Posted by The DareDevil
Do you have the proper duct work for the 951 alt. you installed? It's crucial to the longevity of the alt.
Last edited by SoloRacer; 07-08-2007 at 09:24 PM.
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#8
Originally Posted by 5speed300
Do you happen to have pictures of the alternator ducting? I found a random duct in my front bumper area that leads nowhere and Im thinking that I am missing part of the ducting to the alternator.
#9
Originally Posted by The DareDevil
Do you have the proper duct work for the 951 alt. you installed? It's crucial to the longevity of the alt.
#11
Originally Posted by SoloRacer
I don't but I can see if I can find one for you. The problem is the ducting is really only visable from the bottom.
#12
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Doesn't the ac delete bracket not only removes the ac compressor but also lowers the alternator? wouldn't a bigger turbo fit nicely then?
#14
Originally Posted by hosrom_951
Doesn't the ac delete bracket not only removes the ac compressor but also lowers the alternator? wouldn't a bigger turbo fit nicely then?
#15
Hey Man
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The one thing that people seem to be missing is that the alternator in the pic has failed. Ask yourself, why did an alternator that looks fairly new and has no age patina on the copper windings fail? It may be nice to have a smaller alternator for track use, but that thing looks new to me. Cooling shrouds aside, in a long list of replacement alternatives, I think Suzuki would be my last choice unless Lucas Electric was still in business.