# OT - My Other Hobby, My New Development



## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

As many on this forum know, one of my other hobbies is old Corvettes. I've had this one for 28 years now.



One of the problems with the pre-1969 small block Chevys (mouse motor) is that they need good headers to breath. But the accessories, including the alternator, were hung from bosses in the exhaust manifolds. When you add headers, you no longer have anyplece to attach your accessories. After 1968 Chevy added, and all aftermarket heads now have, accessory holes tapped in the front of the heads to attach brackets to hang this stuff from.

You can see the lenghts I've gone to here to stiffen things up a bit. Note that the double J-bar (as opposed to single used by everybody else with a Chevy), extra welded stiffener brackets, and spherical rod tied to the third header bolt, all of my own design, the alternator still visually torques as the engine revs.



Because variations of these early cylinder heads were only made between 1955 and 1968, and many have been changed out over time to the later designs, these cars have been largely ignored and there is not enough market share for the big boys to change the same crap they've been making for the last 55 years. There is one universal design that has been used over and over and never changed, because it works..., sort of.

All of the current offerings are stamped from Taiwnese or Chinese 3/16" steel. The tolerances are sloppy and the holes are distorted in the stamping process. The better looking ones are the weaker ones, and the ugly ones aren't much better. I figure that they've had 55 years to come out with something better, so if they were going to do it, they would have done it by now. So, why both with me?

But I'm just looking for a small nitche market of users with higher powered engines who tweak, crack, and break the old style brackets regularly. Also, based on the old design and cheap metalurgy, they flex both at the base, and at the folds like the bellows on an accordion throwing the alternator out of alignment and causing the belt to squeal. These can go from $10-$70 and I'm looking to keep costs down and hit the middle part of the range, but offer a far superior ALL AMERICAN product. I'm sure there is a nitche for this. 

So, things are tough all over and I found a CNC facility who would do a CNC/plasma prototype for just $... that I received today. Obviously there will be a savings with quantity and I'll make it look a bit nicer and offer an optional billet aluminum spacer that can be polished to a high luster. My design tucks the alternator in a bit closer and a bit lower for those with tight engine bays. But there is still room between the valve cover and bracket to get a bolt on. If someone wants to retain their existing placement, and not deal with a slightly shorter belt (another benefit for those who make real power), I will make a billet aluminum spacer. This will be the first time EVER that a billet aluminum "header-mount" will be offered.

The first sample of the Header Power Bracket was received today and this looks promising. Though their tolerances aren't quite as good as I had hoped, they are fine and still much better than the competition. In fact, it will make it easier to install if other tolerances are less than perfect elsewhere due to core shift of the engine block or ???


I still need to put it on the car and check for clearances (maybe for tweaks) and this requires that I pull the headers back to get clearance to remove the front bolt (pull back the headers as you unscrew the bolt), or I could knock a small dent into the pipe (but hate to do that).


I hope I can get to it in the next few days.


Meanwhile, if you've got a serious mouse motor, and don't have any holes in your head or just want to clean up the area in front of your nice clean heads so people can see them, then this may be for you.
First, all the other garbage (and this is the better garbage):



Now the Header Power Bracket:



Shown here below the "other guy." Note how I put more meat down underneath that "prys" against the header flange that I found to be one point of flex.




And if you don't think the "other guy" flexes when real muscle is applied, think of this next time your belt squeaks. These should be flat together. Obviously, ours is on top.


Even if you don't want to use it to mount the alternator as intended, it serves as a firm base for your own design.
Does your Mouse Motor Muscle Car deserve less?


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Umm, I dunno,Todd. I had a '59 Vette (Roman Red with white coves) and one of the first things I did was bolt on a set of Hedman headers, which fit just fine. As I got crazier (.060 over bore, JE pistons, Herbert roller cam, 6 Stromberg 48s on an Edelbrock manifold) I had a local guy make me up a set of custom headers, which dumped into huge cans located just behind the front wheels. The open exhaust option allowed you to remove a cap held on by a nut, so you could run at the drags or just annoy the **** out of your neighbors. Capped, the headers y-ed into the exhaust system. I sold that car for $1,400 when I went in the military sent me overseas. Wish I had her now. BTW, the aformentioned setup never ran worth a damn (the engine was way overcarbureted, the lifters over-oiled and fouled the plugs) and I utlimately switch to a single, large throat Holley, replaced the Herbert with a Chevy cam and drove to car to work at the Chevy plant where I put piston assemblies (pistons, rods, caps) in 283 V-8s. But I digress. 

Your bracket looks great and I wish you well with you endevor. Have you contacted any of the rod magazines that may have a product section? Don't know much about other hotrod related car mags as I switched to sports cars and road racing when I went to Road & Track.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I like the older ones two. The newer ones just are not appealing to me. Many Many years ago A friend offered me his Corvette at a reasonable price. I went to get a auto load at the bank. The load officer denied me the loan and went that very afternoon and bought the car. That is the closest I ever came to owning a Corvette. He hit some ice two months later and totaled the car. I would never had taken that car out in winter for that very reason. 

JJ


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice 64 Vette Todd. It's great that you've been able to keep it for so long. 

The first Corvette I got to drive was my sister's 64 Vette. 

Although I've used the header type alternator brackets in the past and have sold quite a few, I don't recall ever have a complaint about them flexing. 


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Some pictures of my other hobby, from a past life, when I was young and foolish...



















And broke! 


Oh well, while I'm at it, I might as well show you this one--a nice clean engine compartment, once I learned how to build an engine that wouldn't self destruct...


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Nice alternate hobby. I must say that my all time favorite Corvette is the 1963 split rear window model.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

In these pictures you can see how my new bracket ties into the system. The flex in the old-style brackets let the alternator flex and bend enough such that you can see where the the top of the exhaust pipe has been rubbed raw from the alternator bracket, removing the ceramic coating in that area.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Tom, nice TR, if ya like DP. As a showroom stock guy--retired, like youself--I had all I could handle just replacing brake pads, although I once replaced a left front wheel bearing before the Renault Cup race in Portland. Fun times, but pretty expensive these days. That's why we're in model trains, right?


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

No grass grows under my feet.
With the initial sucess of the prototype, we modified the design a bit for both functionality and aesthetics. 

My original design is based on modification of the 55 year old design. Further modification then led to a right-hand side unit.

I then had a request for a custom piece for a difficult installation. The owner's headers turned back so quickly and the flanges were so thick, that he could barely get the bolt in, even without any bracket in place. No way could he have used any of the available mounts. This led me to an entirely new design that has never previously offered. We now offer and extended bracket that uses the forward bolt from the #3 cylinder rather than the rear bolt of the #1 cylinder that totally alleviates this problem and makes most installations far easier.



With the brackets done, it was time to turn my attention to the optional billet aluminum spacers. This is the first time that billet aluminum has EVER been offered with a header-mount system. 

Yesterday I went down to see the machinist just as he was loading up the first billet blank for the spacers. We spent the afternoon cutting a couple demos, fitting them to the three brackets, and tweaking the measurements by the thousandths to get the best fit before locking in the final design. I didn't have time to stay for them to be cut, but brought home the prototype, still on its billet base, which will be cut off in the next step.


This is unpolished and this is the way they come out of the Fadal CNC machine. It fits the entire line of Header Power Bracket brackets.


They will be available either smooth, ribbed, or mall milled. Note that you can flip the ribbed or ball-milled pieces upside down and run the smooth side on top where you see it if desired. They are symetrical both left and right and up and down.


Right now pricing is at $30 for either a left or right Header Power Bracket, $35 for an extended left or right bracket, and $30 for the billet alumimum spacer ($35 for ribbed or ball milled) that attaches using a 1/4-20 thread.
The header power bracket works with all true Chevy small blocks, even later years that typically employ the accessory bolt holes located in the front of the heads.
This just may be the first header bracket system that you'll want to use, even if you have accessory bolt holes, instead of cluttering up the front of your heads.


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## lathroum (Jan 2, 2008)

I have a 1986 Corvette... 

I call it my new old car... 

before that I had a 
1965 Mustang 
1965 Fairlane 
1966 Fairlane Convertible 
1955 Ford Courier (sedan Delivery/2 door wagon)


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

My last corvette was a 58 with a big block, doug-nash 5 speed and a ford 9"rear, 0 to 122mph in 10.7 seconds (1/4 mile times) in Pennsylvania street legal trim. (full exhaust, DOT tires no slicks)


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By lathroum on 22 Jan 2012 11:50 AM 
I have a 1986 Corvette... 

I call it my new old car... 

before that I had a 
1965 Mustang 
1965 Fairlane 
1966 Fairlane Convertible 
1955 Ford Courier (sedan Delivery/2 door wagon) 

We have a '91 that I bought new for my wife and still have, now with about 65K miles. The car has every single option offered with the automatic transmission. C4s are probably about the best bang for the buck right now. Where else could you find something this nice with this much performance for under $12K (and often under $6K for an earlier so so car)?









Sorry, but my brackets don't work on Fords, only true small block Chevys.









Thanks


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

Tom M. - 

What are the carbs on your Triumph? My first reaction was "Hey! SU carburetors!! I think I still have the wire gizmos I used for tuning 'em up on my P1800!". But that was almost fifty years ago, and the more I think about it, the more I'm not sure if they're SUs or Solexes, or what. 

JackM


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## lathroum (Jan 2, 2008)

my 1986 Vette has just over 50k miles... I've had it about 3 years now...

Kinda strange options on mine... auto trans, power windows, power mirrors, no power locks... and cloth seats...

got it for $5000... nice looking car too...

definitley the best bang for the buck out there right now... even the auction guys on Barret Jackson said so...



Philip


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

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After watching some of the Barret Jackson auctions I know I sold my corvettes way too soon. I could of had a reeeeeeal nice collection of Aster Engines........


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

We've been pushing on with this idea and have developed a new product line for vintage Chevys, the Header Power Bracket. Today we launched our new web site and would like some feedback. Thanks guys.

Header Power Bracket


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