I wrote about the issue earlier mate, I paid $400 for that Powergen and the bearings last 200 miles, I am hoping Powermaster direct will help as speedway told me it ran out of warranty as It took a year to build the roadster, $400 aint cheap. There isnt more to the story, the warranty ran out and they said that was their poliscy, cost me $400 and did 200 miles, not great value but am contacting Power Master to see if they can help. I know, I hadnt seen that but it took a year to build the Roadster
$400 aint nothing to let go for 200 miles, Speedway didnt help, went to power master who makes them in the end.
Normally SpeedwayMotors is great about warranty. I suspect that you need to talk to someone else from there!!
No Luck at all, so I am buying another from Power Master and will repair the other when I have installed the New one, there is a bearing shop by Mooneyes so will replace them there and keep as a spare. Oh well, but at least I can drive the Roadster still. unless I can find a******en generator that will run well with 12 volts these days.
They usually are but not on this one for some reason, I had a few chats on the phone but, as the warranty is up I am kinda dead in the water, so onwards and upwards.
It would be good to post a followup with the name of the local guy. Ask him if he will do mail order? Wait to you have run it a while so the whole story is included. Charlie Stephens
"Map quest shows you are about 7 miles from Ed Whitney (http://www.ejwhitneyco.com/index.html)? Wonder if he might do repair work on someone else product? As for me personally, I always just use the old generators converted to 12 volts negative ground by a local shop. Charlie Stephens
I have been contemplating the Powergen when I install the V8 in my '55. Now I am not sure if I will or not. Awaiting conclusion of this situation.
If you cant replace a bearing on a generator you kinda have no business driving this type of car. i realize that is going to piss some of you off but its the truth. quick search on here and the ford barn will provide a wealth of part numbers and how-tos on stuff like this. here is another article: https://web.archive.org/web/20160318140329/http://btc-bci.com/~billben/6-12volt.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20160318073106/http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/flathead.htm
^^Post #43 is kinda true^^ because on these old cars and hot rods there is usually something that will need a bit of tinkering from time to time, and finding a mechanic nowadays that can work on older machines can be difficult AND expensive. Most of us can tinker, few can afford to have someone else do the work. That said, watch a couple YouTube "alternator bearing replacement" or "generator bearing replacement" videos and it should give you a pretty good idea on what needs to be done. It really isn't that difficult at all.
I deal with a local electrical shop if I don't have time to fuss with something, get it back in 3 days... not like 8 months.
Some people can design a home but they can't drive a nail......does that mean they shouldn't be allowed to live in a house? Not everyone is mechanically inclined at birth, some of us have to learn it, soak it in and fail numerous times before they are able to complete what you would consider a simple task. It's just a guess but I'll bet you've screwed the pooch while working on a car yourself.....I know I've crossed wires and stripped out some threads in my day....I've even ruined a third member by not setting tolerances correctly....gasp! I didn't learn this stuff over nite and still have plenty more to learn.
Im not interested in starting a******** match but i still consider myself a kid among men here and as i read post where grown men take poles on what to do about a noisy bearing i'm reminded of this sites decline. years ago this post wouldn't have made it to page 2. someone would have cracked a joke, someone would have flamed the dude about not searching, and we wouldn't have to read a dozen different opinions about something that is probably made offshore. Just resembles facebook a little to much. The OP's car is******'en, having said that a part of owning a car like this requires someone competent to maintain it. There are to many idiots on the road as it is, we don't need anyone getting hurt due to improperly adjusted brakes, steering, etc.... If a bearing swap requires this much attention then,.... you kinda see where im going with this.
A one year warranty on electrical components like an alternator seems pretty reasonable to me. They expect that it will be installed right away. If it's out of warranty, there's no reason to expect them to honor that.*****ty bearings are a plague on lots of equipment. $400 would buy a stable of old generators and rebuild kits. The rebuild kit contains brushes and good quality old school bearings.
I would take it apart, just to see what it looked like inside. I have always wondered about those PowerGen's. I would guess they have off shore bearings in them. Go to a local bearing house and pick a couple up, press them on and have a good spare.
Shit, even with the best parts and careful labor there is always something to tinker with on my Ford. New parts ain't what they used to be. Luckily I have good buddies, one of us has a downed car... we get it back up ASAP, no*****ing around, no whimpering.
I feel Speedway was correct in what they did. They sold a product and stood behind it for a year. You made the decision to not use the product in that year. We all take this risk while building a car. Sometimes we get caught by it. Can't fault Speedway at all here. SPark
The Jalopy Journal
