The idea with a tapping screw is to just get something to mostly fill the hole, then replace the plug asap. The rubber washer on a roofing screw might help...if you could get enough torque on it, to not strip, and if it would not bottom out. Neat idea.
My old 318 in my Valiant I drove in high school had three or four block heaters and not one block heater cord…
In my experience with these plugs that are suspect is to pull the engine clean the block and fit new plugs, piece of mind. The one that leaks will be the one you can't get at. JW
Yeah, of course that's what one should do. But when one is preparing a car for a LeMons Rally, we don't always do exactly what we should do.
The new 59-64 Belair radiator came in the mail today. Got it installed, it's now a bolt in, since I did a little trimming of the support, and added some right angle brackets. Notice I added the stocking filter to the upper hose, to catch crud instead of letting it plug up the new radiator. Driving the car during the day, the alternator charges OK, but at night with the lights on, it runs about 12.4 volts, which makes me nervous. This is with the NOS Napa voltage regulator. With the original Motorola regulator, it was running 15 volts most of the time, with occasional spurts to 18v. Not good! So since I can't seem to find a regulator for it, I'm planning to install a 10SI alternator. I have the lower bracket that I think will work to bolt it to the block.
Jim Rockauto has one. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...+l6,1439799,electrical,voltage+regulator,4884 Dan
It might or might not work...the alternator is Motorola, and it seems Motorola made about half a dozen different voltage regulators for various applications of their alternators. The one in your link above doesn't have the yellow wire, which my car has. This is the one I bought, and it has the correct connectors to plug into the Checker. I did some reading about Motorola alternators and regulators on a few Jeep, AMC, and International forums, and only got more confused.
Jim If the Motorola alternator has a number on it I can pin down the correct regulator for it if you still want to use it. The regulator in your picture is wired as follows Green is field to the spade on the alternator brush holder. Black is ground Red is 12v positive Yellow is usually ignition through the idiot light, if the alternator doesn’t have an isolation diode plate attached to the positive battery post on the alternator. It has to have a diode trio to run the idiot light through the yellow wire ( not the isolation diode plate) For over the road convenience and reliability the 10 or 12si is the way to go.
This is an isolation diode plate You can’t use a diode trio regulator on an alternator with the isolation diode plate and vise versa.
Yep now I remember the Motorola alternator, not sure why I was thinking AC Delco, I guess because of the Chevy engine. Good luck . The 10si alternator is only a little more than twice the cost of the regulator. Dan
Dumb ? What is an isolation diode plate and what is its function? Is it to a sure polarity to the idiot light? Dan
To deep for me to get into or explain, isolation diode plate Motorola alternators were usually industrial. I honestly don’t know why they were used. Maybe @Crazy Steve can weigh in cuz it’s over my head. I rebuilt them but can’t answer why Motorola used both systems.
Thank you, not really important, I’m just curious. I understand residential and industrial electrical wiring but sometimes I’m mystified by automotive wiring. Rockauto lists AC Delco alternators with external regulators maybe there is a difference between the Motorola and AC Delco alternators. Dan
I really don't want to mess with it...but now you might see why I was getting confused by the plethora of regulators, and I do recall mention of the diode isolator. The instructions that came with the regulator I got, show how to connect it to a system with zero, one, or two yellow wires. The back of the alternator The alternator numbers, if you can't read it, I can get more pictures. But I still don't want to mess with it. The yellow wire heads over to the firewall... And this is the schematic. The 13A pink wire, that connects to the separate yellow wire on my regulator, heads over to the ignition switch. This car has an ammeter, and no idiot light. Oh..one thing I remember reading about the diode isolation plate, is that the voltage will be wrong if you have the wrong regulator. The diode drops the voltage, and so the regulator needs to have a higher setting to account for that. Which is probably why this one doesn't charge at the correct voltage. Maybe if I just remove the diode and connect directly to the output post it would work? or smoke!
This is the regulator that was on the car. And not working properly, by charging with too much voltage R2CC1 is the model number, I think. The numbers on these included a code for what OEM used it, AM for American Motors, CC for Checker, etc. Up till the early 70s, then they did away with that, and just used a number like R2-1. So the confusion comes in many flavors with this system! AMC usually used the square plugs, while Checker and some marine applications used the round plug pins.
Toss it and go with a 7273 12si 78 amp. You can find them on the road anywhere in case of a breakdown. I’ll check by the alternator # it looks like 8AL 2002
The regulator comes up as a 105-130 OEM which looks like the one you got. I would check the yellow wire and feed it hot and see if it charges.
It is possible that the new style solid state regulator has the diode plate already in it. In effect you would be doubling the plate drop and affecting the voltage output. A straight hot wire from the battery night fix it. Or bypass the diode plate on your pink wire. But a newer less complicated charging system would be a better long term fix.
The diode plate is on the output wire from the alternator, it is not really related to the regulator. The regulator just needs to have the correct internal setting to compensate for having or not having that extra diode in the output. The funky yellow sense wire confusion...they had some setups with an external resistor that would go in series with the yellow wire, I think. The car is going to get a different engine, and a different charging system, so I just need to make it work for a few months. Going to the 10si or 12si alternator will probably happen this coming week.
If it was AMC, I'd say the reason for a parts bin choice was 5 cents less. Motorola was a respected brand back then though and Checker seems to have had longevity and maintenance in mind. You seem to have it covered, hope to see you again next year!
I went on another little adventure today...drove to Tucson, which is 75 miles away, visited FIL an my brother. The car worked fine on the way there. Then on the way home, on the freeway at 70, going up a grade, it cut out like it was starving for fuel. Again. So I pulled over, filter had only a little crap in it, tried blowing air into the tank, it acted plugged. I ended up taking the tube and fitting off the tank, and trying to blow in, and poke a wire in...wire went in 7 inches and stopped solid. I farted around with it a while, and then noticed that fuel was running out in a steady little stream. Got it all connected back together, and ran fine the rest of the way home. I don't know...makes me want to do something else, but not sure what. I guess I could buy that repop gas tank for $700.
The Jalopy Journal
