After installing hedman headers on a 91 vette and also the air pump eliminator i had to deplete the bracket that ran from the lower alternator to the head, after some time it seems all the tension from the belt has bent the shaft of the alternator, i was wondering if anyone had any experience with this and knows which and if there is a bracket that will work with this setup, the alternator is a powermaster, thanks

 

This has happened to numerous people who have eliminated that bracket during a header install. In some cases I have heard of the alternator casing cracking in half. This is due to the enormous forces of vibration, heat expansion, and belt tension on the alternator. It definitely needs some support there.

What I did, and so far it hasn't failed yet, is throw away the bracket, and reuse the same bolt that used to go into the alterator and the nut that secured the brace to the headers. I put the nut on the bolt to act as a spacer, and I screwed it into the alternator until it pushed the metal support brace towards the alternator. You will need to stack a few washers between the brace and the alternator for this to work, otherwise it will not torque down. This secures the alternator to something that it wasn't secured to before and so far it has worked for me. It seems structurally sound to me but above all else, it's easy.

Others have bent the old brace to secure it to a different header bolt than intended, or they have used a drastically longer bolt to move the brace close enough to get it on another bolt. This method is by far the easiest and makes for the cleanest engine bay.