fan belt replacement

R

REByar

Member
I am in the process of replacing the alternator and belt on a 1930 Model A motor(installed in my 1928 sedan by the previous owner) The belt is getting brittle and the alternator is in poor condition. My question is what size belt should I buy? The one I have is a modern belt that is cogged. One vendor states 43" another said a 44". Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
i would take the belt off
and take it to the dealer
Napa is a good one ,and let them measure it
if it fits fine now ,a new one will fit just as good
what you have now is anyones guess
tom
 
NAPA sells a cog belt for Model A's that works great. It is listed in their book for 1929-1931 Ford Model A's.
 
I did the cog-belt thing from NAPA and found that the belt rode too low in the groove and I was having problems adjusting the generator to take up the slack.

Complaining to my friend Tam (of the Model A Parts vendor Tam's) about this he asks if I had an original fan or a later fan (later aftermarket but not aluminum) Then he asks if I was running a long generator or a power house (long)

"Here" he says "try this," handing me a belt.

"A lot of trouble sizing a belt now since a lot of the aftermarket belts are now being manufactured to metric standards - and being named a "B" section belt but are not."

He also indicated that I would do best to remove the generator pulley and slip the belt and pulley on together. "It would go on easiest this way" he said.

It went EXACTLY as he said. And surprisingly, his belt was about $2 less than the cog belt from NAPA.

So I bought two more the next time I saw him at Amherst.

Success is where you find it though.

Joe K
 
Since the alternator is in 'poor' condition, are you replacing it too ? If so, have you considered installing a generator ?
 
1930 coupe said:
When model A's were new they all used a 43 inch belt. My car had original crankshaft pulley and original generator and original two blade fan and a 43 inch belt fit perfect. I removed the original fan and replaced it with a new aluminum two blade fan and the 43 inch belt would not go on, the pulley on the new fan had the same outside diameter as the old fan but the belt rode higher in the grove than it did in the old pulley. So I had to get a 44 inch belt. So with all the reproduction pulleys and fans out there, the belt that fits my car may or may not fit your car. You just have to try different sizes and see what fits YOUR car.
Click to expand...

I took the belt off of our '30 Roadster today, pretty snug fit. With the generator shoved all the way against the motor, still had to struggle to get it off. Running a new aluminum two blade fan.

Can't see who the mfg. was. Only numbers on belt are ' 42-6324'.

I assume the "42" is the length. Looks like a 44 inch may be in order here too. Can't be healthy to have that kind of a bind against the bearings. This is on an Autolite long genny.

What do you guys run? I have very little room for deflection as in there ain't any as they say! Thanks,
 
You can take your belt to the store and buy the next size longer. If your belt was too tight a belt 1" longer should be plenty long. 1" makes a big difference on the Model A.
 
dont get too long of a belt tho as the generator may rub the lower water pipe and or the pulley/belt rub on the rubber hose between the water pipe and lower radiator outlet.

good to know about the aluminum fans belt riding higher!
 
That must be what's going on. Put a new two blade aluminum fan on some time back, now when I'm taking off the fan belt it is a lot tighter to get off the generator pulley. 42" belt.

Will seek out a 43" belt thanks for the feedback.
 
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