pmd... again... I really need that bracket!

 

Just payed the balance

 

Full payment sent!

Thanks

James

 

Okay. I'm still waiting on the M12 fasteners to show up (maybe today or Monday, I'm told), but I went ahead and bought 15 from the local hardware store at 3x the price, so we can get the ball rolling. The first set of rod ends showed up, but there were only 9 instead of 10 (sorry, Lloyd!). Another set of 15 are on their way and will be here, hopefully, sometime next week. I wish I could be more sure, but my supplier is proving less than reliable. Anyway, I have 9 sets of tensioners all ready to go and enough fasteners for 15 orders. Below is the list of orders:

(1) Mark in Ashland, OH (+ tensioner)
(2) Matthew in Snellville, GA (+ tensioner)
(3) Matthew in Snellville, GA (+ tensioner)
(4) Matthew in Snellville, GA (no tensioner)
(5) Jason in Owensboro, KY (+ tensioner)
(6) Michael in Charlotte, NC (+ tensioner)
(7) Drew in Bothell, WA (no tensioner) PAID
(8) Chuck in Fort Wayne, IN (+ tensioner) PAID
(9) Kenneth in Norwalk, CT (no tensioner)
(10) Gregory in Springfield, VA (+ tensioner)
(11) Elio in Manassas, VA (+ tensioner) PAID
(12) Mac in San Diego, CA (no tensioner) PAID
(13) James in Laredo, TX (+ tensioner) PAID
(14) Lloyd in Carnation, WA (+ tensioner) PAID
(15) Thomas in Loma Linda, CA (tensioner waiting list)
(16) James in Roebuck, SC (tensioner waiting list)
(17) Christopher in Nacogdoches, TX (tensioner waiting list)
(18) Milton in Benton, AR (tensioner waiting list)
(19) Oscar in Nassjo, Sweden (tensioner waiting list) PAID

Basically, the first 13 orders are ready to ship, upon final payment. Of those, five have paid in full and will go out today, for sure. The others among those first 13 will have until Tuesday to pay in full before they lose their priority status on the tensioners and get moved to the wait list so that someone more prompt in their payment gets their order filled. Anyone that ordered just the bracket and not the tensioner will get therir order shipped upon final payment. Everyone will have at least a couple weeks to pay in full before we bump them out of the Group Buy entirely.

One other thing: I never found a readily available substitute for the factory A/C bracket spacers, used over the studs on the front cover. Mazda doesn't sell them anymore. I got a handful of 3/8" drill bushings ($1.27 each) that I bored out to fit the fasteners, but I couldn't get enough. Home Depot sells a nylon spacer that is 1/2 inch ID and 3/8 thick that only cost $0.50 each and would work fine. Please tell me if you already have some factory A/C bracket spacers, so I can omit them from your order and send the substitutes to someone who really needs them. Thanks.

--
Blake Qualley

 

Oh yeah, one more time:

Bracket $50
Tensioner $15
Priority Shipping (US only) $7.70

If you paid the $10 deposit and ordered only the Bracket, your balance is $47.70.
If you paid the $10 deposit and ordered both the Bracket and Tensioner, your balance is $62.70.

 

Blake, How does the Shipping combine.

I got 3, Here or PM and I will get you paid.

 

Oh yeah...all three will ship for the cost of one.

 

Yeah, I am gonna need those spacers .....

I can throw you a lil extra for it if you need it!

Thanks!

James

 

I dunno if you shipped mine out already since you said some were going out today, but I no longer have the spacers either. If you sent it out already I'll just find them at home depot myself I guess.

 

No, we'll cover it. I just don't have enough to go around so I was hoping some people who hoard nuts and bolts, like myself, would have some and, thus, let the few go to those who really need them. I'm on my way to Home Depot right now to get more of the nylon ones, or find more metal drill bushings if they restocked. In the future, I'll probably have to have the damn things CNC'd, unless I can find something better off-the-shelf. I just expected to find something by now, so I didn't do that sooner. D'oh! It really amazes me how much detail crap there is to putting together even a simple bracket. Seven vendors (laser cutting, bending, rod ends, fasteners, steel supply, powder coating, etc.) a couple long days on the lathe, and half a day of welding. But most of the time was spent chasing down loose ends. After this group buy, I'm going to sit down and see how to simplify this process.

 

They are in there. I'm presuming people don't have them unless they say so.

 

Cool, thanks man!

 

blake,

send me a PM on what fasteners you are using... I am sure i can get you much better pricing than you are getting now.... esp if you are aquiring them from the Home Depot

 

No, we get great pricing through our fastener supplier...it's just that some metric stuff has to be ordered from manufacturers far and wide and that requires leadtime. I only go to Home Depot or, preferably, Parkrose Hardware (our local hardware store with a whole metric isle), if I need something TODAY. These fasteners are somewhat oddball because they are considered "fine threads": M12x1.5 instead of M12x1.75 and M10x1.25 rather than M10x1.5. I wanted button heads, but they just are not available anywhere in that thread-pitch, so we had to settle for hex heads (socket heads would be a clearance problem). It also took longer because there was a mixup and we had to send something back.

 

Payment sent. Requested the Spacers for one set only.

thanks

 

so let us know as they ship. im waiting on mine so i can finish running my fmic piping. i want it to clear so im gonna wait. i have plenty of other stuff to do in the mean time but i would still like to know when to expect it at my door.

thanks.

 

Got my bracket in today already mounted it. Looks great and fits perfectly with my FD Alternator everything lines up perfect. Thanks Blake.

 

Got min in the mail today as well, looks great!

Will be installing it tomorrow, thanks again.

 

Same here

Thanks!

 

Friday, I shipped:

Drew in Bothell, WA (dDub)
Mac in Oceanside, CA (13btnos)
Elio in Manassas, VA (KNONFS)
James in Laredo, TX (Wankel7)

Today, I shipped:

Chuck in Fort Wayne, IN (SS124A)
Matthew in Snellville, GA (Hades12)
Michael in Charlotte, NC (sleeperfc)
Jason in Owensboro, KY (?)

These are all the Paid In Full orders, so far, that are not on the waiting list for a tensioner. If those with priority status on the last couple tensioners remaining do not pay by COB (close of business) tomorrow, Tuesday, July 18th, then they will be moved to the waiting list for the tensioners and the next guy down the line that has paid in full will get his (Lloyd). Those that ordered just the bracket will have their order shipped just as soon as the payment is complete.

 

I have not provided instructions with the brackets, but hopefully it all makes sense. Here is a quick overview of the parts supplied and how they go on.

Every bracket comes with a ziploc bag with three bolts and two spacers. One pair of bolts are M10 and the other one is an M12. The smaller pair of bolts fit the front cover holes where the A/C bracket studs were. The spacers go between the bracket and the front cover, so the bracket is on the same plane as the front side housing. The M12 fastener, for the front side housing, does not need a spacer.

If the A/C and front side housing studs are still in place, you can remove them with (1) a proper stud puller socket or (2) by tightening two nuts against each other and then wrenching the nuts with the stud counterclockwise. Many times, the front side housing studs are only finger-tight, but the front cover studs are usually in there pretty good. I recommend you remove both front side housing studs, even though only one of the holes is being utilized for a fastener.

The tensioner kit comes in a single ziploc bag, with the tensioner, two M8 bolts and two washers. The washers go between the bracket/alt and the tensioner, so that it is spaced-out enough to turn freely. Both nuts turn the same direction, so if one rotates forward to loosen and backwards to tighten, so will the other. The barrel of the tensioner can be turned one way to extend and the other to retract, then the nuts should be tightened against it to "jam" it against loosening. It should be self-explanatory. Note: you will probably have to have the tensioner disconnected at one end to fit the belt, then reconnect and then tension the belt. There is no way to have both a good range of tensioning and the extra range to install the belt, with this setup. The beauty of it, as you will discover, is in the ability to fine-tune the belt tension. Be carefull not to overtighten, however. It's really easy to do if you are not carefull.

The long alternator bolt should be inserted rear-to-front, as the oil lines may interfere. Use your stock alternator spacer, just as it is used with the stock WP mount. Tighten the nut and bolt firmly, as the steel insert in the alternator needs to slide a tad to make the fitment perfect. if you don't tighten it enough to move the steel insert, the alternator may flex a little on the mount...not a big deal, but be aware of it. If you can't seem to get the alternator with the stock spacer to fit over the bracket boss, take it out and hammer back that steel spacer a bit. If you notice the end of the alternator bolt touching the oil line, be sure to wrap something around the oil line so that the bolt does not rub a hole in it! On one of my cars, there was plenty of clearance but on my REPU with the custom SS braided oil lines, it was close enough that I zip-tied a piece of rubber on the line just to be safe.

Any questions?

 

Just got word that the new supply of rod ends is expected Thursday morning, but I'm not holding my breath...probably Friday or, at the latest, the following Monday. All the center (hex) sections are made, so it's just a matter of screwing them in and mailing them off. Again, if one of the first nine tensioner orders does not pay by COB tomorrow (Tuesday, July 19th), then their priority spot for the tensioner will pass to the next paid order in line on the wait list, and they will be bumped down to the wait list.

 

Got my stuff today and it looks great! Thanks again Blake....

You know how to run a GB!

Good job!

James

 

paid in full

 

Here's a pic of mine installed. FC n/a engine with RB main underdrive pulley and FD alt with hIGGI dual alt pulley fitted for FD alt on FC.



The Gates XL 7370 didn't work for me, though, and I had to go with a 7380. 7375 would've worked better, but they were out of them and had 7380 so I gave it a shot and it was good, got close to the frame, though.

Also I know I don't need the dual belts anymore, but I figured since I already had the hIGGI dual pulley I might as well just put both belts on for *****

EDIT
Here's a couple more showing more of the engine bay.