Two shots of the brackets in place...

 

And lastly flattened out the two bolt hole areas for plenty of clearance between the block and case..That makes the conversion a done deal and ready for install...

 

Those brackets are a work of art. So clean and shiny.

 

Nice work!

 

Like Veeb0rg and DustyWagoneer said nice work.
When I was unsure of which direction I was going to go in, try to get the amps up in a
stock alternator or go with the 160 Durango one, I grabbed a extra set of brackets from the boneyard.
Like you I figured I could grind it down on the bench. Test fit is as I went along.
Only grind as little as absolutely necessary. And hopefully do as clean a job as you did. LOL.
When was overthinking the upgrade of the alternator and battery cables (LOL) I though using 45 and 90 degree ones here and there might help with routing.
Used a 45 at the alternator and the ground on the block.
Used a 90 coming up on the left of the PDC from the alternator, cause I put my mega fuse under the little cover in front of it, and 90 at the starter.
The 90 at the starter was not such a great idea. Should have used a 45.
It is a little tight getting a socket in there if you have to remove the cable.

I do have a question though. About your last picture.
Not really sure what you mean by that.
Did you have to grind the block?

 

Thanks guys..
Yes.. The two stud protrusions on the block are originally rounded and need to be flattened to clear the bigger alternator housing..I didn't use any trick tools for the brackets or block.. A Dewalt 4 inch grinder with a rough grit flapper wheel was the tool of choice..Then some filing and sandpaper.. I used VHT gloss black engine paint for the bracket and engine block touch-up..I had some VHT chemical resistant, cast aluminum paint left over from the transfer case and used that on the bracket after the modifications..
I ended up with a 45* terminal on the starter as well and it's still tight..I actually fastened it to the starter and lowered it into position..I'll post some pics when I get to the 2 gauge wiring routing...I highlighted the machined area on the block..

 

With the alternator in place it's on to the charging system wiring.. Using the 160A unit gets me in the 2 gauge range for thickness..Removing the distribution block cover gets the usual pic..Not much going on there.. To get the second stud for the megafuse I used a modified stainless steel carriage bolt.. Slid into place with a washer to bring the mounting platform level...

 

With the addition of the 175A megafuse brings the need for the new 2 gauge wires.. Routing is from the alternator to the fuse.. From the fuse to the battery.. I'll throw in a pic of the crimp.. It shows the gauge from the crimper jaws.. Too bad it'll be covered by the heat shrink tubing.. I'm going with a 90* terminal{a standard terminal put in a soft vise and bent to whatever angle you need} for the fuse block entrance and exit so I can use the original plastic cover unmodified..

 

I used color coded heat shrink tubing for the terminal ends.. And used some color coded expandable braided sleeving for an added layer of protection.. Even though they were a work of art,I didn't want a bunch of colored wires all over the passenger side of the engine compartment so I added some black convoluted tubing to add a factory style look with just the terminal ends out of each run...The battery terminals are the heavy duty versions of military pieces... I like the option to add more wires if needed{and I will more on that later}.. With the positive charging wire run complete it's on to the negative side...

 

I rerouted the smaller harness wires and they are now in the starter wire convoluted tubing and replaced some of the smaller diameter tubing with new to freshen up the engine bay.. On that subject I found some harness tape that closely resembles the factory harness tape.. It's a reinforced grid type tape like what was used at every tubing joint in the engine bay..I'm going to end up removing a bunch of the original degraded tape for a freshen up around the engine bay..

 

The negative side was upgraded to the 2 gauge as well.. I ended up popping out the fender ground captured nut, took the paint off around the square hole front and back... Then installed a larger bolt using two external tooth star washers.. This made a grounding stud worthy of the wiring system upgrade..Routing for the two runs are engine block to battery, fender stud to battery.. The kit I bought has some nice plastic battery terminal covers I'll throw a pic of those in..

 

Next area of attention is the engine ignition system.. New Champion spark plugs were in order.. Along with an Accel cap and rotor.. Taylor got the nod for the wires, I went with the black 8.2mm thundervolt kit.. This size still fits the factory wiring loom for a clean, factory look while upgrading the spark delivery.. The coil was also replaced while I was in the area with an NGK {OE manufacturer} unit..
That brings the ignition system up to standards with the new build...

 

Great job so far, really enjoying the detail of your posts. What epoxy paint have you been using?

 

Thanks, I'm trying to make everything look good but not go overboard like some of the stuff I've built over the years..
The epoxy paint is VHT all-weather epoxy..
VHT Epoxy link
You can get it at Pep Boys,Advance Auto, Autozone, etc... It's not cheap per can but it's the best coating I've found other than powder coating...There's another epoxy paint packaged as "rollbar" epoxy and it's essentially the same stuff and I interchange it frequently..
I have some 2K black epoxy to mix for the spray gun but it's not worth the hassle unless you have some batches of stuff ready and I'm working on this in my spare time not taking up all the shop space with a full blown resto/mod...And to be honest the catalyzed stuff seems to chip easier with rocks,etc...
On a side note about paints I'm not having good luck with duplicolor paints in general..They've added the ceramic to most all their paints now and although it covers fantastic it chips very easily and even peels/sheets off with time...And yes proper prep was done... So at this point I've been using all VHT paints from Autozone and it holds up as expected..

 

I finished up the battery area with a new battery tray, J bolts, and hold down bracket..I even bought a new thermal cover from mopar.. That should take care of the battery in the engine bay..