While I was waiting for this alternator to show up, I was looking real hard at what options I would have available if that #1 ignition coil was in the way of the alternator mounting up properly. And options were pretty slim.
First off, the MSD coils I already have from several years ago might work, but come to find out that these were made back when MSD was having a lot of problems with quality control from the place making them for them. These all have the part number of "8245" which has since been superseded by the part number "8285". Apparently the 8245 coils were made in the USA by a company that had some issues, whereas the 8285 coils are being made in China which is producing a much better quality product. Go figure.....
So it appears if I needed to use the MSD coils for fitment issues, I would have to buy a new set. At the tune of $620.
Plus there is also the issue that apparently the MSD coils tend to draw more current from the ignition wiring harness, which is recommended to be fixed by utilizing an additional wiring harness (MSD part number 88867) that provides more current to the coils. That would be another $50.
While looking at coils, I noticed that the ignition coils for the LS2/3/7/9 engines are shaped in such a way that they would completely solve the clearance issues I might be having. They are nearly straight up and down on the left side of the coil mounting holes. Seemed like this would be the solution for me, but for a couple of snags. For one, the mounting holes are spaced differently from the coils for the LS1/6 family. So to make them work, it looks like I would need different valve covers. Of course, the valve covers I have were modified by Aaron Scott to put a breather between the two covers to relieve pressures when the engine is under boost conditions. Now that is bad enough, but then there is the issue of ignition dwell timing. That is the amount of time that a coil is drawing current through the primary wiring and controls the length of time of the actual spark through the spark plug.
As best I can tell, the dwell timing is different between the LS1/6 family of ignition coils and the later generations of engines. I don't know how much between the LS2 thru LS9 generation, however. But suffice to say, that my using those later generation of coils would mean dinking around with the tuning in order to change the dwell timing in the tune. I actually sent out feelers asking people about this, including Mike Carnahan, who originally helped me with the tune on the C5Z, and have yet to get any responses from anyone. So that would mean I might be shooting in the dark if I wanted to take that path.
So, right now, the best path for me seems to be to just find an alternator that will fit and call it a day. If the one I ordered from Advance Auto doesn't fit, I will have to pull off the old one and take it somewhere and say "I need an alternator just like this one" and see how that goes.
Or perhaps there is someplace nearby that will actually rebuild my old alternator. Assuming I look into this and it's not something I want to tackle myself.
Anyway, been another learning experience looking into this stuff.
