Alternator bracket: PI intake on NPI car

delling3 · Nov 25, 2020

Started tearing things down to do a cam and intake swap, and ran into a head scratcher. My car is a '96. I had understood that the alternator bracket is not a direct swap to a PI intake, due to variations in bolt spacing. So, I just took my bracket and matched it up with the FRPP PI Intake and the bolt holes match up perfectly. Having a difficult time understanding what I am seeing here. Can anyone help?

96blak54 · Nov 25, 2020

If they match up perfectly.....roll with it!
But i have to ask about your curiosity. Are you thinking this new intake isnt correct or the old intake wasnt correct?

delling3 · Nov 25, 2020

Naw, clearly the intake on the car is an NPI type, and the new one is just as clearly PI. Just everything I saw said that the brackets wouldn’t transfer. My bracket looks different from OEM though.

lwarrior1016 · Nov 25, 2020

I’m pretty sure that’s going to be a difference between intakes with the plastic crossover vs the aluminum crossover. My 98 had an aluminum crossover and the bracket swapped to the pi intake just fine.

delling3 · Nov 26, 2020

I have to assume that my car had a broken manifold that was replaced at some point - it clearly is an NPI intake but has the aluminum crossover. I have heard reports of some late NPI cars already having the aluminum crossover, but mines a 96. Here is a picture of the bracket - as you can see it has a "fin" which extends back from the alternator mount.

You can see the bracket in this shot. It covers some of the lines that cross over from side to side between the alternator and the throttle body/plenum. I have never seen a Mustang with this type bracket, but based on the part number, I think it's a Dorman part number - probably came with the replacement intake.