Technical Generator or Alternator

I've got a modern 130 amp alternator on my '57 Chrysler. It kind of has that early alternator look, nothing like a '70s GM unit. I want the car to look like an early '60s custom, so maybe it works okay? I'm sure someone out there hates it. But the factory generator sat front and center on the intake and (along with that big ugly air cleaner) becomes the dominant feature of the engine compartment. Plus the stock generator was HUGE and makes any kind of intake swap a problem.

before/after

 

local cruising cars get generators, road trips vehicle running major distances I run alternators.

 

"The contact points of a regulator will not operate indefinitely without some attention. It has been found that a great majority of all regulator trouble can be eliminated by a simple cleaning of the contact points." <----- Delco Service Bulletin. Don't use the el-cheapo regulators.

Use a spoon or riffler file to dress points, not sandpaper or emery paper. Clean point surfaces off with Trike or Naptha.

I wouldn't hesitate to take a long trip with a generator so long as I know everything is straight, it's just like anything else as far as that goes. Vintage cars ain't for everybody, plus, if you start to worry about everything that could possibly go wrong, you'll never get out of the garage.

 

"My '59 El Camino is still running a generator. A while ago, I switched from points ignition to Pertronix. Now, sometimes when sitting at idle, the voltage will drop too low and the engine will die without warning, especially on a warm night with the headlights on. It always starts right back up and if I remember to keep the revs up a little, it will stay running. It's mostly just a nuisance. One of these days I will switch to a PowerGen alternator. This will keep the look of the generator and allow me to avoid the hassle of changing all the bracketry."

Sounds like you need to go back to points!

 

I've been running a generator for the last 10 years with no issues .

 

Was there anything visually remarkable about those early police/taxi alternators – I couldn't find much on a Google image search – or did they pretty much look like alternators?

 

A local junkyard has a few cars with those early alternators and they look big and bulky along with the regulators.

 

Likewise, especially for here in the UK where you'd simply have no chance of getting any parts for a period gennie 'out on the road'.
We have to make enough concessions in respect of other things anyway, so for me it's not such a deal-breaker in terms of looks, and I'm more interested in driving it (well, I will be when its finished!)

 

I've personally seen only a handful of them over the years... The really early 6V ones were large (about the size of a 5lb coffee can) and had the diodes in a separate ventilated external enclosure about the size of a small toaster. It got hot like a toaster too... I suspect the size was related to the 6V output. They appeared to use a conventional-looking regulator.

The 12V units appeared about the same time as 'modern' solid state diodes, so the external rectifier disappeared and the overall size shrunk some but they were still considerably larger than the generators of the day. Leece-Neville was a common brand. I know Ford offered Leece-Neville units as a 'heavy duty' option up into the '60s.

I used to know a guy who retired from the Seattle FD. He bought a ex-Seattle FD '46 or '47 Chevy Fastback that was equipped with a 6V one; still had all the equipment on it too (lights/siren). He drove his in parades. He told me they were installed on all the captains and above cars, but were usually removed along with the lights when the cars were sold; he pulled some strings to get his.

 

The alternator in my 37 Chevy p/u is acting up right now and would love to go back to a generator but was wanting to do it when I was bored over a winter so its going to get a used alternator for now and get converted back to a generator over the winter.

 

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Yeah, that's one way I could go.

I reckon I'll probably install a PowerGen at some point. I'll just have to suffer with all those pesky problems that go with running an alternator, like reasonably bright headlights, wipers and defroster / heater fan that still work properly at idle, the ability to run a old looking modern AM / FM radio without issue, etc.

 

I've run repro script Halogen bulbs w/ generator for years, they work fine, and my night vision ain't what it used to be. Halogens draw more current than the old style tungsten bulbs but if you pencil it out the increased amp draw should be no problem.

 

Yep, I run halogens on all my old machines, whether generator or alternator equipped. They are an improvement over the standard sealed beams either way, but are brighter still with an alternator.

Even with halogens and an alternator, I've found the high beams on my old machines to be only about 2/3 as bright as the low beams on most modern cars. Just something we have to live with I guess.

 

My reasoning on that was, while headlight design has improved a lot people back then did routinely drive around in the dark. I mean, I wasn't there, but they couldn't have been that bad. So what's going on today then?

Usually in vintage tin the culprit is poor grounding and wiring connections leading to excessive voltage drop. Excess paint at connection points will do it too. Bulb light output drops right off a cliff with even slight electrical resistance. This also tends to burns up switches.

After getting everything up to spec they worked pretty fair to my eyes. Then after getting the factory setup about as good as I could make it, added a set of relays. This improved lighting further, out to the sides more than anything. That's important too. It also takes the load off the switch.

 

If everyone had equal headlights the old ones would be okay, but nowadays most headlights are super bright by older standards. Sometimes I just drive with high beams at night until someone flashes me, it usually takes quite a while.

 

Exactly.

 

PowerGen on the 8BA. We ran a GM one wire for many years until it took a dump on the way back from Santa Maria earlier this year. The PowerGen sure looks much cooler on a flathead and it does charge really nice at low rpm too.

 

An update on my generator woes. The electrical shop finally checked it out and told me that it needed a new armature. They could get one and gave me an estimate of $380. At that price along with the chrome bill, regulator, and tinned aluminum regulator cover and various incidental items, I could have purchased a new power generator alternator. Time to take my lumps and get an alternator. After all, with the three piece hood on, you won't see it anyhow.

Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Ouch, gettin' to be some spendy electrons. Sounds like they are shining you on though, unless it's some ultra-rarity

 

"They could get one and gave me an estimate of $380"

I'm pretty sure usable generators at the swap meets are pretty cheap.

 

That does sound like BS the more I think about it. NOS armatures for common generators are maybe $25 or $35, they must not want to fuck with it. That's one way to do it.

 

I run a generator on my hot rod. Flathead and open hood. It’s a 12 volt setup and the only draw I have are two headlamps, two tail lamps and some dash lamps. No need for the additional current.

On my previous OT cars I would swap the stock Chrysler 36 amp alternator for the later 90 amp units along with the wire from the alternator to the battery doing away with the junk amp meter and going with a volt meter when I needed.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

Well, maybe they said $280. In any case, too much. Anyhow, I went with the chrome 1-wire. They charged me $145 which is very reasonable with the loonie only worth 77 cents on a good day. Figured all I need to do is get a longer bolt and spacer and my generator mount would work since it is a Welder Series high alternator mount with the back end reconfigured for a generator. No way. The alternator is larger in diameter than the generator so it comes too close to the fuel inlet in the front Holley 94 on my tri-power setup. Was hoping to do a temporary fix until I found generator parts. Latest idea is to buy a lower alternator bracket for the driver's side and since I mounted my regulator there, I won't need to do any wiring update to run to the alternator. Another plus is that there will be more belt contact for the water pump.

 

Them fancypants electrons ain't traditional No, that looks good!

 

Went with a junkyard alternator on the 37 this time,hoping to find a Caddy higher ampgenerator at a swapmeet this fall.

 

We drive a Deuce highboy roadster all over the country. It is "classified" as a streetrod on this forum, and that is fine by me. It is setup for comfort and mileage for those long hauls with a stock Vortek 350, 700R-4, 8" Maverick V-8 rearend with 31" Hoosier radials, and full hood. My alternator is 140 amps to handle the a/c, headlights, and huge circuit breaker for the electric fan. Although the fan has never missed a beat even across the 4 deserts from Texas to California, I intend to junk the fan and existing shroud for a proper fan/shroud. Currently, a generator wouldn't come close to handling the juice required. Since I don't "show" my ride at runs, I don't worry about being era correct. My car is just that, a cool form of transportation that so far has been trouble-free for 32, 000 + miles. I don't want to be stuck on the side of the road because I attempted to be traditional, era-correct, or drive what the Joneses have. I get very few second-looks at El Mirage by anybody even though we drove 1,400 miles to attend, and that is fine by me. I love my car as any red-blooded American rodder (oops, streetrodder) does, and as people on the HAMB say, "build it your way", and that is just what I've done with lots and lots of help from my buddy Frank Zuehl. Actually, I helped him a little bit. See you boys at El Mirage in November in my little red roadster with the huge alternator. LOL

 

I would like to hear "the rest of the story", HRP ! ! !

 

I think these debates are funny. Everyone acts like maintenance is so difficult on old cars and breaking down is like going into open heart surgery! And, every outing in your old car is like crossing Death Valley at the hottest day on record.

Every time I've broken down, I've had the coolest people stop and help and share their stories and go out of their way to help me out. And guess who those people are... other hot rodders and car guys.

My most recent gremlin was a new Mallory condenser that would get hot and cause an erratic miss. After I figured it out, I threw another condenser in my tool bag. Done. I got the replacement at O'reilly's and it was all of $7. It is so simple to swap that out on the side of the road, if it happens to fail again.

Points are simple. Generators are simple. Carbs are simple. Early Ford brakes are simple. If you cobble shit together, expect problems. If you use Chinese garbage, expect problems. I try and use American made parts when available, and old American parts when possible because they were made with service in mind and not the toss-and-replace concept.

Alternators fail too and they're not serviceable when they do fail. 90% of generator problems are from brushes eventually wearing out. Changing brushes is easier than driving to the local autoparts store and dealing with the dimwhit behind the counter.

I don't have a huge power draw on my electrical system. It runs my electric fuel pump (yup, I do like an electric fuel pump), powers my coil, charges my battery and supplies power to my dim lights. I have good vision still, but I still drive extremely defensively like I'm riding a motorcycle. The biggest reason to have bright headlights is for others to see you and avoid getting into accidents.

Swapping generators for reliability reasons makes me wonder why people are using carburetors instead of EFI. Why stop at the generator?

3blap.

 

Generator, because that's what my 56 left the factory with and it still works fine.

 

They just don't want your business. Put your general location in the post (and in your profile) and ask if someone can recommend a local rebuilder.

Charlie Stephens