Hot Rods Alternator question

I am building a '53 Willys truck, with a 283 Chevy engine. The space under the hood is tight. I'm running into issues with alternator placement. So my question is, if I turned the alternator around where it's facing the engine, it would be spinning in the opposite direction, would it still charge? Does it matter if the alternator spun clockwise instead of counter-clockwise?

 

an alternator doesn't care.

 

The alternator will work just the same, it does not care which direction it turns. But the cooling fan will not be effective.

Flat belt vs V belt, the newer flat belt drives often turn the alternator the opposite direction to the old V belt drive and therefore, have the opposite cooling fan. So maybe you can combine a V belt drive and a flat belt cooling fan (or vice versa). Every auto electric shop has a box of spare pulleys and fans under the work bench, they should be able to fix you up in a jiffy.

 

I've heard of guys using fork truck alternators. smaller than auto alts.

 

Thanks guys!