Are the grommets necessary on voltage regulator?

[Growley bear]

I read somewhere that rubber grommets were used through WWII and then dropped as unnecessary. I adapted a 35A ford gen. onto my Model A and used grommets for vibration and because I think they give a more finished appearance overall.

Chet

 

[Vic Piano]

Can't we pretty well assume that if they weren't necessary, Henry wouldn't have put them there? He wasn't known for adding useless parts!

They may very well had been necessary when the cars were built but now... Maybe not so much... I have six Flatheads and none of the voltage regulators have grommets, been that way for a long, long time...

 

[rotorwrench]

When it was new, my 51 Merc had the built in grommet isolation mounts and it also had the ground terminal on the side. A person can take them or leave them if they choose but they were there for a good reason. I wish that I still had the OEM regulator but it went by-by a long time ago. The replacement that was put on there in the late 60s has no isolators or ground terminal. It works but the OEM one was likely replaced due to some other problem with the generator so the mechanic could make a few extra bucks off my Pop. Times haven't changed all that much but building parts to last is no longer part of the ethic these days.

Regulators sort of buzz when they are operational but you have to put your ear on it to hear it since there are too many other noises going on with the engine running.