Gen to Alt Conversion - Easy?

dmsfrr said:
One practical reason...
When air conditioning and extra cooling fans are added more electrical power is usually needed.
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That's a good point. In my 59, the previous owner had installed an air conditioning unit. It's not working yet, but the compressor is hooked up under the hood and the hang on under the dash condensers right there. I'm hoping all I have to do is charge it with freon to get it going. Anyhow, if an alternator is a better option, then there's a good reason for swapping the gen for an alternator.
 
I prefer to use all three wires myself. The one wire will self energize but it takes a bit more rpm than idle speed. The GEN light connection turns it on immediately.
 
Gene F said:
Try a retractable. Lot of current draw as that thing is heavier than you would think. Plus a car with a gen can often times see very faint pulses in the headlights at idle. I would like to convert my ignition to electronic, and I think the gen set up would be a bit hard on it. No oiling the bearing every season with an alternator.
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Does the factory generator require specific maintenance? :eek: Like manually oiling a bearing?
 
5851a said:
Personally I would just stick with the known Ford parts. When you start going with the 1 wire things and something fails in a 1 horse town you can find a Ford 1G without too much trouble. You start asking for a self exciting regulator equipped 1 wire Case backhoe with a Delco alt you may be in for a wait. OT but case in point, heading out for 3600 mile trip, heard a loud squeal under hood, stepped on clutch and engine killed. G1 bearing seized. Coasted to a driveway, owner came out and asked if he could help. Asked if he had a Ford alt, he did since his brother in law had left his car there and he didn't ever care for him. Think it was from a 71 country sedan, that was in 81 and it's still on my 67. The price at the time was a 6 pack. Just stick with the Ford parts, JMO.
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Cool story. So I was planning on goin with a '1965/1966' Mustang alternator. It is like 55 amps, and uses a standard external regulator. I'm not sure about going to a GM-style 1-wire setup. This particular alternator is pretty mucha available in any auto parts store as there are so many applications for the alternator.
 
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rotorwrench said:
I prefer to use all three wires myself. The one wire will self energize but it takes a bit more rpm than idle speed. The GEN light connection turns it on immediately.
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When I installed a single wire alt (GM) my local rebuilder upgraded our alt so it charged at idle instead of 12-1500 RPM.
 
The folks that maintain their old generator systems have also been using reproduction voltage controllers when needed. They're not made near as well as the old originals. I would fear that the 12-volt alternator controllers that are currently produced may suffer the same problems. If a person has a problem with an internal solid state regulator then the problem can be pinpointed to the alternator itself in most cases. The parts to overhaul a 10si are still reasonable in price and so far they are relatively reliable. I've been using a 10si on my Ford 850 tractor for many years. I have one on my model A as well but it's a 6-volt conversion.

Generators work well and the old controllers last very well but they will need an overhaul after years of service. It's when a person installs a bunch of high amp accessories like air conditioning and such, that the alternator makes more sense.
 
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There is a little oil cap on the gen for the bearing area. 1 x per yr usually does it. a drop or two.
 
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