Are you restoring or doing a hotrod? If just going with stock get one with as few circuit as possible but if you are adding a bunch of accessories like a big stereo, running lights, A/C, etc, you will want one with a lot more circuits. Outside of the restoration harnesses they are pretty much the same. Each wire is marked every few inches with where it is going. Spending a bunch of money might make you feel better but it’s not necessary. Good luck.
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
Justice If possible would stay with original wiring it is plenty heavy for 12 volt,as kevinski said. Install a 1-wire alternator it only ttakes 3 wires to the rear of the truck to get everything done if you use a 9 wire turn signal switch. Your starter will work fine as is really whip over,change bulbs to 12 v and you've pretty well got it done. Might add a few fuses. The trouble with wiring harness is you have the firewall insulation in the way and other obstacles. The Guide brand turn signal switch (which is what the chevy dealer would have put in) works good ,may be kind of hard to land one not as many around now. Good Luck with your truck,we'll help as best we can !!
If you want to keep the stock look under the hood, You can buy a PowerGen 12v alternator that mimics the appearance of the original Delco Generator. No modifications to the brackets are needed as the ears are all in the same place.
They even sell 6v alternators that look like 6v generators
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Otto Guess I am not a purist as an alternator and the big HEI look good to me,also use a lot of aluminum propane parts under the hood,I must be the onlyy one in America that burns propane !
Be careful buying an alternator that is redesigned to fit or look like the standard generator. Past versions have a cooling issue leading to failures (standard alternator diameter is larger, more cooling). Maybe they have solved the problem by now but I would investigate before buying. Also consider that the stock mounting location is near the exhaust manifold. The standard alternator is much, much cheaper.
My opinion. If you have furniture wood in the bed and/or radial tires, it doesn't make much sense to fret over the appearance of an alternator.
"Adding CFM to a truck will only help at engine speeds you don't want to use." "I found there was nothing to gain beyond 400 CFM."
buoymaker When I first went to alt. about 67 soon learned to work on them,later an old guy that had done generators since 36 showed me how to really use them. This was before 1-wire. He explained how to use the right rotor to get one that would prime and continue to charge at a fairly low RPM-like these trucks!!
My red light comment was referring to the PowerGen or Gener-nator and possible overheating issues.
However, I do know what the "old guy" was explaining to you.
When you ordered a new truck, you could select from the RPO (Regular Production Options) to purchase different ampacity generators. My engine came from a 6400 fire truck tanker that has a 55 amp generator. Still working well today. No problems running a 6 volt system.
"Adding CFM to a truck will only help at engine speeds you don't want to use." "I found there was nothing to gain beyond 400 CFM."
