The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Going alternator on the 1956 3100

Just picked up my starter motor from the repair shop. They went through it cleaning and replacing some components. I mentioned bringing in the old generator to have them check it out. The shop owner told me if anything had to be done on it the repair bill could run as much as $400 easily. Said if I didn't care about straying from all original it would be far better to purchase an alternator and ditch the old generator and voltage regulator. I was thinking that direction in any case. This is on the 1956 3100 I'm restoring.

Your thoughts, one way or another?

Alternator is what did on my 2 old trucks. They are drivers. 3 wire works better than 1 wire and not that much harder to install.

I have a 63 amp 10SI alternator installed and I am happy with it. This is a three wire alternator. The sense wire runs to the accessory side of the ignition switch. If you run it to the ignition, the engine will not shut off. Plenty of posts on this forum on how to do it.

e.g.
10SI alternator

To install, I swapped the generator bracket end to end and drilled a new hole to match the mounting points on the block. This made the alternator pulley line up with the water pump pulley.

Putting an "idiot light" in series between the sensor terminal and the ignition switch will prevent feedback to the ignition system and avoid the run-on problem on shutdown. Use a regular 2-wire incandescent indicator bulb, not an LED. The bulb filament limits the current backflow so there's not enough to power the ignition system.

www.ebay.com/itm/115585726046?

Jerry

If *looking" original is still desired, I seem to recall at least one vendor who sells an alternator that looks like the original generator....

I just looked one up (Powermaster) while I was writing this .... ouch. They want close to $600 for it. Nevermind ....

Welcome to the site. I have a one wire 100 amp. Installed it a few years ago and have had very good luck...much better than a generator. If you're installing an AC and electric radiator fan or fans, you will definitely need an alternator. I haven't spent a summer in San Angelo since the mid 60s but as I recall, July can be pretty hot.

Yeah, those are cool but not at that price.

You buy an all-black 10si alternator without spending a ton of money. Although it won’t fool anyone who’s looking closely, I do think a black one draws less attention and looks less out of place on an old engine.

That’s kinda/sorta the plan for my truck when I get around to it. Generator just keeps working so it never makes the top of the list.

Alongside that, also have a half-baked idea on gutting a voltage regulator and using it to hide some junctions and fuses.

If I was faced with spending that kind of dough, I'd switch to an AC generator as well. As it is, All of my vehicles with dc generators just keep working. The one in the Cadillac was rebuilt about 5 years ago along with Ol'Roy's. Those rebuilds/repairs cost about $100 each.

Very hot, but dry hot in the summer.

As always, thank you for your input, fellow stovebolters (smiley face goes here).

Powermaster also doubles as a vacuum cleaner- - - - - -it sucks money right out of your pocket!
Jerry

Lot of vacuum cleaners out there, for sure.

I changed my '58 4400 to an alternator. It was one of the best modifications I have done as Bang for the Buck. I purchased a internally regulated AC Delco reman from RockAuto or less than $80.00. The internally regulated alternator eliminates the firewall mounted regulator.