Alternator?

6

6=8

Active member
So I am chugging along on my project mustang and doing really good but now I need an alternator (the car seems to be void of one)... I dont need it for its normal purpose so much as right now I need it so I can drive the water pump and get the engine running longer then a couple minutes with out fear of heat. So with that being said I hear when getting a new alternator theres alot more modern choices so what do you suggest?


P.S. sorry if that didnt make sense I just finnaly got the car running today and my mind is aloft.
 
I got mine at Car Quest. You may not need it right now, but you will. Might as well get one and get it over with.

Harry
 
I wasnt so much asking were to get one as much as what should I get how many amps or whatever it is they run off of. Should I upgrade pick and pull style with a thunderbird or something ya know?
 
There will be several amperages available. I went with a 60 amp. I think stock was 45 or so. Ford pretty much used the same alternator on all the models, except for amperage. Some 64 1/2 had generators. Look at your dash. If it says Alt then you need an alternator.

Check with the NPD site on line. The selection there will help you.

Harry
 
8) for my 64 falcon i picked up a standard 55amp alternator from a 66 mustang, and i picked up a one wire conversion kit from autokrafters. it made the swap simple as it simplified the wiring, and had provision for keeping the standard indicator light. one day i will swap that out for a voltmeter.
 
I went with a 1 Wire from Powermaster. It can be ordered with either the v-groove pulley or serp pulley. various amperages, I went with the 100A.

It is simple as it connects right to the starter selenoid on the battery side. once it reaches 1000 rpm it will start to charge. your alt meter probably won't work... so a volt meter will be required to watch things...

If you go this route, I wouldn't cut your old wiring, but rather tape it and secure it safely out of the way.

I had the luxury of already replacing my entire wire harness with a painless system, so I also had the high amperage alt wire supplied with that, but you could use a battery jumper with the eyelts pre-installed on each end.

anyways, not sure if that was of interest, just the way I went.

good luck...

rod
 
Use a 3G unit. Mid-to-late 90s Fords (Taurus, Mustang for example) are a good choice for donors. The earlier 1st and 2nd gen alternators are garbage in comparison.
 
SixFoFalcon":16z93mvi said:
Use a 3G unit. Mid-to-late 90s Fords (Taurus, Mustang for example) are a good choice for donors. The earlier 1st and 2nd gen alternators are garbage in comparison.
Click to expand...

Do tell about this 3rd gen alternator...... does it mount to the same brackets as the first gen?

I when I got my car they had swapped in a later model motor and left the generator on... lol

I replaced the entire harness with a painless style kit and got the alternator brackets and one-wire conversion from Falcon Enterprises. I used the alternator spec'd for a '65 Falcon... 60 amps.

Anything is better than a generator :LOL:
 
Bort62":3eguxu6t said:
I'm using a standard GM alternator.

I decided I wanted at least one part of my car to be reliable ;)
Click to expand...

:stick:

If your car has an Idiot Light, a 100 Amp alternator is no problem. If you have a 60 Amp Ammeter, you probably should limit yourself to 60. Or switch to a Voltmeter, which doesn't care about amperage.
 
Well I guess a better question is do I need over 65? is it worth upgrading? as of right now if I just had a pulley on some sort of bearings that would be fine. Currently the car has no seats in it, no carpet in it, no dash in it, no instruments in it and I just got it running but yet to know if the transmissions good yet... By the way I have all of those parts and 2 spare transmissions it came with but it only seems to wanna go into what I think is first, neutral, and second.
 
It's not so much the peak amperage you are looking to improve upon, but rather the performance at idle, and the general performance of the regulator.

The 3G charges better at idle AND at peak than the older gens, and it has a more efficient voltage regulator. Absolutely no flickering, dimming or other such mess. My Falcon has gone from a generator, to a GM alternator (replaced/rebuilt several times because they are junk) to a Ford one-wire conversion (even worse than the GM), to one spec'ed for a Renault (not too bad but the regulator made the lights flicker pretty badly at idle), back to a GM (desperation... it's all I had laying around at the time) and finally to the 3G. None of the others hold a candle to the 3G in any way, shape, or form. And it was the cheapest ($20 from salvage) of all of the above.

Google 3G Alternator Swap and you'll find plenty of info. I might have even done a write up at some point but I can't remember when or where. :oops:

EDIT - Here is a pretty good source for info. http://sbftech.com/index.php/topic,2679.msg25723.html
 
I'm using the OEM style wires on a rebuilt OEM style alternator and running a "Classic Air" brand air conditioner in my '65 Mustang and have never had any problems with the alternator at all. Even drove it from Ohio to Dallas in September.

I said my alternator was a 60. I was wrong, it's an 85 amp. I use an electronic voltage regulator instead of the OEM type. It came from Car Quest too. Except for the fact that the AC needs dual belts, that set up has worked out fine.

Harry
 
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