I changed the generator on my 58 F-100 (223 I-6) to a 10si Delco. It's a very common unit used from early/mid seventies until the late eighties on GM cars (through early 90's on Jeeps), replacements and repair parts are readily available, service information is readily available, it is available in configurations up to 140 amps, it can be a single or three wire installation. Single wire models are readily available from Jegs and Summit Racing (Powermaster is one make). Internally, these alternators are very modular and easy to repair. I rebuilt mine from a couple of units I had laying around, some new replacement parts, and a single wire conversion kit (basically a special voltage regulator that eliminates the necessity of a seperate field wire). The only substantial differences among most of these alternators is "clocking" (direction of the terminals) and pulleys. Clocking and pulleys can usually be swapped or adjusted quickly and easily to make any alternator fit any application.
On to the installation. I sourced bracketry from here:
http://www.alternatorparts.com/Alternat ... kets_2.htm
IIRC I used bracket A200 (page 1) for the lower bracket and A215 (page 2) for the upper bracket. I cut the upper bracket just past the closest hole and rounded the corner off to clear the water pump. With this arrangement, the original belt still fits for ease of service. I think I had to slot a hole on the lower bracket assy. to match the castings for the bolt holes on the engine. Other than those two modifications, everything bolted right on. These are industrial brackets so they are very "stout" but not too pretty. After I cleaned up the top bracket and painted it, it looks pretty good. I plan to pull the bottom bracket off and weld the two halves together or, possibly, build a speicific bracket using this as a pattern.
If you use a single wire alternator, you only need to make one wiring change. The large single wire that formerly connected to the armature terminal can be connected to the alternator output post. At the voltage regulator, remove the wire from the "Arm" terminal and connect it to the "Bat" terminal along with the wire that is already there. This wire should be heavy enough for normal recharge and occasional high amperage output. The remaining smaller wires can be taped off. If you were to try a 3 wire installation; I believe the field wire should connect to the ignition switch and the existing generator light wire will wire up to the 3rd terminal. I have not tried this 3 wire installation yet so you are on your own if you do.
If you use a single wire installation, get an alternator specifically designed for that. If you use a conventional 10si (3 wire) alternator, it will not self-exite properly and each time you start the vehicle you will have to rev the engine to about 2500 RPM to force it to start charging.
If you are considering power steering or A/C, I believe you could drive it off a double pulley alternator ala 70's 6 cylinder Chevrolets but I haven't tried it so I don't know if it would have enough drive torque to work without a dual pulley crankshaft damper.
In all, it was a pretty easy conversion this way. The only disadvantage is that it's not a Ford alternator but I feel that's offset by the ease of installation, maintenance, and roadside repairability. If you constantly need high output amperage, the Ford 3G might be a better choice and may be able to utilize the same bracketry but it will be more difficult to wire.
Hope that helps.
Lou Manglass
