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THIS WINTER I PURCHASED A 59 CALIFORNIA CAR .WHITE HT 352.WHEN I RECIEVED MY BABY FROM THE LEFT COAST I NOTICED THE GENERATOR WAS REPLACED WITH..GET THIS A G.M. ALTERNATOR.IS IT POSSIBLE TO PUT AN ALTERNATOR IN THIS OR SHOULD I JUST REPLACE IT WITH THE GENERATOR THAT SHE CALLS FOR?ANY PLACE TO BUY THE GEN?PLEASE HELP ME OUT AS THE IDIOT LIGHT DOES STAY ON AND I DON'T BELIEVE SHE TAKES A CHARGE.
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RE: 1959 GENERATOR ALTERNATOR
You probably ought to start by getting an amp meter at the auto parts store, along with some alligator clips, and see if the
alternator is charging or not. A volt meter would not be bad either; the battery ought to be 12.6 or more volts with the engine running
(double check this in your shop manual).
If the answer is No, then you have two possible directions to
go in: 1) the components someone installed are defective or 2) they were installed incorrectly (wrong wiring) and couldn't work in any event.
You can take the components (alternator and regulator) into auto electric shops and have them tested quickly. that tells you if they
are any good.
If they are but are wired wrong then you either have to junk the whole setup (my inclination) or dig up an appropriate wiring
diagram and do it right.
It is not uncommon for Squarebird owners to replace generators
with alternators simply for greater output. Alexander may have
details tucked away somewhere. I doubt that the standard conversion would involve GM parts but it's possible.
Many years ago I had a roomate with a nice little MG. The charging system, built by Lucas (aka Prince of Darkness), was pretty poor so
we transplanted Delco parts and turned the car into a masterpiece that could even support headlights!! the main point is that all a charging system needs is something to spin it and it does not care if it is Ford, GM or Briggs and Stratton, just the wiring has to be done right so the regulator can properly control things and keep your battery charged.
john
58 Hardtop
1958 Hardtop
#8452 TBird Registry
http://tbird.info/registry/DataSheet...r~equals~8452)
photo: http://www.squarebirds.org/users/joh...d_June2009.jpg
history:
http://www.squarebirds.org/users/johng/OCC.htm -
Re: 1959 Generator Alternator
The GM alternator is a common change-over. Problem is, some of them use the Delco Alt part # 321-39. This only puts put about 42 Amps. A half worn out Ford generator can do that. There's a shop here in town called Auto-Lectrics. He rebuilds alts, starters . . . all that good stuff. He can fix that alt to crank out about 70 amps. Then, it's worth doing. The bracket's are dog-ugly though. I'd just see about getting the amperage up. And like Alexander say's it's probably wired wrong (Or just defective)
John Byers
GM Parts (20+ Yrs)
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*** SMALLLast edited by byersmtrco; April 5, 2011, 11:08 AM.Comment
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RE: 1959 GENERATOR ALTERNATOR
i have a 1960 tbird that was converted over to use a alternator[single one wire GM} im in need of a bracket, I was guilded to the web site for {C.R.A.P. however a review of that site show a bracket for 89.99, for the bracket only, also this site dosnt list a phone number, no do they respond to emails.came some direct me to a company where i can buy the needed bracket?
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RE: 1959 GENERATOR ALTERNATOR
You can make a bracket yourself if you wish. For ideas go to http://www.ranchwagon.com/tech/alt/alt.htm and http://www.galaxieclub.com/alternator-conversion.html .
Besides making it yourself, I do not know of another company other than C.R.A.P. that makes the alternator bracket for a generator equipped FE motor. http://www-link.com/cgi-bin/odbic.ex...lientno=1681.0 I know it is $89, but this is not a common part.
Anyone else get an alternator bracket form another source?
Alexander
1959 Hardtop
1960 Golde Top
Alexander
1959 Hard Top
1960 Golde Top
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RE: 1959 GENERATOR ALTERNATOR
This may seem like a stupid question but didn't late 1960's Ford products (Galaxie, Comet, Mustang, Thunderbird, etc.) sometimes come with a 390 (FE) engine and did not Ford equip these vehicles with alternators? Why can't you go to a boneyard and pull the whole system (alternator, bracket, wiring) off of a dead car?
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RE: 1959 GENERATOR ALTERNATOR
Yes, 1963 and later blocks used alternators, but unfortunately, if you have a pre-1963 block, it is not tapped for the long bolt that holds the alternator. The genrators used a mounting hole on the side of the block. Plus you need to find the rarer low mount alternator bracket, since the high mount brackets require a different water pump than is on our Squarebirds.
The C.R.A.P bracket (Item #9226 $99.95 larry@carcrap.net)has an adapter for the side mounting hole, so that you can use the long alternator mounting bolt.
This picture shows how the bracket components are mounted on the older blocks.
This diagram courtesy of the Galaxie club shows how the later blocks were tapped for the alternators.
Alexander
1959 Hardtop
1960 Golde Top
Alexander
1959 Hard Top
1960 Golde Top
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Required Reading Regarding One-Wire GM ALT
Interesting Tech Article On GM One-Wire Alternators (A MUST READ);
Below Is The Clean And OEM Method of Mounting A FORD ALT;
Early FORD Alternator And Starter Motor Upgrade (Requires Subscription to Site For Full Article);
A basic charging circuit wiring harness can be bought made-up or you can fab your own (in addition to removing the harness from a donor car). It depends upon the style of FORD ALT you choose.
To me (and to maintain some semblence of origionality) I would use an early style ALT (and you can have these pumped up) with an external voltage regulator to appear somewhat stock.
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