David says:
What should I look for? Also, what is the most powerful
> alternator that came in these cars? I have read of some conversions to
> GM single wire? How hard is it to convert to that?
> Thanks in advance for your help.
> David Pina
I don't know what came in the original. Mine has a GM alternator in it.
This works great. The only problem is that the adjuustment for the belt is
very limited. Some other conversions may be better. As for the
original....... I had a '63 airplane that had a 15 amp generator and the
battery seemed to always be low...... the voltage regulator was out of
adjustment though and upon fixing that the problem was fixed. The voltage
reg. had 3 coils (switches) on it. One determines max voltage. One
determines at what engine rpm the gen kicks in, and the other determines at
what amperage the gen will kick out. The most important to check is the max
voltage. Mine was at only about 13 - 13.5 Volts.
Raising it to 14.5 volts (most modern GM vehicles charge at 15V) solved the
weak all the time battery problem. (Sidenote: 13.8 Volts used to be the
industry standard) This is easy to check with a voltmeter.
Anything above 12 volts and the battery is charging to some extent. 13.5 to
15 volts is recommended. If you have a generator be sure the rpm is at
least 2000 before you check. You may just have to take a point file (or
facsimile) and dress the points up in the voltage regulator. The adjustment
screws should be obvious if they need attention. (At least you wont have to
put up with the prop blast while adjusting....)
Hope to be of help.
Dusty
Snowing in WV but.....
the 68 SPL311 is in the garage
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