71 Alternator -- I GIVE UP!

[Jim T.]

Re: 71 Alternator -- I GIVE UP!

Pat I did not see this 71 mentioned in your profile, is this a addition to your your 70 LS5 and 73 L48 collection or a car you are working on for someone else?
What does the RH reference in your post after the 1100544 number?

[Pat Bush]

Re: 71 Alternator -- I GIVE UP!

Hi Jim --

Actually, need to update the profile a bit. I ended up selling the 73 coupe to a great guy in Northern New Jersey. The wife just didn't like it and didn't want to drive it. I purchased her the 71 convertible instead which is more to her liking -- automatic, small block, air etc... Now, I don't have time to work on anything -- she always wants to take it somewhere! Well, that was the desired outcome =).

As for the RH, that I assume is a broadcast code on the alternator. It is what is listed in V3 of the NCRS Judging guide for a 71, 61 Amp w/air alternator. Of course, not being able to find the elusive beasty, I may never know what it actually says.

Regards -

Pat

[Harmon C.]

Re: "but after a year of searching, I need some he

Charlie On an alternator that was used just on Corvettes they made a run on one day and may have not made that part number for six weeks or till more were needed. While shopping the swap meets for the same part number alternator I would find them with the same date code also. John P. told me why this happens when I ask him as stated above. Lyle

[Patrick H.]

Re: "but after a year of searching, I need some he

Absolutely.

In fact, most if not all the accessory mechanical parts on our Corvettes were "batch built." Carbs, alternators, starters, AC compressors. Even 1967 300 horse intakes, right John H?

Patrick

[John H.]

Re: "but after a year of searching, I need some he

ESPECIALLY 327/300 (3872783) intakes

[Dick W.]

Re: "but after a year of searching, I need some he

Batch building of Corvette items was more pronounced that most realize. Surveys done on various models verify this. Carbs, starters, alternators, etc that were Vette specific were done in batches. The more limited the engine option, the more obvious this is. Carbs built in two batches, distributors in one batch, etc.

[Jim T.]

Re: 71 Alternator -- I GIVE UP!

I have a 1100554 alternator on my original owner 70 Corvette. The date code is OJ28, which according to reading these date stamps identifies my 1100554 alternator as SEP 28, 1970. You wrote in the above post that the judging guide for a 71 identifies the 1100554 as a 61 amp alternator.
Looking in the book "Chevrolet by The Numbers" by Alan Colvin it lists the 1100554 alternator as a 61 amp unit.
I have had my 1100554 alternator for about 33 years. It is stamped on the casing that it is a 63 amp alternator.
When I picked up my car at the dealership after they replaced the original 1100884 61 amp alternator, the service manager told me that they installed a higher output alternator under warranty, the 63 amp 1100554.
So is the 1100554 alternator a 61 or a 63 amp alternator?

[Pat Bush]

Re: 71 Alternator -- I GIVE UP!

Hi Jim ---

Don't know much about this "554" alternator. Everything I have talks about a "544" alternator and it is supposed to be 61 Amp. I'm looking at the judging guide and it does speak to the "844" for a 70. I can tell you the judging guide for 70-72 units speaks only to a 61 amp unit not a 63. Is it true? I have no idea. This is one of those Terry M, Joe L or Jack H questions. The RH broadcast code for the 544 was RH on 71 and 72. The 884 code on the original was "NT".

Pat

[Terry M.]

1100544 alternator data

Jim,

I sort of hope your reference to 1100554 is a typo. If not, perhaps it really is 63 amps.

I went back and looked at the original Chevrolet alternator data that we used to write the 1968-1972 Manuals. The first reference to 1100544 is with 1971 model year data. That unit is listed as 61 amps both in the broadcast code listing and on the blueprints. Additionally we have been judging 1971 to at least 1974 (my Chevrolet broadcast code lists end at 1974) Corvettes equipped with that alternator for years. We would have had a large hue and cry from the car owners if we had listed it wrongly.

BTW: The amperage rating is only an approximation. That value can only be reached for a limited time, at certain temperatures. I believe that the alternator is rated acceptable if it can achieve 90% of its rated value. For all practical purposes a 61 amp and a 63 amp alternator will produce about the same current in field operation.

[Jim T.]

Re: 1100544 alternator data

Terry the 63 amps on my 1100554 is a very clear stamping. Never really gave it much thought all through the years of ownership, but if the factory installed 1100554 alternators on Corvettes were all stamped 61 amps and if the 1100554 was only installed on Corvettes I have a "rare 1100554". I will get picture of it and send you one if you want.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1100544 alternator data

Jim,
Please look carefully at these numbers.

Note this discussion has been about 544 alternators. You keep mentioning 554 as the number on your car. I show no installation, up to 1974, of a 554 alternator on a Corvette. I suggest that it has some other application. As I said in my post the 554 could very well be a 63 amp stamped alternator. I have no idea of its intended application.

[Jim T.]

Re: 1100544 alternator data

I rechecked the numbers again and it is a 1100554 63 amp so it cannot be a Corvette alternator. So about 33 years ago the Chev dealership under my 70's new car warranty installed some other GM automobile alternator. Thanks for the correction of my errors.