Re: 63 alternator
AC/Delco has not manufactured or re-manufactured alternators (or starter motors, or anything else for that matter) for at least 20 years, so whatever you get in a Delco box is going to be pretty much the same as what you get in any other brand box. Delco is nothing more than a marketing outfit that contracts for parts from outside vendors who package them in a "Delco" box. There is nothing to be gained by buying "Delco".
Try napaonline.com with your make, year, model, etc. and you will probably find a reasonable cost functional replacement that should "bolt-on" with all the original mounting and harness connectors (assuming bubba hasn't messed them up). Or you can do the same at your locak FLAPS or their Web site. If you have a proper OE number Delco alternator on the car now, DON'T turn it in as a core. A rebuildable OE-numbered Corvette alternator is worth a lot more than the core charge.
Most 32-42 amp Delco alternators can be upgraded to 50-60 amp output simply by installing denser winding stator coils, but that still leaves a question of whether the output wires and voltage regulator can handle the additional load assuming that the car has additional electical accessories that actually add to the OE design load.
Delco alternators (and starter motors) are designed for specific applications using a family of parts, and any frame size will usually accept at least a couple of different stator windings that have different outputs. Most internal parts are still manufactured (but not by GM) and available in more than half a dozen "brands", but like igntion parts, they are probably made by only one, or maybe two manufacturers, but the various "brands" use different marketing channels.
System voltage is maintained by the regulator shutting off the field (rotor) windings at about 16V, and re-energizing the field at about 12V. This can be seen on an oscilloscope as a rounded off square wave, but on a voltmeter it will show up as about 14V steady with the alternator at operating temperature.
Generator field coils are on the frame and power is generated in the rotating armature, so the brushes see full system current output. Alternators have the load generating coils on the frame and the rotating coils are the field, so the brushes don't see more than about 4.5 amps and, therefore, last a lot longer.
Alternators have a good sized ball bearing on the front frame (to handle belt force loads) and a caged needle bearing in the rear frame. I think some generators only have bronze bushings especially on the rear. Maybe someone else can clarify.
In any event, alternators were a BIG improvement on the traditional automotive generator design.
I rebuilt the alternator in my '63. All the procedures and specs are in the 1963 Corvette Shop Manual. The front ball bearing looked like new, so I just cleaned and regreased it. All the electical components - rotor, stator diode trio, and rectifieer bridge checked out, so I reused them. The rear needle bearing was difficult to inspect, so I just replaced it along with the brushes. That was back in the mid-seventies and I doubt if the needle bearing and brush set cost more than about ten bucks, total.
Duke
AC/Delco has not manufactured or re-manufactured alternators (or starter motors, or anything else for that matter) for at least 20 years, so whatever you get in a Delco box is going to be pretty much the same as what you get in any other brand box. Delco is nothing more than a marketing outfit that contracts for parts from outside vendors who package them in a "Delco" box. There is nothing to be gained by buying "Delco".
Try napaonline.com with your make, year, model, etc. and you will probably find a reasonable cost functional replacement that should "bolt-on" with all the original mounting and harness connectors (assuming bubba hasn't messed them up). Or you can do the same at your locak FLAPS or their Web site. If you have a proper OE number Delco alternator on the car now, DON'T turn it in as a core. A rebuildable OE-numbered Corvette alternator is worth a lot more than the core charge.
Most 32-42 amp Delco alternators can be upgraded to 50-60 amp output simply by installing denser winding stator coils, but that still leaves a question of whether the output wires and voltage regulator can handle the additional load assuming that the car has additional electical accessories that actually add to the OE design load.
Delco alternators (and starter motors) are designed for specific applications using a family of parts, and any frame size will usually accept at least a couple of different stator windings that have different outputs. Most internal parts are still manufactured (but not by GM) and available in more than half a dozen "brands", but like igntion parts, they are probably made by only one, or maybe two manufacturers, but the various "brands" use different marketing channels.
System voltage is maintained by the regulator shutting off the field (rotor) windings at about 16V, and re-energizing the field at about 12V. This can be seen on an oscilloscope as a rounded off square wave, but on a voltmeter it will show up as about 14V steady with the alternator at operating temperature.
Generator field coils are on the frame and power is generated in the rotating armature, so the brushes see full system current output. Alternators have the load generating coils on the frame and the rotating coils are the field, so the brushes don't see more than about 4.5 amps and, therefore, last a lot longer.
Alternators have a good sized ball bearing on the front frame (to handle belt force loads) and a caged needle bearing in the rear frame. I think some generators only have bronze bushings especially on the rear. Maybe someone else can clarify.
In any event, alternators were a BIG improvement on the traditional automotive generator design.
I rebuilt the alternator in my '63. All the procedures and specs are in the 1963 Corvette Shop Manual. The front ball bearing looked like new, so I just cleaned and regreased it. All the electical components - rotor, stator diode trio, and rectifieer bridge checked out, so I reused them. The rear needle bearing was difficult to inspect, so I just replaced it along with the brushes. That was back in the mid-seventies and I doubt if the needle bearing and brush set cost more than about ten bucks, total.
Duke
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