So what's the best alternator to use on my 68?

[charger2fast4u]

i was looking into running a 100amp alt like in FLG's billet pulley thread. i'm thinking about going with the same kit with the power i'll need to have everything working like b5blue said i'll need mine reliable when i need it. i to have all new wiring harnesses from yearone. i'll be doing the relay mods when i get the charger to that point and a fuse block like said above. anyone know what the output is on the powermaster 100amp alt at idle? 

[bull]

 

Any news on that Quick Start deal yet? I still haven't purchased an alternator.

[b5blue]

  I'm still positive the Denso 120 is the best option for now Bull.
  One wire alts supply everything to/from the battery, not conducive to factory wiring. I've been listed with Quick Start for well over a year as someone willing to literally buy and try the first one they bring to market, never heard even an update. (I've given up on it.)
  I've found the Denso 120 takes better care of the whole charging system and battery just by functioning properly. The engine runs cleaner and stronger never dealing with low amps/voltage leaching spark when a cold motor needs the best spark the most. I have run at night with defroster and wipers on max sitting at idle, nothing suffers, lights are bright and steady, wipers flopping back and forth, blower blasting away at full speed. I've done no mods to the wiring and it's 41 years old, just cleaned and repaired as needed.
  I found that the new OEM brand reproduction AMP gauge is rated for a full 60 amps so I have one to add just as insurance. With my dash center open I've monitored the AMP gauge temp by reaching in to feel how hot things get (For a year now.) and only one time, before I fixed my ignition problem and did a bunch of cranking before it started did it get hot enough to have me shut it down for ten minutes then restart to go home. (The battery was so low it was cranking slower so I knew from my gauge reading the Denso was putting out a lot to charge the battery.) (The gauge functions as it should.)
  It's a bolt on deal with a few jumpers in place it could all be changed back in very little time. (I posted pics in a topic.) The only original part I did away with was the plug wire holder right there behind where the Alt sits, it's close to the output stud and there is so much more room from the smaller diameter Denso it's not needed. I'll never go back now no matter what comes to the market after years of watching my gauge swing back and forth, shifting into neutral to rev up as my lights dimmed and wipers/defroster slowed down. b5     

[elacruze]

FWIW I'm using one off an '86 Durango (at least that's what the paint marker said). I went looking for one with dual v-belt pulleys and that's what I ended up with. 78 Amps, it looks like stock, and I've never had any charging or battery issues in ~6000 miles of everything from all-day freeway to 3 hours in traffic to plenty of days of short-trip driving. I have electronic MP ignition and EFI, and the power windows count for something since I use them all the time. I have the stock R/T lower pulley and my idle speed is 850 rpm. The alternator pulleys are slightly smaller diameter than the stock R/T pulley, so it is turning faster than the original by some amount.

[HeavyFuel]

I'm tempted just to go down to Autozone and buy a 1973 Charger alternator, do the headlight relay upgrade and leave it at that. I lived with the dimming headlights for 11 years when I ran my '70 Charger back in the day and it didn't kill me.

I think that'll be my plan. Can I used that on a 1st gen?

I've got a new wiring harness from Year One (M&H) which is built for electronic ignition with the newer style alternator. If your harness is stock you'll most likely need to stay stock with the alt., but I'm not one to give advice on this since I can barely figure out my own mess.

The set up that you have sounds like the one I'm shooting for. (Mopar electronic ignition with post '71 alternator, duel field).  I also ditching the '68 mech voltage reg for a post '70 electronic one.

I picked up a Powermaster alt that looks good and the power rating looks acceptable.

[bull]

The first thing I look at is that the alt appears close to stock and works with the stock brackets. I understand it won't look exactly like the 68-style from the back but from the front at least I want it to look like it belongs. And I need a single v-belt pulley. The problem I'm seeing at a few places is that the single belt pulley alts put out fewer amps based on the assumed need on cars without A/C. Long story short, it's not overly common to find a 78-amp alt with a single pulley. And the alt I got with the car is a double pulley/non-electronic ignition application so there's nothing there I can use. It tested good though.

Anyway, beyond the stock appearance I'm looking for at least a 75-amp unit with a single pulley. The main issue, if I understand it right, is that the stock-style alts did not put out much juice at idle. While it's good to have a high amp alt we need to make sure the at-idle amps are adequate too.

With that in mind I have a couple questions for the two previous posters. Can you post pics of your Powermaster and Dakota alternators? I have a 94 Dakota with the serpentine pulley; does the 86 Dakota alt look the same (except for the pulley)?

b5 - I think we talked about the Denso before but if I remember correctly what you told me there's no way I'd run an externally cooled alt that doesn't work with the stock brackets.

Eventually I need to figure out this amp/volt meter issue too.

[elacruze]

The Dakota unit is just a square-back, so it looks the same from the front. If you have an alternator shop in town, usually they have a big box of pulleys to swap around. I needed a dual-belt because of my A/C compressor, but I would expect to find a single-groove of the right diameter and shaft size somewhere without a lot of grief.


.

[HeavyFuel]

The powermaster is a rebuilt stock ('71?) squareback, I believe.

I cut steel pipe stock for the spacers to get an exact fit.  Turned out pretty nice.

The single pulley came with a yellowy coating.....I sanded it off and repainted black.

[bull]

Awesome! Thanks for being so quick with the pics.