Charging problems 67 Barracuda

Most times they are fire wall ground problems. Try running a permanent dedicated ground from the battery to the bolt that holds the VR to the firewall. Use a ring terminals on both ends. Good way to guarantee that you will always have a good ground ref.

The smoke is usually the VR toasting during overload. The alternator overcharges the battery as well so that should be looked at. You will see leaking around the sealed caps if you have OL'd the battery. You should have both alt and battery checked before you try one more VR.

This is a very common problem as the car get older and the connection between the VR case and the firewall become oxidized/corroded.

Good luck.