Alt replacement

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Dizzydean

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So Ive been reading through the search lists and now my head aches. I have a 67 dart with the /6. The alt is in need of replacing, I have no upgrades and do not plan on any high power add ons. I will be eventually going to the gm hei conversion and doing the headlight relay. The car also has no a/c. With all this whats the best or most reasonable replacement for the car. I have found a good dual field but it looks like its a lot of extra work to use this one. Thanks for all the help.
 
I would just replace it with whats in it. They are easy to rebuild also.
 
Changing to the dual field alternator is a no brained swap! It could be as easy as just grounding the 2nd field terminal to the alternator case and just running it that way! You could also step up and add the 2nd field wire, run it back to the VR and splice it into the blue wire, get a new style plug from a junk 72 and up harness and swap to the new style VR! All told, that swap would take less than an hour, and the new style VR is a great upgrade!
 
newer style plug for regulator was mentioned above. That regulator would require a new screw hole and a spacer to mount about same location as the original. Add 15 mins . LOL Since aftermarket does offer a old style regulator form with solid state internals, that route would require no newer harness plug and no new screw holes.
 
Here's the deal. If you do nothing else get the later model known "slang" as a "squareback" because they are a better design. The one on the right:

squareroundcomp.jpg


You want to 'ask' for about a 73 model year, engine does not matter. If they list by amperage, 46 amp is good.

This unit will bolt right up. You can ground one of the two field terminals and hook it right up to your old regulator.

"Older" regulators

The old original 60---69 regulator were MECHANICAL. This is the tall rectangular box. Most if not all REPLACEMENT regulators you buy nowadays are actually an electronic "guts" in the same old box. As long as you get a quality brand unit, "these are fine."
 
Thanks 67 you have helped me tremendously with the electric issues. It does have the original regulator and alt. The bearings are starting to squeal and the dual is about the same cost as the regular. On a side note the fuel gauge is working fine, I haven't had the weather to get the headlight sw replaced yet. No temp yet though I think the radio shack gal sold me the wrong capacitor for my IVR build there was no +/_ labeling on it. One thing at a time. Need some sun first.
 
You can see on that pic that the old style has a grounded field on the left side, its actually a brush setup that just attatches to the case where the newer style is insulated from the case for a wire to be hooked up. I did that swap on my 69 Dart, just as Cosgig said, get a wiring harness from a 72 or newer and wire it in. Mine looks like it was born there and all stock!! BTW if you go to the parts store and tell them its for a 67 car you will get the older style so if you want the newer 2 field alt then tell them its for a 72 or later. Greg
 
Your 68 wiring harness has a single blue wire from the ignition switch that goes to the engine bay and feed 12 volts to ignition system and charging system. much like the headlight wiring, it was barely adequate for the OEM equipment. Simple solution is to add a relay here also. Blue wire signals the relay, 12 power on sufficient ga. wire comes from battery ( stud at starter relay ). Equipment gets the full 12 volts it needs, under dash wiring and switches live longer.
 
blu340dart said:
BTW if you go to the parts store and tell them its for a 67 car you will get the older style so if you want the newer 2 field alt then tell them its for a 72 or later. Greg
Click to expand...

When did they switch over to the newer style alternator? Back in the day I had a '71 Duster and it had the newer style alt & reg. Car was built in May of '71, so the change may have taken place sometime during that model year?
 
Oaktree said:
When did they switch over to the newer style alternator? Back in the day I had a '71 Duster and it had the newer style alt & reg. Car was built in May of '71, so the change may have taken place sometime during that model year?
Click to expand...

1970 is transition year. As need increased in the engine bay the ignition switch moved to steering column and the wires to and from it got larger. Those still had failures like the harness connector below the column melting. And of course any manually operated switch is subject to eventual failure no matter where its located.
 
I agree, get a squareback since easier. For now, just short one field terminal to ground to use with your existing Vreg.

When you go HEI, you will want an electronic Vreg. You can get those for the old "high-side switching" method that are a direct replacement ($11 rockauto). You might also change to the later "low-side switching" Vreg. Rockauto sells the triangle connector if you don't do junkyards. I did that and mounted the Vreg on the inner fender next to the alternator. I was did custom wiring so had 12 V "IGN" power available nearby. You too will need IGN for your HEI module, so perhaps mount all on the passenger inner fender. BTW, get the 8-pin HEI module w/ GM coil and factory cable that connects them: 85-95 GM V-8 trucks (cars to 93). If really clever, steal the GM knock sensor and module too, like I did. Mount it in your block drain w/ a 1/4 to 3/8" NPT bushing.
 
Got the squareback also ordered a new internal/old case VR for now. When I swap motors Ill get the GM items. So far the one piece on the bracket has worked good for me. So I'm wondering if these changes with the headlight relay also will help prevent wiring overloads, changes being the Alt replacement-VR replacement-headlight relay. Thanks for all the help you guys rock :prayer:
 
The headlamp relays help since they keep those currents within the engine bay. Your headlamp switch now simply controls the small currents (~50 mA) to actuate the relay coils.

The higher output alternator might only exacerbate overloads, so more important to insure your wiring is primo. Especially check for corrosion in the bulkhead connector. It is common for the large current on the ALT and BAT terminals to melt the plastic if any corrosion (resistance = heat). That is why Mopar did the "fleet bypass" on Police and Taxis and people here similarly do the "MAD Bypass".
 
Thanks BillGrissom. I checked with the seller and the alt is a 60 hopefully that wont add to much juice. Ill look into the bypass also. Thanks again for the help.
 
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