I have a 1970 Impala alternator from Auto Zone on the driver's side of my
engine. It has the internal regulator. You can take the thing apart and
"clock" it to get the posts in the right position. I use three or four
washers and a longer bolt to line up the alternator, and I disconnected the
stock regulator, running a wire straight to the + side of the battery, with
a 30 amp fuse in the wire. I had my old regulator harness ground out at a
TDROC meet a couple of years ago, and it wasn't fused, so the wire on the
backside of the alternator toasted the ammeter and several wires connected
to it. The wires from the alternator to the battery through the fuse box to
the ammeter were not damaged. The ammeter became a very expensive fuse. I
bought another harness and put an additional 30 amp fuse on it. I also
bought a quick disconnect for the negative post on the battery. It has a
green knob you unscrew and cuts all current in the car by removing the
ground. If you start to see smoke leap from the car, pull the hood release,
open the hood, and twist the knob, all in one coordinated, synchronized
motion. Or do what I did when I didn't have the knob: Sit and watch the
smoke until a fellow TDROC'er shouts "You're on fire!" Fall out the
driver's door trying to get out, grope frantically for the hood release,
search for a 1/2" (or 9/16") wrench, remove a hot terminal from a hot
battery, then convince your friends that what happened fell under "routine
maintenance". By the way, the green knob is a most effective theft
deterrent. Take it with you when you leave the car and thieves can't start
or run the car. You can use a low amp bypass fuse to keep the clock and
electronic gadgets going, but starter amps will pop the fuse and shut
everything down.
Leisure Suit Terry
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