just to rattle the cage a little here, question- why is it they dont use generators in later model vehicles, is it a cost thing, is it a size thing , is it a charging thing??? who knows the answer to why generators were fazed out from vehicles being made????
I'm installing a generator in my '33 truck build. It just looks right on the 283. Not running a hood, so an alternator would not look good, imo.
I never said gens were prone to breaking, i'm talking about subjects that keep cropping up on here about the same thing.We all know whats traditional & whats not, just run what you want!! Besides i'm 63 yrs old i've been around both gens & alts.As any part when it fucks up your screwed.When i went to trade school we where taught how to clean a armeture( not how to spell it!lol) how to replace brushes, use a "growler & and set up a regulator .And so like i said many time if it was so good the auto companies would still be using them on the cars of today. jimv PS why are all those cars driving the wrong way??
Not trying to stir the pot,but we just got home from kzoo,and there were a lot of flatties there,I dont remember seeing even one with a generator,but there were a lot of chrome alternators sitting on top with billet adapters!
Possibly the negative was flipped over when the print was made. If the signs in the pic could be read that would say for sure whether that happened.
These poor people will never make it home with no alternator. No, these poor people won't make it home because they've turned around and are going back to work! (Talk about blind sheep...)
One clue is that all the cars have the steering wheel on the starboard side. And, that picture sure don't look like it was taken in Oz, England, or Japan.
Starboard..... I can never remember which side that is. But good point, the steering wheels are on the right side, so apparently the negative was flipped. I have had this happen with high dollar, paying extra for skilled technician instead of machine printing. The photo is tagged "Wayne State", which is in Detroit. The place that messed my stuff up is in the same area. Maybe this is just more of the same company's craftsmanship?
If flatheads were so good, why did Ford stop making them? lol. Progress, that's why. Alternators can put out sufficient power thats needed for more modern cars, power for shit like power windows, power seats, AC systems, heated cup holders, yada yada. Generators could not put out that kind of power, so as soon as solid-state diodes became available, the manufacturers switched to alternators.
Big high output generators have been used in fire trucks, etc. They are HUGE, heavy, and expensive. Alternators had to wait for diodes that big to become affordable. Even then, the diodes in early alternators weren't very robust. Things that would have killed diodes in an old alternator usually don't hurt modern alternators.
The other thing is that the very design brief for the automobile has changed. Today's cars are designed to spend a lot of time stuck in traffic while keeping their occupants comfortable and entertained. And when they're moving, overdrive transmissions play a role.
Now we are talking about modern commuter cars. I don't run the same equipment on my commuter car. My hotrods are not built to commute to work and back. I don't want a streetrod with all the sound deadening and creature comforts. When the weather is right I'd drive it to work for the therapeutical value. I don't drive as aggressively in my hotrod. We need to talk apples and oranges. Non of my hotrods have AC. Hell!, none have heaters either!! I never noticed the picture was flipped. I was just looking for 50s pictures.
TOMMY a car that has a bad generator or altenator will run off the battery till it drains itself down, so what you stated in your "backwards" photo is not true. JimV
I would agree, i like the old look of the generator, I tried one of those Powergens but after trying 3 of them i gave up, they seem pretty crappy.
My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek. Like I said , I've only been left on the side of the road by an alternator because it burned up the wiring through an internal short. I now use a fuseible link so that is not a potential problem any more. A generator just quits working after several years of service. I'm not afraid of being left on the side of the road by a generator as most people seem to think is such a real danger. To me being left on the side of the road by a generator is such an outrageous statement that I thought everyone would get my humor. Sorry about that.
Just a misunderstanding Tommy, thats all.I didn't say a generator will leave you "stranded on the side of the road" I said that "traditional" equippement could.Seems everyone i know who runs a 39 gear box gets towed home somewhere along the line!!lol BUT new shit breaks also. But because someone runs a alt. doesn't mean that they are Lazy at all.
Not me! I've had many many early Ford boxes and never broke one, not one. Some were 39s and some were older. I would never say that they are strong but they are not made of peanut butter either. I'm not hard on equipment. I understand that my experience is not the norm but it must be included in the discussion to get a true average. There is a whole lot of fear mongering going on that is just plain not true. If you want to bang gears and side step the clutch on a launch, then don't use early Ford parts. I can only talk about my personal experiences. I try very hard not to repeat wives tales that I have not any personal experience. I drove my 36 sedan to Memphis Tenn. in 1980 running a 283 with an adapter...and yes it had mechanical brakes that scare everyone to death because they did not have a properly restored set but worn out junk yard parts. It was over 100 degrees every day that week and I did it without electric fans and any special parts. Just a standard 283 fan and a non pressureized 36 factory radiator. I always remember meeting an old timer at Hershey one night. I'll never forget his quote... "Steetroders think that nobody drove across country before 1955". He was talking about the SBC of course but the same theory applies here. These wives tales become facts if no one tells the truth and just blindly repeats the wives tales. I am getting way OT here but it is MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
What is hard to work on in an alternator? Pretty simple parts replacement and diagnostics only require an simple VOM. With a generator you need growler to check the armature, a lathe to turn the commutator and a way to undercut the mica after you turn it. Voltage regulators often aren't repairable. You can try filing the points and some were adjustable but you need much more knowledge to work on them. As has been noted, generator system parts aren't readily available these days. Carry parts with you or have a spare battery to get you home.
In the sixtys I would turn the little motor up pretty high and after a while it would straighten out the fins on the generator and they would break off and put dents in the hood.
I disagree. I had a generator in my 57 chevy one ton truck, but when I swapped the engine I decided to just put an alternator in it, because I was too damn lazy to figure out how to fix the regulator for the generator. Although on my 55 belair, I recently did an un-lazy thing...I swapped in an older style alternator, and neat mid 60s Delco electronic voltage regulator, to replace the way too modern looking 10-SI that had been in it for 16 years. So now I get to worry about the voltage regulator, keep a spare in the toolbox, etc. But it's worth it...
That's a new one to me. The way I see it, if the car came with a generator originally and there haven't been any large electrical loads (electric fans, megawatt stereos) added, there isn't any particular need to replace it with an alternator. Once a generator has been rebuilt (basically clean it up, put in new bearing and and brushes) it will be good for many years to come, it's not like they break down all the time.
we will upgrade our brakes, our suspension, our tires, our paint jobs. but lordy lordy leave the generator alone because it tradional
So, are we going back to use the wooden outhouse's as they are traditional ! Just because you can dosen't mean ya should ! LOL
I just drove my Olds across the country with the generator running the electrics, a cd player and two pumps for my air ride system. When I rolled into Portland, OR (my last stop on the adventure) the generator idiot light came on. I've been wrestling with whether to rebuild it or replace it with an alternator. I've decided that one of the things I love about my car is that it's complete, down to every piece of trim - so by keeping the generator I'll be keeping it that way. Some folks see the generator and love that's it's still there, some see it and think I'm an idiot
I wonder how many folks insist on keeping mechanical brakes on early Fords because it's "traditional". As one who actually was an early hotrodder, I've always used the best performing and most reliable solution for my needs.
Well I have read through this whole thread and just have to ad my .02. I 100% agree with Tommy R on all his points but this one sums it up nicely. The people that are afraid of generators are the same people that are afraid of points.it boggles my mind some times. People are just ignorant and it's not always there fault. When a friend of mine first got his 61 bel air he had no experience with older cars thought the belt was way to lose so he cranked the shit out of it. Well about 100 mils later it fried the generator bearings. If he had just left it alone or educated himself it probably would have lasted 5000+. without even looking at it. I just did about a 600 mile round trip in a different 61 chevy equipped with both points and a generator and made it back in one piece. It wasn't a flawless trip, The car started to run like crap when we neared our destination me and the driver both diognosed the problem from inside the car in about a minute so when we got there we borrowed some emery cloth and a paper match, lifted the hood, cleaned the points and gaped them best we could.about five minutes later It was purring like a kitten and was ready for the drive home. Sure it wouldn't have happened if he put a HEI in it but it wasn't the apocalypse ether. I run both a generator and points in my hotrod.
I don't think people are afraid of generators, I think they see better technology and use it just like my generation used SBCs instead of flatheads when they became available and we could afford them. I grew up with generators and worked in a garage for awhile where I did about everything to fix them that's possible. But, alternators deliver better performance and reliability with less wiring and at a lower price. IMHO, if I want an original car, I don't want a hotrod. But, if I start installing modern engines, tires, brakes, steering, etc., I can't think of a single reason that the electrical system should be off limits. In the "traditional hotrod" days, we used anything and everything that was available. I'm not sure when that spirit became verboten.
If your gen dies, just find a friend with a running car and charging system that works, swap batteries and you are off for hours of more driving. My buddy died in his 1939 Pontiac because his Alternator died. I pulled my battery out and installed it in his and he drove for over an hour with the lights on and there was plenty of juice to left over. By the time I got home with his battery in my car, it was all charged and ready to go back into his car in his leisure also in his garage. You can die anywhere with any part. Its the real thinkers that will figure a way to get the car home that broke down and gets you back safe.
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