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Soft Taco 84
February 28th, 2017, 02:47 PM
Has anyone here bought the alternator conversion kit from falconparts.com? Are there any advantages in it over a generator besides it maybe charging a battery better at idle speeds? My falcon is stock other than getting rid of the points for the pertronix electronic ignition kit. Thanks!

Luva65wagon
March 1st, 2017, 06:55 AM
Though I've not done their swap, it's probably just their brackets that are different than stock. The Futura I'm working on has an aftermarket bracket I assume is theirs and it's a good bracket. I'm converting to a 1-wire alternator now.

As for the benefits low idle and higher output for more accessories is foremost. A generator will keep the car running if the battery ever dies (internally) whereas an alternator needs voltage to make voltage. This means you can run the motor with the battery disconnected on a generator car, but not an alternator car.

The availability of replacement generators may be low raising cost to maintain or replace them, but if it's working, and you're not adding accessories, a generator will do the job as it has done for over 50 years now.

Soft Taco 84
March 1st, 2017, 09:15 AM
True. I agree with that. If I'm not adding accessories, there isn't really a reason. Thanks for your input!

ew1usnr
March 1st, 2017, 04:26 PM
True. I agree with that. If I'm not adding accessories, there isn't really a reason. Thanks for your input!

My 1963 Falcon had an alternator in it when I bought the car. It was just a matter of taste, but one of the first things that I did was to replace the alternator with a generator. I added a new set of brushes before installing the generator and it has worked without a problem for the past 20,000 miles. My battery is over four years old and the generator has always kept it fully charged.

Luva65wagon
March 2nd, 2017, 10:11 PM
Last night I went to install my 1-wire alternator on the Futura and found the aftermarket alternator bracket you were inquiring about would not work as-is after all. It would have needed to be trimmed back to the edge of the blue tape. I had a stock alternator bracket from when the Ranchero had a 200ci and so I used it instead of this one. Though you can't see the bracket in the last pic, you can see this alternator mounts fine.

This car came with a generator too, being a '63, but Gary had already changed it out to a stock Ford alternator, which is really easy actually. I plan for some accessories being added, so this 140 amp alternator, which I pulled from my wagon... along with those accessories... will help with that.