The car is a 66 Satellite with a 440. First let me state that anytime I create new wires I always crimp, solder, wrap with electrical tape, and finish with heat shrink. I have already bypassed the ampmeter by connecting the two wires together. I upgraded the charging wire to an 8 guage wire. This wire runs to a terminal block on the firewall. From here the 8 guage wire goes under the dash were I connected it to the big power up wire. I also run the same 8 guage wire into the trunk to charge the battery. I did all this when I installed Mad Electrical's battery relocation kit so it has all of the fuseable links in all the right places. I have a volt guage, and the car has been upgraded to electronic ignition and has an electronic voltage regulator.
I currently use the stock style alternator. It may either be a 50A or a 60A depending on which one I picked up, however many years ago. Is there a way I can test this to find out how many amps my alternator has? There is no visible part numbers.
Here are my four possible 3 wire alternator options for an upgrade.
Option 1.
Keep all the silly comments BTW. I really want to run a 12SI alternator. It has 90A, can be purchased at any parts store for 150$, and I can install it with a M.A.D. ALT-1 kit for $28 which will make wiring it simple. The problem is, how do I get brackets to hook this up to a 440?
Option 2.
Install a Powermaster 80A (PWM17519). The advantage here is it will fit my existing bracket. The only disadvantage is the alternator must be special ordered and costs $200. Then again, alternators last a long time even on a car that is driven everyday, so chances are, whatever alternator I buy for my cruiser will last a lifetime.
Option 3.
Install a Mancini Denso alternator kit with brackets. One kit has a 60A alternator for $210. I don't think this is considered an upgrade from what I have now. The other kit is a 120A alternator kit and runs $220. The nice thing about these kits is that at least they come with brackets. Again, these alternators must be special ordered, but are around 150$, and again, how likely is it to ever need to be replaced?
Option 4.
Something like a 1988 Fifth Avenue 90A, but how am I supposed to bolt that thing up?
I plan on having a stereo with two 600 watt amps, power windows, air conditioning, two powerful fans on the radiator, and one smaller fan on a trans cooler in the near future. I may need an electric fuel pump 10 years from now.
Currently, I am looking at a small pusher fan for one side of my radiator. This leaves me with a few unanswered questions.
Question 1
I was really excited about this small electric 11.75" pusher fan with 2210 cfm, but it draws 23.4 amps, which does not seem worth it. A better idea would be a 10" fan with 1150 cfm and a 7 amp draw for the front. On the other side of the radiator I could always upgrade from the mechanical fan to a 16" fan with 3600 cfm and only a 10 amp draw. Both of these fans would provide almost 4800 cfm of cooling and only draw 17 amps, which is a lot less than that one crazy 11.75" fan alone. Supposing I did this, and I have the aforementioned stereo system, air conditioning, power windows, and one day a fuel pump, how many Amps of an alternator should I upgrade too?
Question 2
We will have to assume that I have the 50A alternator. I currently have no stereo, or any power robbing accessories at all. What is the most amps I could afford to give to an electric fan?
