Need a little help

[mageckman]

I've had my 72 LWB pickup for about 2 years now, and until about 2 weeks ago it was a very reliable truck.Driving into work on that monday, I started hearing some strange sounds coming from under the hood. first it started sounding like the lifters were tapping, like it does when it needs oil. so I pulled over and put some oil in it. When I started it back up, it was still running rough , but was starting to smooth out when it sounded like a belt let go and was stuck on a pulley. a wap wap wap sound. I shut it down and popped the hood. when I popped the hood I watched the positive battery cable arc itself in half at the battery. Now, I have replaced the battery cable, gotten the starter checked, and traced the wires to another break at the alternator.Unfortunately the break is at the two wire plug on the alternator. As far as I can tell this truck still has the external voltage regulator.I haven't had any luck trying to find a new plug locally, and am wondering if i can swap in an alternator with an internal regulator from a newer (73-87) style truck, and what kind of problems will it cause if I do. Any help would be appreciated. Sorry about being so long winded in this post, but I wanted to explain the problem and what lead up to it. Thanks, Mageck