1973 to 1996 Alternator Conversion

[c10rick]

This is re-posted from “73 Silverado Short Bed” as I couldn’t find a way to edit the first post. The post needed a more specific title and some clarity. The heads used to accommodate the serpentine belt accessories were off a 1996 Suburban with a 5.7 Vortec engine. The only disadvantage I see to the serpentine belt setup is that to remove the left rocker arm cover, the serpentine belt must be dis-mounted and the left aluminum engine accessory bracket/casting unbolted and slid forward. Also, an Edelbrock 7116 manifold was needed to accommodate the eight bolt pattern on the Vortec heads. Other than that, the switch to a serpentine belt was really simple, again, due to the consistent bolt pattern in the small block heads. As a side, the transmission is a 700R4. In retrospect, I’d have a Turbo 350 instead. I don’t like the way the 700R4 shifts, nor do I prefer the transmission-throttle, cable linkage approach. High performance isn’t a priority for me, and I got the 700R4 for the overdrive gear.

Back to the electrical. Again, the later GM alternators have one large gauge wire, which I understand hooks to the battery. But hooking that up and stubbing the original, smaller two-wire plug, I’m not getting 14 volts across the battery and can’t seem to find a wiring diagram that addresses this conversion.

Also, I found a deal I couldn't pass up on a used Edelbrock 35000 multi-port fuel injection system. Any comments?

Thanks.

[gmachinz]

Do you have the small (18ga?) excite wire ran to it from a switched Ign source? You also need a 75-150 ohm resistor soldered inline on that excite wire. You can run another large diameter wire from the alt. output terminal to your firewall junction also. With your volt gauge sender (12ga RED) ran there as well you should get an accurate gauge reading.

[c10rick]

Thanks a million. I'll let you know how it goes.