My 55 Panama with od will lay rubber in all 3 gears and out accelerate most other stock 55s.

Remove the emblem on the horn ring by gently prying it up.
It is held in place by a rubber ring. Once this is out, you will see a large nut underneath it, remove the nut and then use a wheel puller to remove the horn ring assembly.

You screw three long bolts of the puller into holes in the base of the wheel. When you see it, it is obvious. With the wheel assembly removed. It is now easy to remove the ring itself. Be careful when removing the ring because there is a spring in it that could go boing

Chances are that your alternator will have a built in regulator so you won't have to worry about that.

Several years ago, I rebuilt my Caribbean's engine using the composite head gaskets. The one on the left bank blew with less than 500 miles on the engine. I don't know why, maybe I didn't torque it down tight enough. Anyway I replaced it with metal and retorqued it after 500 miles. No problem with the metal one but I am afraid of the composite one now.

A Packard truck at that. Somebody needs to get into this place.

I've had alternator on my Clipper for a while now and have never had a problem. I also had one on a 55 400 for 12 years, no problem.

Now my stupid question is if you have an alternator rated at 100 amps, does it really put out 100 amps or only what is required to keep the battery charged. Maybe 25 to 50 amps. It seems the amperage generated would be dictated by the regulator.

I am no expert, just my crazy thinking.

Anyone have thoughts of what this thing is actually worth?To me it seems to be an expensive restoration even to make a decent driver.

A couple of years ago, I had my front end rebuilt by a mechanic I trust.using a kit from Kanter. My mechanic suggested that I replace several of the bushings with rolling bearings. I had him do so. Made a real difference and I am happy with it. I just worry that they may not wear as good as the bushings. I don't remember which bushings were involved.

Come to California and see what a cycle was built to do.
I do about 80 on the local freeway and these crazy bikers pass me like a rocket zooming between cars and cutting the auto off. We do lose a lot of them.

If you need a really strong magnet, get one from a magnetron in a discarded microwave. They are strong.