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Ron, glad to see you back and posting your progress. Neat work, neat Packard. Thanks!

(o[]o)

Ron,

Good to see the speedster coming together, great work!

Great to see it all going together at last. Hope you have a ball with it!

Wonderful progress, wonderful workmanship. Would you please post the details on the alternator mounting adaptation - was this custom made or purchased?
Thank you for sharing your project.

Hi Ron, we met in the basement of Cobo a few years ago. Good to see your Packard project coming together so nicely. I am anxious to see it all back together in one piece. What color are you going to paint it?
Todd
Livonia, MI

We did the alternator a couple years ago so my memory of the details is a little fuzzy. Maybe after Autorama I can pull it off for another look. A friend machined an adapter to use the original chain sprocket on the new alternator, and a spacer to use the original mounting holes on the engine. Although the original generator looks big, there is really little room for a modern alternator. I went to a local rebuilder and got the smallest alternator he had that also charged well at low rpm to work with the low rpm engine. Unfortunatly with the position it is mounted it is impossible to see any markings indicating the make and model. I do believe it was from a small import. Hope this helps.

Todd,
I'm going to paint it an original 1930s Packard blue. It is so dark it looks black. With a red interior, of course!

Ron, I know the blue you speak of and it will be sharp with a red interior. I was thinking of doing the same "blue" on my sedan with a distressed tan leather interior and baby blue pin stripes on the wheels and body. Do you still have the sedan body for your car? I'd be interested in your rear seat if you'd separate it from the body. You can see my car in the build blogs under Todds 7p sedan.

Yes, that information is helpful - as to the alternator, you specifically note one of the big issues, charging at low rpm's so indeed, curious to know what you selected. And second, that the adapter was custom made. My friend David Stewart (25 Touring) is most interested in this adaptation, and rather than re-invent the wheel, any photographs & dimensions of this adapter would be greatly appreciated. "gotta get me one of those..."

Regarding alternators, I use a Powergen on my model T woody, it looks like a generator but is an alternator in disguise. The biggest drawback to this set-up on an early packard would be that it would require you to either engineer a mounting method for the chain drive or you would have to mount it on the drivers side of the car and belt drive it. This would leave an open hole on the passenger side of the timing chain cover casting. This could be filled nicely with a supercharger drive......just a thought.

Another option would be to use your original Packard gen and gut it and install and mini alt inside it.