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After a lot of research, pros and cons, dos and don'ts I managed to successfully upgrade to a 6v+ ground alternator on my 37 120. I can honestly say that is was well worth the trouble. The ammeter shows a significant amount of juice being created at all rpm's including that wonderful low idle that the 8 is famous for.

I splurged and got the PowerGen 82056 model that looks similar to the generator. I had them at Quality Power put the .75" pulley on it and I used the OEM bracket to mount it.

http://www.qualitypower.co/item/Powermaster_82116_and_82056/293/c40

A few things to consider.

1. This unit is a bit bigger than the generator, so it takes a little bit of effort to get the unit aligned properly, and the distributor with the vacuum advance (at least in my case), is very close to the back of the alternator.

2. Alignment is key, the pullies will align with some shims in the OEM bracket. I used a small steel sleeve and a washer or two to get the alignment right. It was a bit tricky with the distributor so close, but it worked out.

3. Be sure to ground the alternator with a wire. This is what the Manufacturer recommends, so I did so.

4. The unit has a solid state regulator built in, so I spliced the Bat and Arm wires together at the regulator. I am working on making this integration more subtle as I am keeping the regulator to look more original.

5. The swing bracket that I had for the generator was too short, so I bought a universal alternator bracket for 11.99 at Pep Boys (chrome, but I painted it) that was way too long. I cut it down to about 9" or so, and the drilled a hole to mount it on the engine. It worked quite well.

This unit does exactly what the advertisement says, it creates a lot of amperage. My lights are brighter and when I turn them on the ammeter only bumps for split second and them right back to zero. I can also run my electric fuel pump, Trippe lights and turn signals without worry of draining the battery.

I cannot say enough about how much of an improvement this is. It is also a good looking unit that really does not detract from the appearance of the engine.

Just thought that I would share...

Good to hear of the option. You mention the .75 pulley. Does the 37 use the same wide belt as the later 356 engine or is it narrower? I know finding a pulley for the wide belt was an issue with another alternator conversion.

HH56,
I am not really well versed on other Packards. This was my father's and he grew up with these cars, and was what I consider an expert. Unfortunately for me, I am not. I am still learning how to work on this one. I read a lot of books and websites to pick up as much info as I can. In my online research and with the belts that I had to work with. I discovered Napa has a belt that they offer.

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Belt-Accessory-Drive/_/R-NBG2524438_0201601186

I had one of the Napa belts and it was a bit smaller so I used another spare that was left to me. It is exactly .75" wide at the top and (guessing here) about .5" at the bottom. It does not have cogs like the Napa one does.

It fit the pulley like a glove. When I ordered the alternator, I followed up with a phone call to confirm that they put the .75" pulley on the unit. It came installed and was fine out of the box.

I hope this is helpful...

Rich

Hi Old Sporto:

Thank you for the report. It is very worthwhile information.

A lot of people bad mouth the 6 volt generators for the wrong reason. Yes, many are not performing well. No, they are not inferior devices. They are simply worn out.

When they were new they did a fine job, but years later if you want good performance you need new parts.

Given you are interested in performance, I recommend going through the car and adding grounding pigtails to all the lights and checking the voltage drop across connections.
Also as bulbs age they lose candle power so consider replacing them. Information on how to check a bulb can be found on this website.

You can find techniques how to do voltage drop tests can be found "JunkTube"

Hi Tim,
I will look into the voltage drop testing that you suggested. Thanks! I know that we did ground everything with the pigtails that you mentioned. At least the headlights and Trippe lights are. I will double check that.

I do agree with you on the generator being a great source of power for the vehicle. The one that I have did a fine job of producing electricity. My decision making process was centered more around how the vehicle would be used and how it is equipped.

I really don't drive it on the open road that much, more to shows, and parades etc...There is a lot of idling and slow crawling during this activity. Therefore the idea of revving the engine to get the amps up is a bad one. I also have a Carter Electric Fuel pump that helps keep things running when the engine bay gets hot. As everyone knows, vapor lock is not your friend, and the Carter does a nice job of keeping the fuel moving.

So after a day of that, and a drive home at night with headlights, my poor battery was struggling to stay charged, and the generator was working as was the regulator.

I will post some pix when I get a chance.

Cheers!

Rich