Hey does anybody know if there were any 1962 409 cars that came from the factory with either the 42 or 52 amp aluminum cased alternator. I know alternators were available in 62 but somewhat rare. I had an original 62 Impala SS 327 with A/C back in the 80's and it had a factory alternator. Due to the much lighter weight of the alternator over the generator I would think it would be a performance advantage to have the alternator for racing. Maybe a dealer special order or dealer install? Anybody ever see an original one?
1962 Impala 409 question
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According to the 1962 passenger car specifications, the 42A (RPO 317), 52A (RPO 434) and 62A (RPO 435) alternators were available on all engines as a factory fitted option. I've got one photo of a 62 409 with an alternator (first photo), but even Dyno Don Nicholson's 409 had a generator (second photo). You can see in both photos that the radiator shroud was removed, presumably for weight saving, so I would have thought that if the alternator weighed significantly less than the generator, Dyno Don would have fitted one. From 63 onwards, the alternator was the standard fit for all engines, so there must be plenty of 63/64 409's with an alternator fitted.
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Thanks for your help Carl. The first Photo looks like it may be a 63. Which we know alternators were used pretty much exclusively. The location of the wiper motor gives it away. 62 wiper motors were right in the middle of the firewall. All the original 62 409 pic's I have seen so far have had a generator. But you are right the option list does say the alternators were available on all engines as an option. The 1102268 generators used since from 59-62 on Chevy high performance engines were solid cast iron and very heavy. The aluminum alternator weigh less than half of the generator. My thinking is if they were available in 62 we would have seen more of them. But I want to be wrong if someone could prove it as I want to install an alternator on my original 62 409 project.
Oh yeah, I didn't notice the wiper motor on the 63 photo. Here's a theory - as most of the racers wanted the latest engines before anyone else got them, maybe the alternators weren't readily available in Sep/Oct 61 when the first 62 409's started hitting the race tracks, so all the photos we see of racer's cars are of early production cars, before the alternators were available as an option. Is yours a later production car, built after Jan 62? If so, I'd put a period correct alternator on your 409 because they should have been widely available as an RPO by then. Post a photo of your cowl tag if you want me to decode it for you.
I have a first production, optional, Delcotron Chevrolet alternator stamped 1100613 Date coded K 10 61. It seems the alternator was available early in the production year before January. The date on my cowl tag is 12C. So this alternator was available when my car was produced. The date stamp on my motor is T1206QB
Yes I would like to use it to save the weight as my car is a heater and radio delete car. I was looking at the 1963 Chevrolet parts manual under alternator and there is a part number for a conversion to alternator set up for L6 and V8 1961 and 1962 cars. It also states that 348 and 409 cars are excluded. Take that for what it's worth. It 's possible the limiting factor was the brackets that may have not been available until 1963. I'm sure all the parts for conversion would have been available over the counter by early 1963. I'm not sure that counts for originality or not.
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