A friend has an '05 Vette [serpentine belt], and will be changing to a higher-amp alternator. As I seem to need a replacement for my '83 'Bird [v-groove pulley], I would like to know if there is a chance in heck that we can make this fit.

Thank You,

Seth

 

I'm not sure whether that will fit or not. You can do some measuring though and find out or if your friend is just replacing his, just take the old one and see if it will fit. I imagine that you're going to need a wiring adapter for sure. I know the CS-144 alternator is the same size and direct bolt-in replacement for the 17SI alternators that were used on the older vettes but I'm fairly certain the the older thirdgens such as yours used a 10SI or 12SI alternator. Although, I have read here on the forums that the swap from the '83 alternator to the CS-144 unit is easy. The CS-144 alternator is a 140amp alternator so if the C6 Vette alternator won't work there's another option for you if you need a higher amp alternator. Do a search on the Electronics forum for CS-144 and you'll find all sorts of posts and links and pictures about the swap. In my opinion, that would be the better way to go due to the abundance of Caprices and Caddys at the salvage yards that have the CS-144 alternator.

 

Thanks.
I would still need to deal with the pulley.
The reason that the offer seemed so appealing, is because my alternator has 24 years/110,000 miles on it, and I have no idea how much more I can squeeze out of the old girl. I believe that whether I rebuild it myself, or purchase one that supposedly was rebuilt, it will not compare to the quality of the original.
Anything rebuilt by a so-called 'rebuilder' is always junk, as the rebuilt compressor from PepBoys demonstrated.
If I do it myself, will I be able to find non-Chinese parts?????????????????? I absolutely refuse to get involved with anything Chinese [or Indian], especially something I need to depend on like diodes, selenium rectifiers, voltage regulators, bearings, and brushes. That is the list of parts for a proper rebuild.

Seth

 

You can buy an iceberg rebuild kit from www.alternatorparts.com but if I recall correctly it's about $100. You could just spend another $50 and buy the 140amp Powermaster unit that's a direct bolt in for your car from Jegs or Summit or one of their other suppliers.

It's unfortunate that O'Reilly Auto Parts isn't into New York yet. I work at the corporate office here and we sell brand new alternators made by Master Pro. That's currently what I'm using in my '91. Everything is brand new on them so they're more reliable that the rebuilts such as Ultima that we sell.