Instead of hijacking a recent thread...

Did Oldsmobile ever put dual or upgraded alternators on coach built or service vehicles? I've seen 68 & 69 Oldsmobile 98 hearses; as well as, the 67 Oldsmobile Apprehender. Here's a cool article, apparently Oldsmobile didn't upgrade the alternator in the Apprehender:

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/art...oldsmobile-b07

 

Jesse - Interesting fun article to read.

 

I thought it was cool!

I ask because I know Ford offered dual alternators on 80s/90s trucks outfitted as an ambulance. If Oldsmobile ever did something similar finding the alternator brackets would be like finding hen's teeth.

 

I serviced multiple ambulance and livery fleets in the 80’s, Ford always used dual alternators in the E350 and iirc E250 (only had 2 250’s as they were a bit overburdened). One company had a few early 70’s Dodges, iirc they were single alternator, I hated those vehicles enough to largely block memory of them. As closely related to this thread as I can get is in the languishing Cadillac ambulances there were indeed modified high output alternators (usually Leece-Neville) with a heavy duty Leece-Neville adjustable voltage regulator. Don’t remember seeing dual alternators in a GM application, in this case Caddie ambulances and limos.

​​​​​​….

 

Interesting. I guess coach built Oldsmobile hearses or ambulances very well could have been equipped with an aftermarket heavy duty alternator.

Apparently Leece-Neville alternators are still around:

https://www.prestolite.com/products/alternators/

 

Don't forget to consider the size of factory harness wire back to starter or battery or lug on fender when you raise charging amperage. Most Cutlass vintage GM are #10 CU which might be OK at full capacity intermittent duty if you don't drive with a dead battery at night with the lights, cooling fan and boom boom sounds all adding to the heavy draw. Check it out to avoid fire or smoking insulation, I've seen this where a drop-in 100a internally regulated alternator replaces a factory 45a externally regulated job when the owner drives with a dead battery.

 

Could have, yeah, but the reality is that in the 1960s, even emergency vehicles didn't have the insane electrical loads and power requirements of newer vehicles. 63A alternators were plenty. If more was needed, Delco made a whole line of higher output alternators, including 15SI, 25SI, and 27SI alternators.

 

Off topic or off my rocker? (Both?) This thread reminds me of growing up in the 1960s and the introduction of a soon-to-become life-saving well-known appliance by Mr. George Hurst. Y'all know what I mean...correct? Probably needed a HD Alt when that bad boy was running.

 

Right you are! I've seen plenty of OE harnesses overburdened by hi current electrical loads. FWIW, the Ford harnesses in the 80s were pitiful.

Jaws of life!

 

Olds commercial modifier Cotner-Bevington used higher output alternators in their 66 98-based ambulances. I saw one in a boneyard in CA a year or 2 back. CB also made hearses if I recall.

The alternator was so oversized that they had to notch the hood support to allow it to fit. Still had a voltage regulator I believe. It looked GM, but a lot bigger than I’d ever seen in a ‘66 98.

I looked at the electrical pretty carefully and they had a bunch of non-Olds generic screw terminal connectors presumably for stuff like the siren and extra lights.

The body panels were modified as you can imagine and the trim inside was non-Olds. The other thing that was kind of unusual was that the glass was more flat than factory.

Chris

 

Ya, but they wouldn’t pull apart! I Seem to remember a tv ad with Bill Cosby pitching the quality of Ford’s wire harnesses and connectors, illustrated by kids having a tug of war with one.

​​​​​Edit - Found the print version.

 

I thought an ambulance would need better charging than an OE alternator even with manual windows in the 60s and 70s. Those old emergency lights probably drew a bunch of current, especially compared to new LED ones.

Check out one of the biggest Oldsmobiles ever built. I wish they had more info on it:


https://emsmuseum.org/collections/ar...ton-ambulance/

Cool ad!