Hi all,
Look at this ebay listing.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=33573&item=2453938329

Does it look legit? Would this date be good for a 10b (1968 built)- 69 Z? How much do these things go for?
thanks
Kelvin

Looks legit, date is August 23 68 so that might be a little far away from an October built car, but acceptable. Price wise I bet this clears $500 with no problem. 837 alternators are going for insane amounts of money lately. I've seen a few go into the $700 and $800's, but then others barely get out of the $200 dollar range.

Its a restamp.

D&R Classic Automotive can make you one with the correct date for $200. Anybody have experience with these?

Originally posted by merch120:
Its a restamp. Based on what?

Most people don't have the correct "3" to do a good restamp, this one is correct. Not saying it isn't one, just that it's a pretty good one if it is.

Based on what? Based on the depth of the stamped numbers.

According to my sources, its almost unheard of to have 3-4 numbers deeply stamped at the same time, especially the first "1" and then the last "837". In a case where the die was held incorrectly, or what have you, only the first and last digits are usually stamped deeper than the others. At best the "1" and "7" would be deep, the "8" and "3" shallower as you got to the curve of the case. The whole "837" is the same depth.
The "8" is a little goofy looking, too.

Plus the case has been bead-blasted pretty good.

On top of that..the guys reserve of less than 175 bucks should be a dead giveaway.

I've got pictures of over half a dozen other 69 alternators with stamps that look just like that. These are all 69 alternators from the January to August time frame. Some are 843's some are 834's some are 837's. The first 1 is usually deeper and a little lower than the 100, just like this one, and the last three digits also appear deeper than the 100, just like this one. The 8 is always a little lower than the 0 next to it, just like this one. I've got one that is a definate restamp but it's obvious. No ones going to restamp and 843 (37A) because there were literally millions of them made. So I would think that that one is definately real and it has the same characteristics as this one.

This one still looks very similar the others I have images of.

As far as the reserve goes maybe the guy doesn't know what they sell for.

What is the process to re-stamp an alternator? Are the old numbers welded closed or filled some way before being restamped. As I understand the date and part markings on distributors, they were not stamped but rolled against a die fixed with the proper numbers/letters. Were original distributors marked the same?

The "8" in the date and the "8" in the part number look the same "goofy".
Gary

As a note of interest- I have seen Corvette 693 and 696 alternators with the last 3 digits deeper than the rest, maybe there was a problem with the tooling or holding fixtures. My 837 alterntor also has the deeper last 3 digits, and its been on the car since 69. Still a good price even if it is a restamp. LOL.

The easiest way to tell a restamp is to wash the part with Brake Clean, as the Brake Clean dries it shows a momentary shineier spot were the old numbers were welded up to fill them. This is because of the differnce in the alloys in the aluminum rod used and the original part alloys. I have seen some restamps show up this way when i actually thought they were original. I have inspected some restamps from DNR and they are real good, almost too good, when you consider these are supposed to be 35 years old. If you had a blank alternator case and had it restamped you would be hard pressed to know the difference. Bottom Line- If you can live with the ridiculous prices original 837,s are bringing on Epay and it has to be 100% original then buy 1, otherwise buy a restamp and a lot of Beer. LOL.

Don't know, guys. One of my sources was MacNeish, who told me what I posted above. Although its possible to have deeper stamped numbers at the end of the part number, its pretty rare to have the "1" along with the last 3 digits stamped the same depth. Along with that, you can see the middle numbers a little worn away from the bead blasting, but the 1 and 837 show no wear at all. Blasting gets rid of the fill-in and weld marks (or sometimes grinding marks) before its restamped.

MacNeish told me that if you see a case with attibutes like those, further investigation is warranted. If you look closely, you can see some other marks around the numbers..not sure what those are.

I also don't buy that the guy doesn't know what the alternators worth. Those days are long gone- pretty much everyone involved in selling parts on EBAY knows the market. This guy has sold COPO parts on there. He ain't no dummy.

As far as pictures of other alternators, distributors, etc..thats all well and good, but we all know that up until about 3-4 years ago, just about any aftermarket place like D&R and Ricks sold restamped EVERYTHING. Theres a lady on EBAY selling restamped 480 distributors (she says it right up front) and I dare anyone to show that they've been stamped. They look as legit as they get. Theres a ton of restamped stuff out there now.
Not trying to dice points with ya Mark as I'm certainly no expert, but if I had a dollar for every "legit" part I have sent back from EBAY..hell, I could buy another 69 Z.

Bottom line is, as someone else said, at 175 bucks its a good deal even being a restamp, but chances are it'll go up to 4-5 hundred bucks..and at that kind of money I'd want to be sure I was getting a legit alternator.

Some good info here guys, and I like the extra beer comment when buying repop parts RSZ. I actually bought one of the distributors that Merch talks about. The quality of the stamping is decent even if it is a restamped. It came with the correct shaft, correct breaker plate, and the right vacuum advance. The numbers looked awesome and for the money I was quite happy. The unit did require some tweaking and a couple of things that were not right, but at least it didn't cost 500-00 to 600.00 before having to rebuild it. A good friend of mine checked the unit out and worked it till it was perfect. It is now setup for use in my Z28 and you would be hard pressed to seperate this one from any untouched authentic 480 piece. Take a look at this picture and see for yourself. The seller on eBay that has sell these is named Wilma99 and her husband Martin is the former mechanic that puts these out.

http://www.x33d80.com/images/Dist%201111480.gif

With so much attention to the numbers, I'm supprised that somebody is not into the protecto-plate and build sheet business! That's about all that is left.

Actually, repo protecto plates are readily available.... graemlins/sad.gif

The last three numbers on an alternator are always deeper because they were changed all the time based on what alternator was being assembled. They have less wear on them than the others. This is more apparent since the case has been bead or sand blasted which has taken off some of the digits that make up the 100.

Maybe the first 1 was replaced more often since it was the first one to contact the case when it was stamped. Maybe other GM lines have a different first digit, but the same last 6 digits on their alternator part numbers meaning the first digit would also be changed when stamping Buick, or Pontiac parts. (this part is a total guess, I don't know the part numbers of other GM lines).

All I can go by is the images I have of similar alternators, and the 9D11 dated 1100834 Alternator on my 04L Pacecar which have all the same attributes as this one.

Like I said if it's a restamp, it's a good one.

Heres three auctions for other 69 Alternators:
By the way I hate this guys pictures becasue he highlights the stamp with a black marker making it easier to read, but, making it harder to see the difference in character depths)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33573&item=2453527220
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33573&item=2453529328
(Alternator made the day after mine below:)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33573&item=2453532923

Those numbers look totally different then the alternator we are talking about. Even with the black marker, I can see the depth difference, but they are not to the extreme like the 837 posted about. Maybe I'm wrong..dunno.


Hugger69- Wilam99 is the lady I was talking about.
She has had some nice stuff on there.
Her distributors bring 2-400 on there, which is very good for what you are getting. Authentic ones are bringing well over a grand.