Should I Upgrade to a 140A Alternator?

...and what do I need to do it?

So I have this stripped 1995 DGGM. It's really my most pampered car. One of the cool things about it is how stripped it is. Really no options other than power windows. Along with all this strippedness came a 105A alternator. It just died. The only thing I had done is added a power driver's seat - I found the stocker to be miserably uncomfortable.

So... I was going to real quick swap the alternators between this and the MAB '94 that is down at the moment for a radiator problem, and realized that the DGGM 95's alternator - you know, the dead one - was different from the other cars. Turns out it has an RPO code of K68 (105A) instead of the what seems like more common KG9 (140A).

Is there any reason why I should do what it takes to go to a 140A alternator in this car? What other parts would I need? I've owned these cars exclusively for close to a decade now, and I've never lost an alternator until now... so this 105A jobbie is getting the ol' stink eye right about now.

Yeah, I know... stuff braeks, get over it, yadda yadda.

Why bother. If GM said it was good enough, it's good enough. Especially if you don't have lots of other electrical accessories on all the time anyway.

Okay, I took a closer look last night. Decided to take the alternator off the MAB car and see what I run into. Turns out the brackets pretty much work. The only bracket that isn't the same is the short brace that runs from the manifold bolt to the back of the alternator. I probably could have made it work, but it would've needed bent and the through hole was also smaller. Decided to just steal the one off the "parts" car. All the parts stores were closed last night and I wanted to get the '95 running. Anyway, it only took a few minutes to switch 'em over.

Joel, my main reason to do this is that I plan to do a few more updates... passenger power seat, electric sideview mirrors, etc. All my other cars that have those accessories have the 140A alternator.

So, finally... does anybody have the little brace from an LT1 that runs from the back of the alternator to the exhaust manifold bolt? Care to sell it?

Yeah, but 99% of the time, those accessories won't be on. And nobody I know has ever adjusted his mirrors and his seat at the same time. Think about that for a minute.

True. But aren't the electric sideview mirrors also equipped with heaters? That seems like it would be a major current draw. I dunno. I thought I read somewhere that the power mirrors were also equipped with defrost that came on with the rear defrost. Sad thing is I never paid attention!

Meh... it's done now, and was easy to change over. Had a parts store been open for me to get another 105 amp I probably would've just done that. But with four cars sitting around it's always tempting to go "shopping" under the hood of one of 'em... especially when the part is so easily removed!