MarkC

I have a 1966 with the L79. I had my alternator checked last week by the local alternator rebuild shop and he said my regulator was bad. It was putting out over 15 volts. So, I have been reading all the VR threads and it looks to me like you guys really like the solid state version. I went to O'Reily's and they have a made in China s/s for $22 and a BDW mechanical with a lifetime warranty for $55.00. They also listed a better BDW that you could special order but it did not state if it was s/s. They also offer the Delco for $88.00. I then visited Advance Auto, they have a BDW solid state just like the s/s at O'Reily's and it is made in China. They have the pricey Delco as well. Napa has a V/R in the $55.00 range and they will have to call the manufacturer to see if it is s/s. Auto zone has Wells unit that is mechanical.

Both the s/s regulators I saw today have revets holding the cap on. The s/s units are very light compared to the mechanical and both were made in China.

I would like an American made s/s unit with a black cover. It doesn't look like one exists. I really don't care what the price is as long as it is a quality piece. The Delco costs the most but we just had one a few threads back that failed. The mechanical BDW looks like a nice unit with a life time warranty. Maybe I have just researched this too much. If I had not seen all the stuff on here I would have just bought the Delco. So I am looking for suggestions. Thanks

skids

AIRTEX / WELLS 1V1038 is solid state. $36.79 at rockauto.

leif.anderson93

Auto Zone's Duralast/Wells VR715 is $22.00. I bought three just to have spares (probably won't ever need them). If you have your original Delco VR, you can remove the metal cover and put in on the VR715. Fairly simple procedure and no one will be the wiser.

dplotkin

Mark:
Transpo makes a solid state unit that looks like the original Delco. You can swap your cover to it. You can always tell solid state units from mechanical ones from the two resistors on the underside of the unit which solid state units will not have.

This fellow on eBay has what you are looking for.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/330656851466?lpid=82
Dan

MarkC

Thanks for the help. After I made the post I got a PM recommending the Wells VR 715. I than googled the VR715 and spent some time on the Chevelle, Camero and El Camino forums. I even found some posts on the CF that were 8 to 10 years old. I did not find any negative comments on the Weells VR 715. I did see where it has to be grounded by the mounting screws before you hook the battery up. So, I will get one this morning and take the car back to the rebuild shop for a quick test. Thanks again for the help.

mikem350

Yes make sure the ground wire under the mounting screw is tight and connected!!!

As a side note, it's been reported that mechanical regulators can cause electronic ignitions to fail, specifically HEI distributor modules.

MarkC

I was at Autozone first thing this morning and bought my new VR 715. After fighting with the plug I got the connections cleaned up and the new VR installed. We then drove down to Browning's and he checked my voltage again. 13.7 volts and we are off for a nice cruise to fill up with straight gas. The weather was very nice here this morning so we spent a little extra time in Suffolk, Windsor and Smithfield, VA. I turned the ac on for the return trip back and the temp gauge never moved. All is good, we did about 110 miles. Thanks to you guys for the advice. I strongly suggest that you check your voltage periodically and consider the solid state voltage regulator.