You have to watch the Ford units: the early ones had positive ground,
many of the later ones had external voltage regulator. I just prefer the
Delco units for ease of install for odd ball applications.

David Lesher wrote:
Some good ideas here. As suggested, you can hang an alternator off a
rotary lawn mower, and it's already got its own wheels. And there are
LOTS of abandoned lawn mowers. Take mine, please! Now, if you find one
with electric start....

But I also like the link to the guy selling the fits-all mounting plate.

In any case, you do want the alternator with an integral regulator. It's
also lots easier if you have a battery on the unit; both to provide
the needed excitation to the field and a low impedence load to the
alternator. The smallest lawn tractor battery will do.

There's a wide variety of alternators available at the auto boneyard;
case size is pretty much an indication of max. output.... If I recall,
Ford did things the opposite of GM, regulating the top end of the field
vice the bottom, but that shouldn't matter much.