1963 Alternator Pulley Question

[Riviera63]

I recently put in a new alternator in my car as the one that was in there was only a 37 amp and I should be running a 52 amp. I just bought a reman from one of the chain auto parts stores and it is working just fine. I was going to run this until I came up with one that was more original to my car. Replace it and use it as a spare. I managed to source a numbers matching rebuilt/refurbished 52 amp alternator. The double pulley that came with this alternator was of a slightly larger diameter than than my original. The diameter of my original was 2 5/16" which is consistent with what I have seen on other 1963 alternators. The larger pulley has a diameter of 2 11/16". I know that this is the size I have been told was on the 1965 Riviera alternators. I don't know about the 1964's. Could I use the larger pulley without causing any problems? Would this bother with the running of any other items in the loop? I know it will turn somewhat slower than the smaller pulley. I had originally been hoping to do a straight swap of alternators without having to monkey around with taking off the pulley on the one that's in the car, clean and paint the pulley and then put it on the new alternator. Or I would swap in the original pulley on the new alternator and put the larger pulley on the spare (if it will work) so it is ready to go if I should need it. I would appreciate anyone's input on this. Thanks.

 

Bill

[RivNut]

If I remember correctly,  the larger diameter pulley was part of the A8 engine option (dual 4bbl carbs) and the 3.42 rear end.  With the 3.42, the engine rankings faster at highway speeds so the bigger pulley slowed the alternator speed down.  The pulleys are interchangeable.  The nut is easily removed with an impact wrench.  Swapping pulleys also means you don't have to find longer belts.