Alternator woes.......or not?

So everything is running great in the car,....ignition click solved.

For the heck of it I take it to get the battery/starter/alternator checked.......everything is great (good charge...etc) but the alternator is only pushing 26amps.

So I buy and install a new alternator (same unit AC DELCO 63amp).

After PAINTING the block and all alternator mounts..etc...etc I INSTALL THE NEW alternator. She runs fine.......

I take it back up to get it checked (just to be sure).....and it is pushing 16 amps!!! Volts are 13.28, diode is fine.

I am going to remove it and have them bench test it to make sure they sold me a good unit.....BUT

1) The cable run frmo trunk batt to alt should be good sense Im getting 13.28 volts RIGHT????

2) Is it POSSIBLE that my heavy coats of paint on ALL alternator mounts has impeded the ground? And all I need to do is sand them to clean metal for better conduction?

3) Typicallly, where should the + from the batt route to?....Where does it connect and then junction off to serve other components?

It is odd that the batt seems to keep up with this though....no running issues........full charge....

btw - My batter has 2 grounds....one goes to starter motor, the other to the frame. Then I have a jump from the frame to the block. All look good. xcept the alternator mounts which are heavy coated black now.......

Any ideas.....(rookie wisecracks from Bob are welcome as well)

Maybe 26 and 16 amps are all that is being drawn at the time? The alternator shouldn't out out 63 amps all of the time.

If I got a car that ran right...what fun would that be? Should I buy a Hyundai? :-)

I looked long and hard for this baby!.....you WILL respect the sleeper Nova.

Just got a few kinks to work out......

Maybe my next one will be a rod from scratch?....But then again Iwould have about 30 posts a day on this forum.....

Everything else I read on the net says the ground to block is VERY important and I think I have impeded it with my 3 coats of thermal paint.

Will do some sanding tonight and check her again....

btw - IS THERE anyway to check this stuff for proper volts/amps with a simple voltometer?,......seems like it should be straightforward enough? right?

Well,....I dont have a load tester unless you my toilet basin counts....
Perhaps I shuold invest in one?...(Jeff goes to check auto supply store...)

What kind of 1/4 times do you get?
This Nova (when it had its 480ish rear gear) did 11.2. Dyno'd at 502HP.

Ofcourse it weighs a little more than your 150lb T-pail.

Thanks for all the advice!....


btw - YES,...I do know what it means in Spanish (Im in marketing remember),....one of the bigger marketing screw-ups.....
Ironically though, the day I found the car I was in the process of leaving my previous company "Giant Octopus" or G.O. as it was called,....and joining a new design firm "VDO". The cars NO GO also could read NO G.O. and when I sat in her for the first time the Tach was made by VDO. How's that for a "meant to be" coink-i-dink?