Most of the Altenators you see forsale on line or in catalogs are junk. I went through 2 new ones before I went and had my original one rebuilt. No problems since rebuild.
I would pay the extra for the rebuild or a real deal GM altenator. I would also replace the voltage regulator if it's an external type. They are cheap and when they start to go they can be a real pain.
Did you ever check the neg bat cable ground to the frame as I sugested in an earlier reply?

 

I am out of state right now so all of the advice I am receiving from you all is being relayed to my family in Michigan. I sure appreciate all the advice and will be sure to let you know how it goes... So you don't think it is worth it to buy an alternator from the Summit catalog or through Ecklers? How about an OEM replacement from autozone? What is the normal voltage capacities on a stock alternator?

 

Hi again, new or rebuilt is a matter of debate, when my alternatorfailed I went to Auto-zone, that was 02-05-2000 it cost $ 36.03, it lasted untill 09-17 2006, when it had a bearing noise, they gave me a free replacement, with another 99 year warranty. The regulator is inside the alternator on our cars and it's set to put out about 13.8 volts. Is that what your asking? PG

 

Not sure if that's what I'm asking...in the catalogs, the alternators are categorized like- (ex. 80 amp, 100 amp, 140 amp). Is there any benifit to going big with this? Also, while speaking to my father back in MI, he told me that when he tried to restart the car (with no luck) that the new battery was so flat that not even the horn or lights would work. Still sound like a dead alternator? Sorry for all the questions- I'm trying to do as much trouble shooting as possible from florida without inconveiniancing my dad to go back and forth to the car during his busy day... I bought a haynes manual today, so depending on my bowels, I should be able to study very often! Sorry, that's gross

 

No problem Nick, I'm sure your exited about playing with your new Vette, and it's nice that your dad is involved in trying to help, in my opion it's best to replace everything as stock, once you get the car to run properly than you can modify it the way you want. As far as the altenator goes it will put out enough juice to keep the battery charged for the next restart. As Schoon and others have mentioned, the ground wire, the neg side of the battery may have corrosion which will keep the altenator from charging, so you'll have to disconnect the leads and clean them properly so that you have good connections. there are lots of seperate ground connections on our cars and you will have to clean and reconnect them one at a time. You say that you inherited thr car ( How lucky can you get ) but if the car sat for a long time the points may be pitted so you should replace them, thats a cheep fix. The 74 does not have a lot of horse power so don't expect to blow to doors of the first Viper you pull up to.
Is your car auto or stick? In either case you have a netural safty switch, if it's not adjused properly you cannot get the car to start.
Have the new battery checked sometimes they are just bad from new. Then check the fan belt it could be loose. Check that the wire to the altenortor is tight.
We havs covered a lot, but this is where I would start, if this does not solve the problem, let me know and we'll go deeper into it. Hpoe this helps. PG

 

Going with a more powerful altenator is fine if you have extra electrical stuff added to your car, like a bigradio etc. I would replace the altenator with the same as you have now or just find a place that will rebuild it. Probably just needs brushes etc.
Eckler's has a lot of good Vet parts for sale. This where I buy most of my stuff.
But again, I just want to mention I had a similar problem as you do and it was the neg bat cable where it bolts to the frame.
Good luck!

 

Thanks again guys, I'm printing out this thread and mailing it home. It's a stick with a considerable amount of performance work already done, not sure just how much as I havent got to play with it yet, more to come on that as well as pictures.

 

had a similar problem on my 79. it turned out to be a draw in the system that was killing the battery in a matter of a few hours. i would recommend getting a factory manual and a wiring diagram for your vette and maybe an assembly manual. its helped me a great deal. good luck.

 

In case anyone is interested, here she is- I especially like the wheels and black pipes

https://www.corvetteforums.com/album...q231144088.jpg

and this is the engine
https://www.corvetteforums.com/album...g330060684.jpg

 

Wow! Your car looks great, and the motor, it takes a lot to keep it that clean. The person that left it to you must have loved it.
One last word on the altenator- the stock one puts out about 37 amps. Some cars with A/C might put out 55 amps.
Reguarding the internal voltage regulator, some times when they fail they will bleed off all the power in the battery, this could be why your new battery is dead. PG