I found the company I dealt with 2 years ago - bnrparts is their Ebay handle - from Van Nuys, CA. If you search Ebay for a specific part number (say 3438172) you will find "restored" units from them. Then go to their store and search "Mopar" and see what you get. Their listings usually have a few photos but on many of them, there are not pics of the area with the part number and the date code. The specific listing I was looking at back in 2017 had the proper part number but not the proper date code. In that listing they stated that there were other date codes available for that part number so I messaged them with my request. I got a call a few days later that they had found one with the dates I was looking for and it was $700. I found it kind of unusual that they just happened to have the exact date I was looking for in their possession so I asked them to send me a photo of the date code area on top and when they did, I noticed the discrepancies. This is when I emailed Dave Wise with the photos and my questions to which he called me back on the phone that day. I was in my car when he called and didn't have the sellers name handy and neither did he but he did state that it was a California outfit that he had these experiences with.
Is this the same company that Dave is referring to in paharamia's post? Are all of their "restored" units forged? That I can't state with 100% certainty but I can tell you about
my experience with bnrparts as being questionable and my suspicions were confirmed by David Wise. Below are the photos I saved from the March 10, 2017 email to Dave Wise (I can't believe I found this.) These are the photos bnrparts sent me upon my request. Tell me what you think. The date stamped on the top is the date when all the alternator parts came together as one unit and assembled. It should be
later than the dates stamped on the 2 halves (pie wheel) but as you can see, that is not the case. The rear case half pie wheel is not readable but the front half shows 6th (or maybe 7th - hard to tell) month of 70. The final assembly date code on top shows 2-70 or second week of 1970 which is well before the 6th or 7th month. Plus the number 2 circled in red doesn't quite look correct in it's orientation or in it's font style when compared to the other 2's cast into the top. These inconsistencies were enough to prompt Dave to call me and advise me to steer clear. His information was invaluable and our conversation led to him giving me a name of someone who was way off the Mopar grid whom he knew had a legit NOS T/A alternator. After a lengthy phone conversation with that gentleman stating the history of my car and the mission I was on to perform a "Day 1" restoration, he agreed to sell me a brand new 3438172 alternator that he bought some 40+ years prior with an 8-70 assembly code.
Again, this was
my experience with this outfit. It was
specifically brought to David Wise's attention and he
specifically told me to steer clear of them. You be the judge...
