Vintage Cars: Alternator?, snail mail, altenator

Question
QUESTION: Hey Ron,How are you?
Sunday morning cars dead.Left the charger on for a while and it started up ok .The voltmeter appeared to be lower than usual.Mon morning same thing.I thought maybe I have a drain somewhere.Connected a light tester to positive and the battery -nothing great so there's no drain.Eith er the batt. or the alternator.My neighbor who's a Toyota mechanic for 15 years told me to pull the [positive off the battery and if the car dies it's the alternator.I did it and it died.what do you think? sound like the alternator?As always THanks in advance for the excellent advice.

ANSWER: Hey Ralph
Did you ever get that magazine?
Well then it sure does sound like an alternator, just make sure your battery is not dead, You could always pull that and get it tested at an autoparts store,in fact I would suggest it.
You can also test the altenator as follows
TESTING
Put a voltmeter across the battery while the engine is running . Voltage should be 14.2 volts. Lower than 14 volts or higher than 14.4 volts could mean a problem. Turn on the lights and accessories: voltage should stay up around 13 volts. Idle engine up to 2000 RPM. Voltage should go up to 14 or so
good Luck, let me know what you find
BTW - alternators can be rebuilt and are often better than after market.
Ron

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Ron,
Didn't get the magazine yet.
I was trying to remove the alternator and had a hell of a time getting the bottom lead off.I decided to bring it in since I didn't have good access and I really didn't want to take the rdiator out to get access.
Mechanic this morning says alt is testing ok and perhaps batt is low .He said he'll charge it up and then reeval.Also said hte belt had some play which could cause erratic charging.Do you mean it pays to rebuild the existing alternator instead of buying a rebuilt one from rock auto?Thanks Again,What month was that Hemmings?

Answer
March 08 - Hemmings Sports and Exotic car magazine, I'll be glad to snail mail you a photo copy if you cant find it.
Bad batteries can mimic a bad alternator. Have the battery tested as well, belts Could be an issue but rule out the other .
I guess I am spoiled here , got a good altenator shop that does a great job, but I am in a farming community and they have lots of work.  rock auto has good stuff
let me know what you find out
Ron