Yes, this is a Balmar Model 81 not the alternator you saw above just painted white. I have had both a Model 81 and a Leece-Neville 8MR apart on the bench and they are virtually identical, on the inside and out even the bearing numbers are shared.


Balmar no longer makes the model 81 and it has been replaced by the newer 6 series alternator. The 6 series is a very, very good alternator, with better performance, and a more robust build than these.


For many years Leece-Neville was one of the main suppliers to Balmar, perhaps they still are for some alternators, but most of them are now physically built by Balmar. The 8MR will run about $340.00 - $385.00 by the time you are done sourcing all the bits and pieces such as the pulley, conversion kit, alternator and spacers/shims. For the performance you get it is not a bad value, but still not a Balmar 6-Series..


If pushing an alternator hard, with a large bank, or you have AGM or GEL you would be wise to consider a more robust alternator.



The newer Balmar 6 series small case alternators are a big leap forward in terms of better cooling, and *higher output for longer periods, but if you don't need that type of performance the 8MR is a decent low cost option to pair with a Balmar regulator when set up for external regulation.


*WARNING: There is no small case alt I know of, including the Denso based alts with hairpin winding's that can be run at full output for long duration's. All small-cased alternators, even "performance based models" require some form of temp protection or current limiting in order to not over heat. This often means buying a larger alt than the current you expect and then de-tuning it or current-limiting it with the regulator.


When setting a regulator up for the 8MR I strongly recommend at least Balmar Belt Manager level 3 to 5 depending upon your load and the time it needs to be in bulk. This will de-rate the available current output of this alternator and allow it to run into large loads for long periods of time without over heating. Running these alternators wide open/full fielded into large loads for hours on end WILL cook them. Use alt temp sensing as added insurance and Balmar Belt Manager as your primary tool to keep these running cool..