<VV> alternator failure oddball question

[Ramon Rodriguez III]

So this evening we drove about a half hour to a car cruise in the 66' Corsa
140...  the car I had planned to take to the Corvair Ranch open house
tomorrow (3 hours or a bit more each way).

Note that the first 2/3's of this email are only to give you pertinent
information, the question is near the end!

After leaving the car cruise I noticed the car wanted to stall at stop signs
and red lights.  I pulled into a parking lot and what I found was a noise
kinda like a bunch of bolts rattling around in the bottom of a tin can...
this noise appears to be coming from my alternator (a rebuilt unit less than
2 years old and less than 10K miles- NOT from a Corvair vendor).  The
alternator is the OEM type, not internally regulated.  I tapped on it with a
plastic screwdriver handle and the noise MAY have decreased a bit, the car
idled fine from then till I got home though I didn't spend a lot of time at
idle.

When I got home I took the belt off and started the car, the noise seemed to
be gone though I only ran it less than a minute since my fan was also
disabled.   The alternator bearing feels fine and it makes no noticeable
noise when spun by hand... this seems odd, but then I've never heard a noise
anything like this from an alternator before.  I also checked the idler and
fan bearings, they seem fine.. I'm 99% sure the source of the noise was the
alternator.   I noticed the car cranked slow as well (and I think my
headlights and dash lights may have been dimmer than usual but not sure), so
it might not have been charging either (regulator is also new 2 years ago).
It's late and I have to get up early in the morning to get to the ranch
(sadly now without a Vair) for the open house, so I won't be doing any more
troubleshooting tonight.
*
Now here is the really odd part, the real reason I'm writing to you guys:
About 5 minutes before getting home I was climbing a decent size hill at
about 40mph and lost power for a moment... felt like the ignition just
completely went dead for maybe a half second or a little more... instant
off, then instant on.. no stumbling or coughing about it.

Could this be related to the alternator trouble?*  I'm not aware of any way
the alternator could have caused this, so now I'm afraid I might be looking
at a failing pertronix or something as well... though my dad taught me that
when multiple problems appear at the same time there is usually a
connection.

I did give the engine a thorough washing this morning, cleaning it up in
preparation for the Vair Ranch event.

-- 
Ray "Grymm" Rodriguez
Lake Ariel, PA