well i was replacing my belts yesterday and droped the wrench on the "+" of the alt but got it off quickly. thing is that something by the driver side strut started smoking.. i mean fried to an extent... car still runs.. but was wondering what it might be. and if i should replace it.

It looks like it has a "+" wire going to it and then it loops back into itself 3 times.

 

Fusible links??? its possible u blew a fusible link when u shorted your tool on your alternator. Check to see if any of these have blown.

 

yep, fusible link. They act as a fuse and they will burn in two... they help protect wire harness/components. Replace it...you will notice something not working soon.

 

The fusible links are on the drivers side strut, they all plug into a black rectangular box. They should have a white cloth covering and one now should be burnt in half. The smoke was the cloth on the wire burning, these are really old style of fuse. You should have three fusible links on the strut, I think it goes 0.3 1.0 0.3 top middle bottom. Correct me if I'm wrong. I know you havent fried the middle one but whicheverone you fried, not that I remember which off hand, Controls your charging system. So the next time you start your car you will be drawing battery current and not charging. In lamens terms your battery will die and so will your car.
Here is a side note that everyone should heed. Always ALWAYS disconnect your negative battery terminal when working on near or ANYWHERE around the charging system. This will prevent arching or accidently grounding a circuit. Thankfully the fusible link saved your alternator from frying, yes these are important, yes you need to replace it.
It does not matter how quickly you moved the wrench, you probably shouldnt have touched it anyway. electricity moves fast as light. So in the time your brain began to react the circuit had already overloaded burned the fuse and all the power left in the circuit traveled to ground before your hand even moved to get the wrench.
Hope this helps....

 

so then would auto zone have these links... because i have been driving the car for a good bit and my dash light has not cut on and i guess i will have to check to see what the gage says when i get back in it.

 

check out this thread for converting the wire type to a more common fuse...
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/fusible-link-conversion-thread-443820/

 

thx for the link... will go and pick them up today just to make sure... but the gage is still saying 12v on key turn and 14 on running. so i think that i'm good... but will replace for easy replacement later on.

 

Thx for the tip again... done did it. works great 30-60-30...