I've got the generator apart for my 51 and took the field coils out to clean everything up. A previous technician had cut away all the cloth insulation on the coils leaving just the plastic. This is cracked and not in very good shape. If it checks out electrically ,can I just rewind it with eletrical tape and be good to go or should I look for new coils. Are new or NOS coils available? Also after I clean up the pole shoes should they be coated with anything?

You can rewrap the fields with electrical tape, but that is strictly "Mickey Mouse"! There is a special field coil wrapping material that starter shops use. I would either rewrap the fields with the correct stuff, or get new field coils. They are still available, and your local starter shop can order them for you.

No, the pole shoes are not coated with anything. Just make sure that they are nice and clean. Also, when the field coils and pole shoes are installed, there is a special "pole shoe" vise that is used to tighten up the pole shoe screws to get the proper clearance between the armature barrel and the pole shoe. You cannot do this with a screwdriver because the pole shoes will not get tight enough by hand to provide the proper clearance. A starter shop can do this for you since they have the right equipment.

Thanks JunkYardDog. Looks like it's of to the starter shop.