Battery installed backwards?

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I have a new to me 31 Model 42 and am in the process of sorting things out.  I have discovered that the battery is installed where the negative goes to ground and the positive goes to the starter.  I believe that these cars are positive ground cars.  I have tested the coil by putting the negative lead on the negative post at the coil and the positive lead on the engine block.  when i do that (and crank the engine), i get a positive deflection.  I believe this confirms that coil is a positive ground coil.  The engine runs fine both cold and warm, but the starter seems a bit lethargic especially on a restart when hot.  Therefore i believe i need to reverse the battery cables.  What should i do to check to see if generator has been damaged?  Is there anything else i need to check?  Thanks in advance for your inputs.

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