Let's start at the beginning:
An alternator should be rated at 125% of the rated load.
A 60 amp on an original C-3 was fine. Your headlights were the bulk load, with the heater blower/radio adding a touch.
The starter was the largest "momentary" load, with recharge of the battery in a few miles.
Hot start encounters were the primary reason for losing a charge too fast.
Now keep in mind, a 60 amp alternator puts out very little at idle, with the battery "filling" the need at these times.
With the advent of onboard computers added in the early 80's, the CS alternator was introduced to provide a more "filtered" output to compliment the needs of a computer.
The wattage of amps ,as you so point out, are usually rated in "peak" power, just to get persuasive numbers. Although an amp may be capable of peak output as stated, this is a rare occurence, and would never be attained at a constant output. A 2,000 watt amp would rarely see 1,000 watts output.
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