12V to 6V... Sorta? Feasibility Questions...

LOL, my wife is 37 and I'm 38 (tomorrow), and we have a 3 year old son. I don't think we'll be sitting out in any corn fields anytime soon, and her parents are in Maryland anyway. I think I'd just like to be able to drive it... Yeah, that would be nice. LOL

But I'm guessing you're speaking from experience?

 

some things you just have to do right the first time...buy a harness and convert to twelve volts...everything !!don't cheap out or half ass it here.do it right and simply be done with it...wiring kits are either expensive or less expensive...they all accomplish the same thing..12 volts !!....Ron Francis wiring and Painless are great products but are priced for guys with deep pockets....nothing wrong with that, but, I'd rather save a few $$$ and buy something far less expensive that works just fine...I've used EZ Wire kits many times on many different cars with great success...just trying to save you a few bucks if you decide to rewire it right....there's nothing worse than a cobbled or non working electrical system...cars with those...we call 'em "zip code cars" for obvious reasons.

 

No problem! I hope it works for you.

 

No matter what anyone says, twelve volts doesn't give you brighter headlights than six volts. Twelve volts can just overcome bad connections better than six volts can. Clean and fix the connectors and the 6V bulbs will be as bright as 12V.

As for generators, they don't put out much at idle, so your headlights will appear dim if you get out of the car and look at them, but when you're cruising they are brighter.

Eight volts is a band-aid, not a cure.

 

But I'm guessing you're speaking from experience?[/QUOTE]


One thing I've learned over the years...........NEVER ADMIT TO ANYTHING, UNLESS YOU'RE UNDER OATH IN FRONT OF A JUDGE





HellRaiser


And a Happy Birthday today to ya........

 

It WAS done right the first time, when the factory built it! If you're buying a new harness just to convert to 12 volts, YOU'RE WASTING MONEY! Chances are that the original harness, in good condition, is higher quality, and heavier wire, than any replacement you'll buy today.

 

Thanks Hellraiser.

 

We are almost 60 and we still go parkin', corn field, old not welll traveled dirt road and etc.

I had to call my now deceased father in law to come give us a jump in a cemetary once and we were in his truck. He laughed, reminded me that I was a screw up and gave us a jump. Then asked me if we could see the movie at the drivein from there. I told him that we couldn't see the movie at the drive in if we were there because his defroster didn't work. He laughed again and asked if we were goin' racin and we said yes. He just said," Don't blow my mill." Then told us to stay out of trouble and headed home.

 

I absolutely agree with you 100%...but a lot of damage can and usually does happen to a 59 year old wiring system. but rigging a 12volt circuit into a sixvolt system is very halfassed and only a butcher would want to do something like that....but, hey I'm just trying to help this guy...after all, I'm not the one who's going to get stuck or have an electrical fire...every one of my old cars are wired correctly and safely and have been for years with ZERO problems. The original thread poster even says that his 6volt system is "piss poor".

 

I'm going to try this today as well. The car has been sitting since '86, and I'm sure anything I do to it can only be an improvement to the charging system at this point. Which post is the ARM. post? Heavily coated in black paint, so if it's labeled, it ain't visible. Two posts if I remember correctly, one a bit narrower than the other.

 

On the regulator they are lettered. I usually flashed the regulator posts instead of the ones on the gen.....Duh...I can read, but I can't remember which posts are which on the gen.



Something you might want to do even before you start all this. Use a volt meter and see what you're getting for a reading. Should be about 6.5 just sitting...After you get it running and up around 1500 rpm you should get around 7.5 - 7.8 volts.

If it's been sitting for quite some time, you'll probably need to put it on a charger to bring your battery up to where it should be...Also check the water level in the battery....

Double check your battery posts and cables, make sure they're clean, shiney and bright. The connections to ground and to the starter are cleaned.


HellRaiser

 

Well, I'm going to basically start at ground zero this morning, which means the VR and the genny are both getting pulled. The genny is getting cleaned up and checked out and put back together. As stated in my 53 build thread (quite possibly the most unread thread on the HAMB), the original Delco generator was pulled and replaced with a (eeeeeeeeecccchhhhh) MOPAR generator just because of availability, price, and it was clean. I can rebuild the Delco and swap it back in, and monkey with the VR until I get it set right. At idle I'm getting ONE volt. Yyyyyup. Revving it takes it up to a whopping 1.4, or even as high as 1.6! LOL. Yeah, we have a problem. Hoping to get everything worked out today and drive it home.

Oh, and Beans... I know you're gonna check out this thread at some point today, so I gotta say once again "Porknbeaner was right about something ELSE". You'll be happy to know that after driving the car for a short jaunt, I have decided to put a GD muffler on it rather than straight pipes. In the 4 miles it actually drove, the straight pipes thoroughly got on my nerves. I have a half dozen Flowmasters laying around, so guess what it's getting for the time being... But, YOU WERE RIGHT 'ol chap. Point, Beans.

 

Get rid of the amp. Meter and go with a one wire 12 volt alternator!!!!!

 

Where did you measure, before or after the regulator?

 

Okey dokey, I THINK I got it all straight. Pulled the VR and tossed it into the shit heap from the get-go, swapped in the brand frikken' new MOPAR VR I pulled from the '52 out at the salvage yard when I pulled the genny. Drilled some holes and bolted the bitch to the firewall, ran new wiring from the generator to the VR, popped a lead from the BAT. to the GEN. tabs on the VR, then fired it up. Sonofabitch if I didn't get a reading on the dash that said I was getting current! I even let the car run for a bit, turned it off, then re-started it a few times just to make sure. All seems well with the charging system now.

SOOOOOO, I ran it up to the gas station for its first official fill-up from a pump, not a red plasitc jug, and whaddaya know... I heard waterfalls. FUCK!!! Need a new gas tank. Not sure where I'm going to dig up $190, but I guess I sorta have to if I want to drive it. I've already patched the tank with epoxy putty twice, and I'm tired of chasing leaks at this point. I'm thinking temporary fuel cell.

Thanks again everyone for all the help and advice. One more stumbling block that has been steady kicking my ass for the past two months out of the way. The HAMB rocks!

 

new fuel tanks are a good investment, and a decision you won't regret.
glad to hear it's charging, and was a cheap fix.

 

Oh it was cheap alright! Already had everything there in or on the car already. Just didn't know about the polarizing of the VR thing, and wasn't sure if anything was hooked up right from the previous owner.

As far as the new tank, yeah, I agree 100%. I've been getting enough rust scale in my fuel filter since I got it running that I could have assembled a SECOND 53 Chev along side this one just by hanging on to the scale and reconstituting it with a little epoxy.

I also installed a Thrush glass pack today, and I am not disappointed one bit. It no longer sounds like a tractor, and when I let off the gas I get that throaty sound I was looking for. Best $24 I've spent on it so far. Mostly because EVERYTHING ELSE has been MORE than $24, but I digress...