Good morning I recently purchased a 1948 chevy stylemaster sports coupe, I've decided to bite the bullet and do the 12volt conversion So would I be better off to stay with a vacuum advance distributor or no? Not the original motor but a 1953 235 is In it Also where can the alternator be found for less than $70-80, seems like a lot for a bracket
1955 12 V 235 generator $124 plus $40 core.... $76 I would keep the 1953 distributor. You will need a ballast.
Not sure which of the two your asking for? As for a bracket. Just use the generator ones. On the lower bracket place alternator all the way forward then fill in the gap behind the alternator with a steel tube. Cheap right?
I was going to say that a GM one wire can be found rebuilt cheap. Retain the original regulator gut it and use it for a junction block. That way the really smart HAMBers will think that it is a trad externally regulated GM alternator with the simplicity of a one wire. As for the distributor if money is an issue just get a 12V coil, resister for a chevy truck and a condenser for a 12V GM and you are almost there. You still need to have a 12v wire to the plus side of the coil in the start circuit. If you are not running a later starter solenoid that has a start circuit you can fudge that with a hot wire and a toggle switch, charge it when you are starting and then open the switch when it fires. Now just to hijack the thread for you fellas that want to stay 6V and want to upgrade I bought a 6V one wire GM alt the other day at an auction. I have no idea what they came from but it is brand new and I can get the numbers off of it. If you want. Man that was a lot. Sorry just feeling chatty I guess.
No need to gut. Just move brown ARM wire onto BAT terminal at regulator with the Red or Black wire. Done. Not a fan of one alternators so here how to do a 3 wire. At alternator clip small brown wire from ring terminal. Heavy brown to bat terminal of alternator. Thin brown to white of pig tail pictured. Red of pig tail to bat terminal of alternator with the heavy brown just mentioned. As for the blue wire, just leave it connected at regulator then clip it away at the gen/alt end.
We (the idiots that I run with) sometimes use the regulator like a wire block. Granted sometimes we are making our own wire harness. I actually use a one wire because they are cheap and easy to come by. I usually have 3 or 4 on the shelf. LOL The 3 wires are a damned good alt. I am leaning toward an older externally regulated alt for my next build. They do not put out a lot of zot, about 55 amps, but I do not have a high output requirement.
For the ignition if it is working properly (advance moves) just buy a 12 volt coil, personally a non-internal resistor, and a ballast resistor. Nothing else is needed.
@porkn****** it just came back to me that 48 has an amp gauge and not an idiot light. It's been a few decades now that I did a rewire on a 48. I did incorporated a exciter wire into the wiring on that one. So ya, OP is most likely better off with a one alternator. Explaining wiring via key board doesn't always translate well.
He can use the coil he has now if he uses a ballast on ignition hot. Not counting resistor coils, I think the only real difference in a 12 V coil and 6V coil is 12V coils say 12V.
national chevy sells the alternator bracket, DA plug & wide belt pulley to run earlier 216 motors, 235 doesn't require the pulley change out
It can be tricky at best and most people cannot read a wiring diagram. When I was in high school one of my buddies lost the reg on his '62 Impala. He had the alt and regulator from a '65 Impala. So he decided that an upgrade was in order. Should have been pretty strait forward. he called me about 1:30 AM to ask questions. @ about 2 I was at his house wiring it up. I just could not talk him through it. Wiring is magic.
12 V starter? Why? Use that 6v std. starter as is, just wire the 12v to it. It'll spin that 235 faster than any 12v, start almost immediately. Just don't stand on the starter long if it won't start. I've done this with several 235's and i don't think i ever replaced a starter. That 6v starter is heavy wound, can stand a lot. Try it and you'll buy it. (i'm doin it now with a tractor, same difference)
I've used 12V on a 6V starter with good success if you don't grind it to long. If you grind it to get the engine started then you get troubles.
Question was actually about vacuum advance and alternator bracket .. No you are right. Never was mentioned, Guess some people just run with what they think they know and what they think people are talking about
The Jalopy Journal
