Technical Flathead V8 conversion to 12-volt - needing some help!

Hi everyone,

I have a 1946 Ford F100 pickup and its a neat barn-find survivor pickup. I have the engine running smoothly, the truck is running, driving, and stopping reliably.

I would really like to convert this truck to 12-volts with an electric fuel pump.

Can anyone give me a suggestion on a 12-volt conversion and what landmines I should be looking out for?

Any recommendations on alternators, fuel pumps, entire kits, etc.? Would I need a new starter motor?

Many thanks for any help or direction you may be able to contribute.

Joe

 

12 volt generator, 12 volt voltage regulator, 12 volt bulbs for the headlights, tail lights and gauges, 12 volt battery coil and party on as long as it’s all in good conditioned. Your starter will be fine with 12 volts.

 

You're gonna hate this, but if it's "running, driving, and stopping reliably" you should just fine tune what you already have. If you don't the next thing you know, it'll be tweed upholstery, IFS, and pastel paint.

 

I agree with Tim, but you may also need a voltage reducer for the gauges.

 

Due to the design of these gauges they work just fine on 12 volts with no mods at all. Use 12 volt coil and ballast resistor. All light bulbs. Heater motor and radio if it has one require a voltage reducer. 12 volt one wire alternator connected straight to the battery or use this method - hook to the battery terminal on the old voltage regulator and the other two wires (field & armature) disconnected and taped back on both ends. Remember, you need to use negative ground with 12 volts. This option is purely for original appearance as the regulator is in the alternator. Easy conversion. Your 6 volt starter will work fine if you don't lay on it for long periods and gives a real kick to make for easy starting, especially in cold weather where the wheezy starter on these things makes for lousy cold weather performance on 6 volts.
EDIT: These cars originally used a Group 2 6 volt battery. Unavailable from stores now. I believe you can special order one from an Interstate Battery dealer, though. Bigger in size with more oomph. For 12 volt, a standard Group 24 top post battery fits and works perfect for conversion.

 

Be sure to change to negative ground while you are at it so you can run modern electronics like cell phones.

Charlie Stephens

 

Another couple of things you'll need to do: You will need the alternator bracket for the conversion. Available from early Ford parts vendors. You will need to eliminate the original 6 volt ignition resistor. This is located on the firewall usually up at under dash level. The mounting board also contains the circuit breakers for the lights, etc. Just disconnect and hook the two resistor wires together.