Just drug this home, I want to keep it as traditional as possible. However I would like to upgrade the brakes because I do want to drive it and it needs to be safe. I know I can add disc on the stock front axle. Wondering if there are other options ? Also will rear wheel cylinders from something newer work ? Plan on leaving it six powered as now it has a 54 235 in it. Any reason to go 12V ? Thanks for any and all input, good bad or ugly !
Would it be possible to upgrade the ignition or would I have to join the modern age and convert to 12V ?
If the harness is original, you'll probably want to replace/rewire the whole vehicle (cracked, corroded wires, cloth insulation, etc.). 6V is fine, however if you want to add music, chances are 12V will be less trouble. Keep in mind that if you rewire it for 6V, all the wires must be heavier gauge than the equivalent circuits for 12V (twice the current) so dont use modern wire guage typical values. That's why the original harness is probably pretty heavy gauge including battery cables/grounds. One theory on why 12V came to be was to save money on wiring harnesses/cables.
Some has been replaced,maybe just the engine compartment? Have yet to look under the dash. Radio is not a concern, engine performance is. I want it to perform well, as in be reliable, sound good, get good mileage so I can drive it alot ! Speed is at the bottom of my list. (for this vehicle)
In my opinion, YES. but I would not look past a 270 either. I would snag either. 270's are much easier to come by.
if it be me i would go to a 12v system and replace all the wireing in it you dont know what someone else is cobbled you would hate to get 10k in it and burn down because of faulty wireing
Sad thing is he is going to sell the 67. Actually that will keep me from dragging more projects home. LOL
I have a '54 chevy panel that I have converted into a GMC. For brakes mine has '63 or so Chevy fullsize front drums. They use a small spacer to make everything work, but with the booster it stops like you hit a wall. I think it might be better off without the booster. There are plenty of kits for discs, but there's nothing wrong with drums unless you are going to road race it or something.
you can leave the brakes the way they are, will work just fine. for fuel economy: my 235 does 12 miles to the gallon. if you get a dual intake you'll get a little better mileage, there's people that get well over 20 miles just by adjusting their stuff right. 12 V is nice if it were only because it's easy. with very little work you can put a GM alternator in. you can buy a few resistors to take care of the gauges, put a 12V coil in and a little more of that kind of stuff, and you'll be good to go! and drive that thing a lot, you can't go wrong with a 235!!!
Gee, I must have been doing it all wrong... I had a 49 that was my only Transportation and converted it to 12 volt. 35,000 miles later...Never heard that wiring harness that was in a 6 volt system could not take 12 volt. Still have a 50 today with same wiring in it and it has a 12 volt system !
Thanks for the reply's As for the brakes I went with a 9" Ford rear, had new drums the 49's looked pretty thin but worse is the price of wheel cylinders I can buy new cylinders less than kits for the 49 rear. Plus the 9" has 3.50 gears which will help if (when) I swap to a T-5. Took some pics of the "new" harness and other than the cobwebs it looks good (we will see how well it works). Anybody want to guess on the door grab handle ?
Horse-hockey. The wires for todays equivalent circuits can be LIGHTER guage if you go to 12 volts as they will draw HALF the current to use the same power. Doubling the voltage reduces the current by 50% and the diameter of the wire is dependent upon hte current that flows thru it.
So dabirdguy you say "Horse-hockey" but vegaspaul was saying IF you leave it 6 volt and rewire it be sure NOT to use 12 V wiring. Sounds right to me. I'm confused !
So you got me thinking if you could make drums from a 63 (or so) work, I should be able to make a disc conversion for a 63 (or so) work. ???? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=322511
The Jalopy Journal
