I have a 1950 chevy deluxe, when i bought it, it had no battery but the owner told me that it had been converted to a 12 volt. Im new to cars so imagine my surprise when i attempted to buy a battery and the autozone guy said what kind. He told me i should contact the previous owner and ask what size battery it used to have. im clueless here on what will or wont work. i was under the impression that a battery is a battery. any help would be great thanks.
Verify the voltage. If it has a generator it should say 12V on the tag. If it has an alternator it is more than likely 12 volt. Maybe the coil is marked. The starter could be either 6 or 12. Get the biggest battery that will fit in the space you have. You can't have too much battery.
Don't ask the guy at the counter, he don't know what battery you need if it's a conversion. 12V ***ured, get the one that will fit in the tray with the posts sticking up in the air.
how can i tell if its really converted? i put a 12volt on and it started but i ***ume its not that easy
Turn on the lights. If you put in a 12V battery and they don't burn out, it has been converted. If they burn out, you needed new ones anyway.
Look closely at the altenator,the coil,distributor,and condensor,..if converted something should read 12V...if not you will burn out some things...Just cranking should not hurt anything on the engine...but guages,radio, ect. are another thing...d32
True. I just said it was more than likely. "it had no battery but the owner told me that it had been converted to a 12 volt".***** This increases the odds that it is 12V. Take the alternator off and get it checked. What is on there for a regulator? If there is still an old style big 3 wire regulator on there it should be marked if it is 12V. Does it have an alternator or a generator?
Double what Old Buzzard says about not having too much battery. And a word of advice: most people in auto parts stores are NOT savvy about our old cars. There are some who really know their ****, but until you find one of them (and when you find one, you will KNOW) it's really up to you to do your own legwork. You've got a huge wad of knowledge here on the HAMB to help you with that. I've got guys at my local chain store that will tell me they don't have oil for a '51 Chevy, LOL.
Or brake line or fuel line, the list goes on and on. If the fella said it was converted I would ***ume that it was or I wouldn't have purchased the car in the first place. I never do business with someone that I don't trust. If you take the dimensions of the battery box in and a tape measure with you you can measuer the batteries in the window. Point at the one you like and say I want one of those, just like that one. I usually look for one with high cranking amps, it says on the side of the battery as a rule, it gets real cold here and the more cranking amps the better.
I put a group 25(maybe 35) battery and it fit in the stock tray. If you can fab up a larger tray you would be better off with a larger battery though as you would have more choices for a better battery.
when the owner converted it, it appears he switched which side the battery sits. the tray is on the right when and the cables are on the left. is this an issue or can i just fabricate a tray
Here's a picture of a nice 50 Chevy for sale on ebay. It shows the battery on the p***enger side, so that's probably correct. Where the cables run, I can't tell. That looks like a 6 volt battery, but there should be a 12 V model of about the same size. I just bought a new battry for my 2006 Caravan that's about the same dimensions. The one I bought comes with both top post terminals and the side terminals too.
Another indicator that he converted the car to 12 volt is that it will most likely have a ballast resistor in the wire going from the switch to the + side of the coil. Here is a chart that tells the battery groups and gives the dimensions. http://www.rtpnet.org/teaa/bcigroup.html Measure your battery box, compare the measurements against the chart and then decide which group of battery you need. Then when you go to the parts house ask for a Group __ __ and don't tell them what car it is for at the get go. If the battery is for a vehicle for my personal use I always buy the best rated battery that the guys I deal with sell. The store manager and his ***istant have learned over the years that you don't sell Rob's wife a battery that isn't the best one they sell or he will bring it back and not be too happy in the process.
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