I want to switch over to 12v- possibly this year if funds allow. A buddy of mine mentioned that it may be possible to have my generator switched over to 12v and that the cost might be minimal. He had to have a gen rebuilt for his old Sears lawnmower and it cost around $30 and was done in 2 hours from a shop not far away. Would there be any drawbacks as far as going this route vs. alternator (or any other problems that you could foresee)? I'm still a rookie, so go easy on me . Thanks for any help!
X2 for an alternator.I would go for a one wire alternator it gets rid of a lot of underhood clutter and wiring.
Any generator from a 56 or later Y block, car or truck, will fit and work fine. Make sure all the wires are OK, and you may have to polerize it to make it work. Look at swap meets for a Motors Manual from about 58 or so for instructions.
You should also consider what type of use your car gets and what else you may have added / be adding to the electrical system . If you are going to run a modern sound system or convert to H4 headlamps for example, or even run a thermo fan then I would reccomend you go the Alternator route , various simple options available . .
Thanks fellas for your responses. I guess the whole thing for me is to have the dependability of 12v- to be able to go on trips several hours away and know that if I need a jump, I can get one from any car. Cost is paramount here- 2 years unemployed- so I was wondering if the generator upgrade would be more cost effective. Is there a resource that would help me figure out everything I would need to do and swap out if I did the alternator? Not really going to add anything- maybe a hidden modern stereo in the future. Thanks again for all of your help!
Scott,give this a read: http://reviews.ebay.com/6-to-12-Volt-Conversion-1955-Ford?ugid=10000000001571127 Also are you running a 6 cyl or a Y-Block? Also a good read: http://www.y-block.info/tips/alt/alt.html
i got my generator rebuilt and converted to 12 volts, love how it looks stock but with output of 12 volts
With this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHROME-100-...Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr#ht_5279wt_954 Hookup is one wire to the positive + terminal on the battery and that's it,no external wiring or voltage regulator to mess with 100% K.I.S.S.
Jeff, thanks for posting the info on the 6 to 12v thread. This started to make my head hurt and it seems like a ****house more work than I was told. So my heater won't work? Would I have to remove the dash to access all of the little bulbs? Merc, if you don't mind my asking, how much did it cost to get your generator rebuilt? Did you still have to replace all of the bulbs throughout? What other things did you need to change over/replace and did you run into any problems that you didn't anticipate? Again, thanks a heap fellas!
You can get at most of the bulbs without too much difficulty,a couple will have you lying on the floor so you can reach up at them.You could do some customizing like I did and take the dash out which is not really all that bad of a job,it made it easier to repaint and take care of some minor rust issues from condensation.Since I repainted and reupholstered the interior a blue theme I replaced the dash bulbs with blue LED's which gave it a real nice effect.
You will need to change the ignition coil to a 12 volt which depending on which type you buy may require a ballast resistor. If you go the ballast resistor route you will need a different starter solenoid if you want the car to start on 12volt and run on 8 volts. Your clock will need a voltage reducer as will your gauges. You could change the fan motor in your heater to one out of a 56. The starter motor and horns will work fine on 12 volt though you will need to change the horn relays 12 volt. Any globe you don't change will blow very quickly. The reason you give for changing to 12 volts suggests that ou think 6 volt is not reliable. I think you would get an argument out of a lot of people here that that is not the case. It is not a 5 minute job to convert to 12 volt but it is worthwhile if you want to use the latest technology. Regards
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