6 volt to 12 volt conversion

[Ken/Alabama]

Gotta ask, why change to 12 volts??

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama

Gotta ask, why change to 12 volts??

Ken, your question is remarkable ...Not the question itself, but the fact that it took 7 years and 19 posts for someone to ask it.

[Gene1949]

Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama

Gotta ask, why change to 12 volts??

These forums are full of reasons to convert.
And then there is the reasons the major auto manufacturers changed in the ‘50s.
Sure, 6 volts will work but I no longer wanted to carry a trunk full of spares.
I had no desire to try to fool someone into thinking I had an “original” Ford script battery.
Chasing 70-year-old NOS electrical parts or replacing them with unreliable off shore repops.
Unreliable local rebuilders because the good guys here are wearing out.

[SoCalCoupe]

Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama

Gotta ask, why change to 12 volts??

Ken, I'm with you. It worked when it was new. What's wrong with your system that is doesn't work now?


When I bought my '41 business coupe 3 years ago it didn't run worth a cr@9, a 12 volt conversion was my first project. After researching it, I decided instead to fix the real problems: 1. found that there was a missing ground strap from the firewall to the engine. That eliminated 40% of the hard start issues. 2. went into distributor timing and adjusted it to spec. That was another 30%. 3. Bought a high quality Skip Haney coil and Tubman condenser. Awesome! There's the remaining 30%. It now fires up as quickly as my brand new fuel-injected, computer-controlled Japanese car.