6 volt change to 12 volt (pros and cons)

[George/Maine]

If you have a nice orginal car 6 volts is fine.If you have a good 6 volt battery you could drive all day no charging and get home.With FORDs that coil is a knowed problem ,carry a spare if you can change it yourself.I run a 49 olds for years on 6 volts and batterys don,t last long.They were alway a hard car to start when hot.
Stop have a fwe beers and let it cool down.
I run my 39 Ford 12 volts,alt,mini starter,about the size of a lawn tractor,now have a GPS,elecrtric fuel pump.I wired it this way and would not go back to 6 volts.
Today with cell phones join AAA and get 200 miles free towing.
Braking down on interstate no fun.

[jimTN]

6V is the way to go. First of all, rewire is very simple with a new light harness and dash harness that all the vendors carry. Everything FITS and fits right as it was designed to. 6V will start a stock engine just fine. A 6v Alt is the way to go if your are running halogen headlights. Antique Auto Electric in OH, Larry Becker 419-668-5986 makes excellent units with a real guarantee.

[G.M.]

If you have Skip rebuild your 32 to 48 coil and have 2/0 battery cables with clean tight battery and ground connections and a clean ignition switch your starting problem are gone even when hot. You also need a fully charged battery and charging system. G.M.

[mrtexas]

How about batteries? Go down to Walmart and buy a 6v that fits? Ha ha ha!

[Fartman]

I need reliability as i want to drive the shit out of this car,and would like to do alot of interstate driving,if i break down the chances of getting 6 volt parts here in Australia would be next to none,I havnt decided which way to go yet as there is a 50/50 arguement on here for and against,did i mention that i have no wiring on this car at all so will need a complete rewire,thanks for your advise guys.

[Henry/Kokomo]

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Since you're starting from scratch, the 6v-vs-12v question is valid and you certainly have received a good amount of information in this thread. In my opinion, there are two related questions to ask that have a strong bearing on the issue. 1) Generator or Alternator and 2) Positive or Negative ground. I completely re-wired my '46 and maded my own wiring harness in the process. For drivability and reliability, I chose wire capable of carrying the higher 6v amperage, neg. ground and an alternator. That was four years ago and I haven't been sorry yet. FWIW

[tom/illinois]

5th Avenue in Kansas will fix you up Funky Ford. Google it.

[41LjH]

Going to 12 volt negative ground is a good idea. The started will work, get a 1 wire alternator re worked to charge off idle. Either change the gauges or get dropping resistors. Change the coil and bulbs and be sure you have plenty of grounds. As mentioned earlier 6 volt wiring is heaver gauge because 6 volt runs more current. The heavier wiring is a good idea. I have seen 12volt battery cables get hot and smoke on a 6 volt system. But the main reason to change is because most shops don't know how to deal with 6 volt positive ground systems.So just remove all the wiring and start from scratch with 12 volt negative ground..

[gary1950]

i have a 1950 ford 239 engine what all do need to change to a 12 volt as got elc fuel pump on it. thank you gary

[billwill]

have starter chane to 12 volt

[Karl Wolf]

Originally Posted by Dodge

An easy solution for the starter drive is to use an old starter drive spring and attach it to the starter where the battery cable goes on and use a nut and bolt to hook the starter cable to the spring, it drops the voltage to about 8 volts on the 6 volt starter.
It makes for easier starting and takes it easy on the stock starter drive.
You can also use the forklift type starter drive which is stronger also. But I like
the starter spring resitor method best.

Dodge, I saw your spring-resister set up, it works real well... I have a plan to replace the cable from the starter solenoid to starter with a piece of steel strap measured to the length of your spring,
To accomplish the same thing...
When I'm forced to, I guess...
Lots of things like that,
Karl

[mike42]

Funky Ford....... I installed a GM one wire 6v alt a couple years ago on my '40. I'm not home right now, but will try to remember to look at model number and send to you. I don't have a regulator anymore and it cleaned up all the wiring. Having 6 volts is not a problem. Runs great. I drive it and not show it.

Mike

[Bruno]

I put on a new wiring harness in 1999 but stayed with 6 volt - added a one-wire alternator later (Certified Auto Electric - Bedford, Ohio). As long as you have clean and tight connections, 6 volt works fine. I have a 12 volt neg grd radio (in glove compartment) that uses a voltage inverter - converts 6 volt pos grd to 12 volt neg grd - don't ask me how!!! My vehicle is a 1952 F1.

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by mike42

Funky Ford....... I installed a GM one wire 6v alt a couple years ago on my '40. I'm not home right now, but will try to remember to look at model number and send to you. I don't have a regulator anymore and it cleaned up all the wiring. Having 6 volts is not a problem. Runs great. I drive it and not show it.

Mike

Mike,

You will probably just find the number for the original GM alternator that was later modified to 6 volts. Why not post the number for all instead of just sending it to him?

Charlie Stephens

[Bruno]

As far as batteries - stay 6 volt and get an Optima!!

[42guy]

I use an Interstate heavy duty battery that is same size as original and stayed with 6 volt. New headlight harness and alternator from Certified without a problem.Starts good and bright headlights.