6 to 12 volt F1 puckup

[rol1949]

I have a 1949 flathead six and I bought a kit to move it from a 6 V to 12 V. I need somebody’s assistance telling me how to wire the new alternator, coil, solenoid, distributor, to the switch And pushbutton starter. The keyswitch has three posts on it, ACC, coil, battery. How do you wire all of this together? Thank you.

[ponymare]

Is the alternator a 1 or 3 wire, all the bulbs will need to be switched to 12 volt ones, and a voltage drop will be needed or you will fry the gauges, guessing no instructions came with the kit?

[JSeery]

Need to figure out how the replacement starter solenoid works. The original uses a pushbutton that provides a ground. Most modern one use power to activate, so need a power source. So need to sort that out. Do you own a voltmeter and do you know how to use it? That will be a big help. Do you have the original wiring diagram?

[rotorwrench]

A ground type 12-volt starter solenoid may be available and would work just like OEM. If the alternator is a 1-wire type with internal regulator then it can be tied to the old battery wire that comes off the old 6-v regulator that is no longer needed. This would carry the current to the bus just like the generator did.

I don't think there will be any need to change the ignition switch. It will work just fine on 12-volt. A new type with twist to start would leave you with a button on the dash that does nothing. A standard three terminal switch with no start function will be the exact same function as the original and would likely be no advantage.

I hope the kit has a good voltage drop for the instruments so you can use the original senders. The old King Seeley units were very good quality. The Runze voltage regulators do a reliable job of dropping the voltage without making any hot spots behind the dash. This and changing all the bulbs should be the hardest part but adding an alternator can be a job to get the belt to align properly and tightened to spec. Some folks just use a later 12-volt generator from 1956 or later to do the change or just convert the 6-volt to 12.

Heater motors can use a dropping resistor or swap them for a 12-volt motor if one that fits well can be sourced. Horns will work on 12-volt but they might be kind of loud & harsh sounding.

The ignitin coil may be one that has internal resistance to deal with 12-volt. The original coil can be used but a 1.5 ohm ballast resister would have to be installed in the power feed wire to the coil.

Randy Rundle at 5th avenue internet garage has a lot of products and information to change cars over the 12-volt negative ground. He has a good web site.

[tubman]

Just a minor piece of information. When I built my engine test stand, it was set up for 12 volts, because the first engine I needed to run was a Chrysler Hemi. I just installed a 12 volt solenoid I got from NAPA. After I got the hemi going, I had 3 flatheads to do, so I added the option to run 6 volt systems on the stand. For what it's worth, the 12 volt solenoid has functioned flawlessly through the testing of these last three engines. I never even thought about it until now when this came up.

[rol1949]

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Thanks.

[rol1949]

Thanks for your help. I do have a voltage meter know how to use it and do I need to buy a new pushbutton because it does work off of the ground and a positive

[rol1949]

It has one post coming out which makes it I think a one wire. It has a plug that comes out and one of them goes to the output post and then the white one goes to the positive side of the coil. Thanks.

[rol1949]

Thanks and in the first paragraph the part about connecting to the battery side in the regulator does that come from the output post? I have installed resistors to the two heater units and will do the step down voltage to the gauges. It just seems like I’m getting no spark to the plugs and that is why I can’t get it started. I have jumped around the starter switch but cannot get it to fire up. The kit does have directions but are very confusing. I am a novice at this and I’m just trying to figure out how to wire the alternator in conjunction with the coil, solenoid, switch, and push button starter. The 12 V is turning the starter over a lot faster and exactly what I need when I can figure out why it won’t start? Would it be possible to take a picture of the backside of the alternator to show you exactly what is coming out of it so it’s a lot more clear than my poor text description? Thanks for your assistance.

[JSeery]

Something doesn't sound right if I understand what you said. The wire your referring to should connect to the ignition switch. What might be going on is they are suggesting using the ignition switch to the coil connect as the ignition switched connection. That might work with the right coil, 3.0 ohm, but with a 1.5 ohm coil I think that could be a problem. IMO it would be better to connect it directly to the ignition switch.