6 to 12 volt conversion

48Flyer

48Flyer

Senior Member
So the guy who owned my mercury before me, cut all of the wires and removed the dash!
i want to rewire the entire vehicle to 12 volts
What do I need to do as far as the ignition system? points, condensor, coil?
i plan on running a gm alternator mounted in the original generator spot
This is my first conversion so any help would be great.
Thanks
 
personal opinion, nothing wrong with keeping six volt system just need good grounds and a good battery,kept six volt on my 53 everything works fine.
 
Please do a search of this subject on this forum and you will find a plethora of info.
 
I dont have a problem with the 6 volt sytem either, but the last guy CUT all of the wires.
I would never rewire a complete car back to 6 volt once it has been removed.
flathead 53 said:
personal opinion, nothing wrong with keeping six volt system just need good grounds and a good battery,kept six volt on my 53 everything works fine.
Click to expand...
 
Unless you are building a street rod with custom gauges I would just order the reproduction 6 volt wiring and use it. The 6 volt wire is larger diameter than the 12 volt. I would have the original generator rebuilt for 12 volts and run it. You will need to replace the coil with one for 12 volts (or have yours rebuilt by skip) and should have the starter changed to 12 volts. I think the points and condenser should work but would gladly accept corrections to this last comment.

Charlie Stephens
 
Points and condenser will be find. Ford 12V gen case can be swapped onto old front, 12 regulator goes into original holes and wires same way. If alternator, main wire goes to where BAT terminal on regulator hooked in. Buy a coil and matching resistor from good brand like Echlin or standard, order both for same application like common '56-61 Ford or such.
 
Check thid outfit out. They have a good booklet on the subject and they can answer a lot of your questions. http://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/index.html

You can wire it with the old style cloth wire or wire it with later type vinyl insulated wire. Painless makes generic harnesses but I've never used one. The bad thing about making your own is you have to make your own diagram and use colors to suit. It's easy to get solid color wires but the tracer multi colored are a little more difficult to find. It will certainly be a lot of work no mater which way you go.

A lot of the alternator brackets made for the Ford or GM types have to be adapted to work right. I've seen it done successfully many times but I don't think any supplier has a bolt on kit that need no mods to work correctly and align the belt right.
 
Here's a schematic that may help.

m518x10.jpg
 
Also, some recommend changing all your lightbulbs. I am not sure if the change will cause them to burn out, but many say so.
 
I changed my 54 to 12V negative grounds. Your light switch, ignition switch will take 12V easily if in good condition. All other switches such as the heater blower switch will need a voltage drop. All light bulbs will have to be changed.

No change in the distrubutor, stock points s/b ok, not sure about the condensor.

If you don't care about originality, then go with an aftermarket harness. Lots of them on the market, Ron Francis, American Autowire are among the best.

If you want originality, then use a replacement harness and use it with 12 volts.
 
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