12 V conversion

W

Washington Blue 36

New member
12 V conversion. I have a 36 model 68 cabriolet. Wanted to convert it to 12 V. I was able to buy an alternator that looked like a generator for my model A with the 201 and for my 51F1 with the 239. Can’t find anybody who makes an alternator that looks like a generator for the 221 in.³ flat head. Looking for options and suggestions.
 
Check out ejwhitneyco,com. They do conversion of generators into alternators, 6 or 12 volt.
 
if you look in Hemmings there are 4 or 5 techies that will rebuild your casing into an alternator. Not cheap !
 
Your 6V gen will charge 12V with no problems. An alternator requires much higher rotation speed which is really not good for the gen mounted fan. More noise and possibility of flying apart. You don’t need an alternator when using 12V.
 
The main problem is that the '36 mounts the fan on the pulley and the front bearing for the alternator is not strong enough for the load. I would go with a later 2 brush generator ('39 standard for one) and have it converted to 12 volts.

Charlie Stephens
 
Thank you for your guidance. My car starts just fine being 6v. really just wanted to hide a 12v car charger. I carry a small portable compressor and wouldn't mind being able to charge a phone. If I converted a spare generator to 12v like you mentioned and since its not putting out the voltage will i have to change anything?
 
all the light bulbs, and if going to negative ground, the wires on the amp gauge get reversed, or if its a loop style go thru the loop in the other direction
 
cas3 said:
all the light bulbs, and if going to negative ground, the wires on the amp gauge get reversed, or if its a loop style go thru the loop in the other direction
Click to expand...

Missed a few items, change the polarity and resistance for the coil and add a voltage drop(s) for the gauges.
 
thanks for watching out for me !
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Washington Blue 36 said:
Thank you for your guidance. My car starts just fine being 6v. really just wanted to hide a 12v car charger. I carry a small portable compressor and wouldn't mind being able to charge a phone. If I converted a spare generator to 12v like you mentioned and since its not putting out the voltage will i have to change anything?
Click to expand...

It might be easier to carry a battery pack in your trunk. The one I got my son has 12 volt for jumping, a built in compressor and a 120 vac converter with 3 outlets. It has a light and other stuff I can't remember. Got it at Lowes.
 
There are cheap devices available on Amazon.com that step up 6 volts to 12 volts. As long as you can isolate the output (no common ground), one of these will easily run a cell phone charger or similar device with no problem. My partner and I designed and built a 6 to 12 volt converter with a common ground. I have it installed in my '51 and use it to run a GPS, a backup camera, a CD player, and it also has an extra 12 volt power outlet. It works fine, but since most anything you want to run can be electrically isolated, there was no market for such a device at the price it would demand.

You can become dependent on backup cameras, however.
 
marko39 said:
It might be easier to carry a battery pack in your trunk. The one I got my son has 12 volt for jumping, a built in compressor and a 120 vac converter with 3 outlets. It has a light and other stuff I can't remember. Got it at Lowes.
Click to expand...

I think Marko's idea is the best.
 
Don’t buy the 3 in 1 jump pack from Walmart, Everstart brand mine only lasted a year, then the electronics went bad.
 
Do a search at Amazon as suggested by tubman.. There are several 6 volt to 12 volt converters there for less than $20. They will allow you to charge your phone or run a modern radio. Don't know if the will run a compressor or not.
 
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