6 volt generator to 12v alternator ?

1949mercury

1949mercury

Senior Member
Can I have my 6 volt generator converted to a 12v alternator ? If so who can do it or is it worth it ? What is the best 12v Alternator that looks stock for a 49 Merc Flathead V8 ? Converting the whole car over to 12v & only have a battery and coil so far.
 
Ed Whitney (714-773-1611) does such conversions and advertises, "Looks and fits like original." You send him the end plates from your generator and he does the rest. I've been running one of his 6v conversions for 10+ years with no problems. He advertises in the V8 Times.
 
Costs -
$200 - GM alternator painted black plus bracket and pulley
$400 - Powermaster which gives that extra original look

Just as your modern car alternator needs replacing during it's life, be assured that Powermaster may need replacement as well.

It would be good to know the Ed Whitney cost. His V8 TIMES ad (classified Services) has no price but appeals to me.
 
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To each his own i guess; I bought the powermaster from speedway $350 or so.
6 vt pos ground. Left all the wires there. I use the 'fat former armature wire"
put on the powermaster then I took that wire and put it on the Batt termanal on the
regulator. Don't worry the regulator is now dead. This way nothing is hacked and the
new alternator current flows as origional through the system meaning ampmeter.
No matter what I turn on all accessories NO more discharge at idle well worth it.and it
looks like any black generator....sam
 
G.M. said:
I would go to a 6 volt alternator, I have seven of them and
they work perfect. G.M.
Click to expand...
I have no doubt that 6 volt alternators work well but for those of us who want to convert to 12 volts, in order to make use of the 12 volt goodies that are available, it makes no sense. .
 
As big job says, (most)(if working) alternators will always charge and automatically increase their output as your system's needs increase. Another benefit is that the alternator is easily tested and it's internal regulator easily replaced by (say) a local electric motor repair shop.
 
I have a feeling this is going to turn into another 6volt vs 12volt discussion. 1949mercury the Powermaster that was originally suggested is a great idea. If you want to keep things more original with 12volt power, you can go with a converted 12v generator with a matching 12v voltage regulator. That's what I did on my 47 Tudor. I'm using a brand new remake of the 46/47 Ford wiring harness and using all LED lights except for the headlights that are euro H4's that I found in a box from my Porsche 928S. Enjoy your Mercury and drive it. That's coming from a 40 year old fan of these wonderful cars. PM me if you need any further help.
 
I had 2 done at Whitney's a few yrs ago.If I am not mistaken they were around $375 ea and a 2 month wait.They use a 40 amp small forklift alt and make a new housing to accommodate it.I guess quite a bit of work to get the orig belt pulley to connect with that alt.They prefer to use the 38 & 39std pulley with the straight vanes.
 
Something to consider......
The Whitney conversion appears to have a 40 amp. rating and they say not to use halogen headlights with their units.
Where as the Powermaster units from Speedway are rated at 90 amps.
 
Whitney all the way. I have known him for years. One of the good guys. A graduate mechanical engineer from way back.
 
Learned a bit more - the Whitney units are $470, add $20 for shipping. But they are considerably more 'original' looking in case of a concour situation and I feel better engineered. Their units are however lower in ampacity. Dang just when I find something I like it is more expensive than I hoped. Sticking with my generator.
 
51 MERC-CT said:
I have no doubt that 6 volt alternators work well but for those of us who want to convert to 12 volts, in order to make use of the 12 volt goodies that are available, it makes no sense. .
Click to expand...

A lot of your "Goodies" will run off a good strong 6 volts if
you reverse the plus and minus on the cigar lighter adaptor.
You can use a small 6 to 12 volt inverter also. G.M.
 
G.M. said:
A lot of your "Goodies" will run off a good strong 6 volts if
you reverse the plus and minus on the cigar lighter adaptor.
You can use a small 6 to 12 volt inverter also. G.M.
Click to expand...
I guess I will just have to remove my 12 volt battery conversion and replace it with 6 volts so I can install an inverter to run my 12 volt windows, wipers,
stereo system etc.
I will jump right on it and make sure that I have a "good strong" 6 volts.
Just ordered an inverter.
Thanks for your assistance..
 
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