6 volt to 12 volt

G

ghamby1

New member
How is the best way to change from 6 to 12 volt on a 55 ford using the old wiring and not completly rewiring. I have been doing street rods al my life but always start from scratch on wiring.
 
When I bought my 55, it had been changed. The person who did the change used the stock 10 Ga. wire from the generator to the regulator, and put it under the 10 Ga spade on the horn relay. The generator was replaced with an alternator, and it works good.
 
Ya, what Don said, plus you can leave the 6 volt sarter on there. Obviously you need to change all the bulbs, and use a reducer to operate the gauges.
 
the wiring on 6 volt cars is larger and therefor better than 12 volt
wiring..so it works great on 12 volt..if the wiring and insulation is
in good condition there is no need to change it..get the book.
The Official 12-Volt Conversion Guide..by Randy Rundle..
tells you everything you need to know about doing the swap..
 
Use original 6volt wiring
Original light switch is okay
change all lamps to 12 volt
Leave 6 volt starter as is
replace generator with a '56 or later generator
replace the starter solenoid with a 12 volt solenoid
replace ignition coil with a 12 volt coil.
you need to add a resistor on the coil and run a new wire from the starter solenoid to the resistor
replace 6 volt regulator with 12 volt from a '56 or later and polarize generator for negative ground
I used '56 fuel and temp guages and their corresponding sending units rather than intalling a resistor ahead of the circuit. Need to remove the '56 faceplates (carefully) off the guages and install the '55 faceplates on the 12 volt units.
remove your 6 volt heater blower motor and replace it with a '56 motor.
I had my clock converted to quartz movement and 12 volt operation.
I had my original radio gutted and transistorized and changed the transformer inside to 12volt negative ground input.
 
Supplemental
Do not use a '57 or later heater blower motor. The rotation is backwards on those. Must use a '56 motor. You might want to check into using a Ford Granada heater motor. The rotation is supposed to be right, but there might be some modifications required for the mounting plate.
Some of the '55's have a manually wound clock. Just change the light bulb in the back of it if you have that.
 
So, after all this advice, you may want to rethink your decision to convert. Why did you want to convert?? 6 volt systems work fine if all other functions are working. Maybe get some better night time lights out of 12 volts but is that worth the time and expense to you?
John
 
If you answer oldford2's question about why do you want to convert you may get some important information that will save you a lot of work. You may very well have a good reason to convert but answer the question and see what the responses are to the answer. The usual problems are slow cranking and dim lights which can be corrected by cleaning connections and running the proper cables designed for 6 volts (not the ones designed for the 12 volt systems that were sold to you by the kid at the auto parts store that didn't know the difference),

Charlie Stephens
 
My 55 is still 6 volts. Only big disadvantage to it is you could never go "errand-hopping" in 90 plus degree weather during the summer. The old starter would lock-up due to high heat by the 3rd or 4th errand stop. But you could always go back to it after she cooled down and it would always start right up. Never had a problem starting even in very cold temps as long as the generator was operating well enough to keep the battery charged.
I also have a 55 Ford Courier wagon that I did convert to 12 volts. There is a world of difference in the ease of starting. I felt that doing the conversion was painful due to the issues with the gauges, radio and clock. Major $$$ just for the radio and clock.
 
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