Alternator & Starter

J

jeepguy1948

Well-known member
I am restoring a ‘51 F-1 with V8 for a friend. He is determined to stay with the 6V Pos ground but I have convinced him to explore an alternator disguised as a generator and a better starter, ideally a gear drive high torque if possible. I am interested in suggestions for where to buy them. i should add that I do not want anything from China. Thanks
 
Unless the owner is wanting to add some new power consuming accessories that are only available 12v negative ground, there may not be an overwhelming need to go with an alternator or change the electrical system in the truck.
Converting to 12v neg ground may seem somewhat simple but it usually comes with a few unintended consequences that can be avoided by staying 6v positive ground.

A common problem with poor starting 6v vehicles is having incorrect undersized battery, starter and Ground cables. Large "0" gauge cables are preferred. With clean solid connections.
More info at this link... https://www.ctci.org/gilsgarage/battery-cables/
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Good advice from dmsfrr above, no need to change anything, the 6v system is fine when all items are in good working order. There have been many threads about the gear drive starters failing over on the hamb. I do have a 6v alternator on one of my model A's as I drive that car all year around, and often in the dark. My Christmas treat to myself last week was a cruise in the A at about 6 above zero, light snow, about 30 miles of gravel road after dark. The car had not been run for a month, started just fine in that cold on 6 volts. The A, and early v8's had a wimpy 3 brush generator with a cutout instead of a regulator which required you to manually move the third brush to increase out for a long drive at night, then turn it back down or cook the battery dry. Your 51 has a 30 amp system with a regulator that will easily keep up to the load of lights and heater, no improvement required. The A in snow...happy new year, and yes I'll go for a drive on new years too !
 

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Alternators can make sense on Model Ts and probably Model As that get driven at night at high speed (well, high speed for the vehicle, 35+ mph for a T...). By the time the F-1 was made the generator was well developed for good output, has voltage and current regulation, and circulated air cooling. No need for an alternator.
 
Good proper sized ground cables are a must. All connections must be clean,tight and bright. I unbolted my grounds and cleaned them up so they were shiny then put them back tight, hit them with a little fluid film on top to keep the corrosion away.
 
jeepguy1948 said:
I am restoring a ‘51 F-1 with V8 for a friend. He is determined to stay with the 6V Pos ground but I have convinced him to explore an alternator disguised as a generator and a better starter, ideally a gear drive high torque if possible. I am interested in suggestions for where to buy them. i should add that I do not want anything from China. Thanks
Click to expand...


These guys convert generators to alternators that look original. 6 or 12 volt.

US made BUT not cheap. No help on the starter.
https://www.ejwhitneyco.com/automotive.html
 
FWIW we already have made up 00 battery cables and I did not mean to infer that I was trying to convince him to go 12V, I’m not. My questions are about 6V Pos ground
 
Since my partner got a "Growler" to help in his golf cart enterprises, a check of the armature, new brushes and bushings will give me the best starter out there.

Most aftermarket stuff is designed to increase profits, not improve things.
 
Jeep guy, what ya got for a jeep? Here's my 52 m38
 

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It all worked when it was new. If doesn't work now you need to find out what has changed.

Like every is saying about the battery cables needing to be large is true. But they do not need to be any larger than necessary. It takes the same amount of electrical horsepower to turn that engine over whether its 6V or 12V. Six-volts will take twice the amperage to do the same job as the 12 volts does. So 6V cables need to be able to handle twice the amperage. Before somebody tells you to replace all your cables, take a voltmeter, set it on the DC volt scale and attach it to each end of the cables, one cable at a time. While the engine is cranking look at the voltage reading. If it's less than .1V your cable is large enough. A larger cable will not make one bit of difference. You don't want some giant, ugly cable on display in your engine compartment. Just the one large enough to do the job.
 
One of my friends who does repair work on golf carts recently acquired a "Growler" to test armatures. Although I had never had a problem with my car starting, I was never totally satisfied with the stater's overall performance. I pulled a starter from my "stash", disassembled it, cleaned it up, and made sure the armature was good with the "Growler". I put it back together with new bushings and brushes I had obtained extremely cheaply on closeout from "Rock Auto".

My car has a 6 volt system with an Optima battery. After re-assembly, I installed the rebuilt starter in my car and was surprised how much better it turned the engine over. My take away from this is that the original starters are more than adequate if in decent shape, and modern replacement starters are not necessary and just a waste of money.
 
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