I purchased an 1946 Oldsmobile 98 basket case last fall. She has had a lot of custom work done to her, but she still has the original flathead straight 8 and 3 speed manual which was the reason that I bought her. The issue I am having is the car has been converted to 12 volts and the original Delco Remy 6 volt starter with attached solinoid\relay will grind about every third startup. I have taken the starter to have it checked out and it had already been rebuilt. The rebuilder says the starter is engaging too fast with the 12 volts thrown at it, he said he could adapt the starter field coils to make it 12 volts but it would not help the soliniod and relay, which are not even unavailable. Does anyone know of a company that might be able to make a modern 12v starter for my car? I am also thinking of possibly wiring a separate 6 volt battery just for the starter. Suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Regards, Nick
You could use 2 six volt batteries in series to get 12 volt without rewiring your car. Just run the starter off of one of them to get 6 volts.
Wonder if the GM with 'Ford Relay' setup would help this situation. wire the 6V solenoid and starter together and use the Ford relay to fire them together ?....May be worth a try
I'm having trouble believing the rebuilder has the capability to measure the millisecond difference between 6 volt and 12 volt electrical transmission, if there is any. In other words, find a rebuilder who knows something about the machine you would like to have repaired/rebuilt.
RDR I did a search on the "Ford Relay" and was not able to fine any description of what is involved if you could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. BJR that is a good suggestion about the dual batteries possibly two optima, I imagine it could be set up to charge with the alternator correctly. Thank you both for your help.
Charge as a 12 volt battery by being wired in series, use just one 6 volt for the starter only. Run all gauges and accessories on 12 volt.
The rebuilder is giving me his opinion why the gear is grinding so often, he did no testing just took her apart and she had been freshly rebuilt previously. He is 80 and his career was rebuilding starters and alternators so I would have thought he would have a good idea about what was happening When I get the starter back I will reinstall and try it with a separate 6 volt battery and test the starter and see if the voltage makes a difference. I have a '38 dodge that has 12 volts going to a 6 volt starter and it fires up better than my modern car. It is a pedal starter though with no relay.
Nick, Sorry, may have confused you calling the 'Ford' solenoid a relay, anyway.. here is a funky video that explains how to hook up the starter with the remote solenoid.
The Jalopy Journal
