I know this is a common question and I was all ready to change over to 12 volt, but I have been reading on some of the Cadillac forums and received comments from some early Cadillac parts suppliers not to change it over. <O</O They are saying its not worth doing unless I am adding air conditioning and that it's just a pain to do. I am basically keeping the car all stock with the exception of running some higher compression heads on the flathead engine. <O</O Anyone have any experience with the early Cadillacs and changing one over to 12 volt?<O</O <O</O One of the suppliers did suggest running two 6 volt batteries in series. <O</O <O</O I am rewiring the whole car because the existing cloth wiring is in poor condition.<O</O Thanks!<O</O
IMHO, if you're going to re-wire the whole car...then there's no valid reason not to go to 12 volt... R-
i guess the most important question would be why? have you had problems with 6 volts? -scott noteboom
Can't understand why you would want to change to 12 volts. Have had a '41 Buick ,and currently own a 47 Buick Convertible. As long as all your connections are tight, and bright, there is no need for a 12 volt. When these cars were new the 6 volt system worked very well. If we maintain the whole system to 1947, 48, or 49 standards, there seems to be no reason to change, and change the car from original to modified.
This is treu but if the charging system is in good shape as well as the starter etc no reason to change it. it depends on what shape everything is in. One thing that you should also remember is that the parts suppliers stand to loose if you switch to 12V. You should take their advice with a grain of salt.
I have never run 6 volts before so I am not sure if I will have any problems. I am just thinking it would start better (withthe high compression heads) and be more compatible if I ever have trouble on the road.
well, a Toyota Prius starts better and is more trouble free as well... i guess my point is that i've got 3 six volt cars, and on the first 2 i assumed that i was going to change them to 12 volts quickly. i never did. why? because im a busy guy who couldnt jump into it, and i learned that 6 volt works just fine for me. thus, i proved i haven't had to change. all that said, on the flip side im not aware of guys who went 12v that regret it... btw: i've got a '41 Cadillac coupe with the Edmunds heads and intake setup. 6 volts too -scott noteboom
I had a '51 Cadillac that was six volts and I had no problems either. I started with no problem and it had higher compression than a '47. The original radio still worked too so I had no interest in converting to 12V.
If you're gonna redo the car, I say go with 12v. And see if you can get a pertronix kit to replace your points to while you're at it. Some things i understand should stay original style, but wiring? You cant go wrong with new 12V wiring...
Thanks for all the replies! I am starting to lean towards staying 6 volt. Everyting works in the car but all of the cloth coveringis falling off the wires. I just noticed that I can get a rebel wire kit for 6 volt ($230.00), so I might just do that. I can just run the exposed wires under the hood original cloth instead of buying a complete original wiring kit ($1,100.00 +/-). That's very cool that you have the edmunds stuff. Would you share a picture? The edmunds stuff I am looking to buy is coming off a running '41 as well. I just asked him about the 6 volt with the higher compression and he mentioned it starts and runs better than with the stock heads.
You will like the rebel kit. I did mine with a 12V rebel system and it is great. Very easy to put together.
one of the reasons manufacturers went to 12v is because everything is cheaper to build-- less copper. if putting in new wiring, make sure it's got big enough wire size to handle the 2x amperage requirement being at half the voltage. -scott noteboom