I need some good advice on wiring my project 29 roadster. I'm starting from scratch. I have a 12 circuit speedway harness. The starter is 6volt as is the gen and coil. I plan on using new gauges My questions are: 1) Do I need to convert the fields in the gen to 12 volts. This is a bare bones rod with just lights and gauges. I have heard 6 volt will work fine for bare bones applications. 2) How does the gen wire up in my application?? to the + coil? Ammeter?? 3) Any need for any sort of volt reg or cutout?? My main concern is the charging system wiring. New thing for me since it doesn't already exist and I can't just plug and play like some of my other cars. Any advice would be great. And please break it down Barney style for me....I don't want to get confused...Hahha. Thanks guys
No matter what, running 12Volts through something made to run 6Volts is potential bad news. Why jeopardies your car for the sake of a few $$ and a little less work. So, maybe someone has done it and gotten away with it but is it worth the possible loss of your car? Do it right the first time. Doc.
The 6VDC wiring, if in good shape, is more than able to handle 12VDC. How is this, you ask? When you double the voltage, you cut the amperage in half. So, that 6VDC wiring circuit that had 20A running through it, will now have 10A with a 12VDC power source.
If you are using new style guages that are designed to work on 12volts then you should run a 12 volt system. Also the wiring kit you speak of will be sized for 12 volts as well. The wiring guage size needs to be larger for a 6 volt setup as it draws more amps. Have your generator rewound for 12 volts and use a 12volt voltage regulater. People argue about starters but you can run 12 volts to a 6 volt starter, it just spins real fast. Some say that it will hurt it. I have personally never seen that, but it could be. If in doubt have the starter rebuilt for 12 volts as well. You didn't say what ignition you are running, but if it is the original Ford unit be aware that even with 6 volts Henry ran a resister between the ignition switch and coil dropping the voltage to about 3 volts on the primary side to extend point life. So when going to 12 volts you either must use a compatable coil and resister and still drop the voltage to a maximum of 6 volts. If you run more the point life will be severly shortened.
patrick66 is essentially correct. Note that the windings in a 6v starter are much heavier than those of a 12v, so it will crank very well, and no damage will occur unless you have an engine which does not fire quickly. You must change the generator out, it will not charge the 12v battery. Wiring is fine, but remember to install all new light bulbs, including the dome lamp and any dash lights you plan on retaining. You should get a new coil and you MUST remember to install a ballast resistor for it. Original horns will fairly shriek with 12v and they won't last long if you use them a lot. There's other stuff perhaps, but that's all that comes to mind presently.
Flatheads ran many years perfectly fine on 6 volts. Make sure all of your accessories are in good shape, you have a new battery, and the engine isn't worn out. Wire your 6 volt voltage regulator to the generator. Run the batt side of the voltage regulator to the amp gage, and the other side of the amp gage to the ignition switch. I would take your generator, and starter to an auto electric place and have them tested. Buy a compatable voltage regulator from them. Sometimes if you talk nice they will even draw you a little schematic. Flathead starters make a distinctive sound when engaged, and they are all the better on 6 volts. If there is anything I can add is, KEEP IT SIMPLE. Youll enjoy the car more. Good luck
Thanks for the info....I'm using the stock distributor. I have a 12 volt coil already, and what resistor might work for my application....any suggestions?
Question brought up about the gauges and ignition your using. Also what are you planing for i usage of the vehicle? Radio? If some stock (40s gauges) and stock ignition. I'd cut loses on the wire harness already bought and just get a repro cloth 46 flathead car harness and just wire it stock 6v. It'll work well, look good, and I think it will be cheaper then converting everything over to work on 12v. 6v systems need good grounds, so get some big battery cables. Or even better have some 02 welding cable fixed with ends. My .02
I have a new harness, 12 volt gauges and a coil already, and am starting from scratch. It makes sense to me from a cost perspective to go 12 volts.
The 6V starter will work, but spin twice as fast, actually quite faster than a 12V starter would. This sometimes results in broken Bendix springs and additional wear on the teeth of the starter and the flywheel. I think most guys just run them that way despite the risks.
The cheap and easy way to convert your charging system is to use the body from a Ford 12 V generator onto your 6V generator. I used one off a 6 cyl 64 Fairlane. Any 56-64 generator will work so no need to be too picky. This is completely separate from your after market harness. This is just the charging system. It's very doubtful that a tech from Speedway will understand a generator system. here is how The 6V starter works fine. I have my cars tuned so that they start immediately so no long cranking is required.
My pickup was converted to 12v before I bought it 6 years ago. The generator fields were replaced and a 12v regulator was installed by the PO. I did have a field winding short in the starter. The rebuilder found that the field was loose otherwise it would not have failed. I had it rebuilt locally. I don't think you will have any issue with a 12 volt system. Measure the resistance across the coil primary terminals. Then get a ballast resistor equal or slighly greater than the measurment. The goal here is to keep the running voltage at the coil at about 6v.
This is completely separate from your after market harness. This is just the charging system. It's very doubtful that a tech from Speedway will understand a generator system. here is how Thanks for the info...great help!! I was just throwing out that I had the harness because everyone was posting that I should run the stock 6v system when the car isn't even wired.
I recently bought a 64 fairlane gen like Tommy had said. When I took apart my 6v gen I found it has three brushes. The fairlane gen has two. Can I switch out the fields on these??? Or should I just run the fairlane gen with a strap mount? What about just replacing the armature and leave the brush end from the fairlane gen? Thanks...
The three brush generator did not use a regulator, just a cut-out. The third brush was adjusted to vary the voltage. That would not be the generator that the 59AB motor would have come with. I am not familiar with that style generator. I don't think that the brush end from the fairlane will fit. I don't remember but does it have a different diameter bushing for the armature? If it would fit, use it. As a side note. A six volt generator that uses a regulator will work in a twelve volt system by only changing the regulator. The drawback is the amperage isn't what a 12 volt generator will do. I have done it. It all depends on how many amps you need. Neal
Thanks Neal...I will have to take some measurements. I guess I will just run the fairlane gen with a late 50's style flathead strap.
I am going to contradict some previous advice. There is no problem running a 6 volt starter on 12 volts. While you could run into trouble due to overheating under continuous cranking, for example if your motor had something wrong with it, in practice you will not see a problem. Some coils do not require a resistor. Some do; check the specs for the coil you use.
I went and ordered a generator strap holder from an old merc. I'm using the stock starter, and got a resistor already. The fairlane gen was completely rebuilt already anyway.
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