Hey fellas.. My buddy recently picked up a 54 ford that he is gonna give the mild kustom treatment and then let his sister drive.. I asking on his behalf since he doesnt post on the ol HAMB very often. It is still 6 volt.. We have both done our share of 12 volt convertions as there are several pre-55 chevys between us.. But We've never messed with oddball ford positive ground stuff?? What do you have to do differently to convert a 6 volt pos. ground system to 12 volts?? anything? Is it the same as our chevys, just.. different? whats it take on these Fords? Thanks -J.
There are several of us on the HAMB like myself that are '54 Ford owners,but to help you a little more info is needed.Are you keeping the original power train? Also I would check all the wiring under the hood and under dash as these old Fords had cloth insulation and sometimes just touching it, it will fall apart. If that's the case contact the Alliance member for Rebel Wire and buy the kit and gut all the old stuff and start all new.If you have any plans for add ons let us know and we can give more advice,once we have the facts the converting to negative ground is no big deal.
The wiring seems to be in good shape, as is the rest of the car.. He'll be keeping the Y-block and 3 spd and everything as it is.. Just looking to have a reliably starting car for his sister... No add-ons or accessories will be added.. Everything works (heater fan, radio, turn signals, etc) It seems like everyone who has driven an old 6 volt car is familiar with the "slow cranking, not wanting to start when its hot" syndrome.. Thats what were trying to get rid of. The car so far has been pretty damn reliable and starts everytime when its cold, when its all warmed up it starts about 85 % of the time, but you cant let a young blonde chick drive around in a car that might get her stranded... ya know?
Just reverse it back to negative ground and change it to 12V. Reverse the + - on the coil and that will take care of the ignition and the rest is just typical like swap bulbs to 12-V.Regulator ect. The starter will be fine with the 12 volts. I have a 52 with basicly the same thing and converted it to 12 with neg Ground
This is probably one of the easiest articles to follow and should answer all your questions so click on this: www.classictruckshop.com/garage/6to12volts
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