Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldsguy
I am not sure but just mentioned my experience. If you generator is a 12 volt one then I bet the car was originally 12 volt. I do know that changes were made in the fifties but don't know exactly when. I bet someone here does though. Maybe Joe Padavano does.
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Well, exactly HOW OLD do you think I am????
I'm afraid I wasn't born in 1953 (1958 to be exact), so I don't know for sure on the voltage. I can tell you that my 52 Chevy truck is a 6 volt system. If the generator says 12 volts, I'm sure that's what's being put into the system. Check the battery voltage with a voltmeter. An easier check is to just look at the battery. If it has only three caps to add water, it's 6v. If it has six caps, it's almost certainly a 12v battery.
The actual conversion to an alternator is easy. If you have an ammeter gauge, your voltage regulator should have three wires. Two will go to the generator and the third will go to a terminal post somewhere (possibly on the back of the ammeter). Remove the generator and voltage regulator. Fab a bracket to mount the single wire alternator. Run that single wire to the terminal post noted above. If the system is a 12v system, you're done. If it's a 6v system, you'll need to change all the bulbs and get a voltage dropping resistor for the gauges. You can find these in most street rod parts catalogs. The 6v wiring works fine with 12v since the current is actually half. The 6v starter will also work fine with 12v and will spin a whole lot faster. I did this conversion on my 6v 52 Allis Chalmers tractor and it works fine.
Be careful when selecting a one wire alternator. Most Delco 10SI series alternators require the small resistance from the GEN light to get the regulator to turn on below about 1500 RPM. Some of the newer single wire alternators have an internal fix for this. You want one of those.