Guest mrrozman Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hey GuysI'm in the process of purchasing a 55 Chrysler.It comes to me with a 6 volt stock system. I want to convert to a 12 volt system. Is there any company that I can contact to buy the system from and how hard is it to do the job???If anyone can help I would certainly appreciate it !!!thanksROG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Albert Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Why switch it first off.. if its due to hard starting, i would look into other things first, your just masking the problems, and you have to deal with the radio to get it to try and run on 12V,, if you want to run a 12 v radio in a 6V car you can get an inverter for that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I agree with Albert and if the car has power windows, it may even be harder to find 12v motors to fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrrozman Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Thanks guys,I appreciate the response.But the dash wiring is less than usefull so I'd rather up grade with new gauges, radio etc. Some guys have told me about painless wiring.They may be able to help this hacked-up wiring problem ?? helpRog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 You are letting yourself in for some real problems. You may think you can buy some kit and change your car over to 12 volts on a weekend and your troubles will be over. This is not correct. There is no kit, and such a change over is a lot harder than you think .The easiest solution would be don't buy the car. Buy a 1956 or newer car that is already 12 volt. I am serious.Next, would be to keep the car completely stock 6 volts.Harder would be to change to a 12 volt alternator, coil, starter, light bulbs and battery and use a 6 volt voltage drop resistor, runtz or zener diode to run the things that are too hard to change.Hardest would be to gut out everything 12 volt which on your car would include windshield wipers, heater, power accessories, radio and who knows what else.Oh yea your car is positive ground and all 12 volt parts you buy are negative ground so that messes up option #3. Hate to say it but there is no easy way out. Buy a different car, or keep it 6 volt are the best options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jim_Edwards Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thanks guys,I appreciate the response.But the dash wiring is less than usefull so I'd rather up grade with new gauges, radio etc. Some guys have told me about painless wiring.They may be able to help this hacked-up wiring problem ?? helpRogWhat gives you the idea that 6V dash wiring is less than useful? If the dash lights and accessories in the dash all work as they should they are useful. And by what expertise have you concluded the wiring being 6V on a car you have yet to buy makes it "hacked-up?"Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 mrrozman,First, Welcome to the AACA Discussion Forum. While it may not be what you expected, or wanted to hear, I agree with the advice that you have received so far. If there is a problem with any of the wiring on the car now, it will generally be easier, cheaper, and a better idea to fix what is wrong with the wiring (or anything else on the car) than it will be to modify it to something other than how it was originally. Most "upgrades" are not really improvements. Any time you modify something, you will then have to deal with the effects of that change over time. One example, normally most 6 volt starters will work for a while on 12 volts. Eventually most will give trouble and will then have to be replaced often, or modified (which will probably not be cheap). When it was new, everything worked as intended. If you correct the problems, you will have a car that will function without problems. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 As the other guys have pointed-out, this is not an easy project, and there are no ready-to-go, out of the box kits as you might find for a 1950's Chevy or Ford.When I was in high-school, in the mid 1980's, I was driving a '55 De Soto, which was still stock 6-volt, positive-ground, and I had no issues with it.( And thirty years later, I'm still driving stock, 6-volt cars... they DO work.)If you need a wiring harness, there are sources for repro harnesses, such as YnZ or Rhode Island Wiring, just to name two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 One reason car makers changed to 12 volts was to get more oomph for the ignition and starters of the new high compression V8s, another was to drive all the power accessories on the new cars. A 55 Chrysler is a prime example of both. It should be 12 volt but it wasn't. It was the last year before the change.So, 6 volts might be marginal for your car but will work, and it's not worth the expense of changing it. As I said, if this is an issue for you, just buy a 56 or newer instead and save your time and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rsd9699 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Imperials were 12 volts from 53 through 55 - there are parts out there but they may be hard to find.Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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