Lincoln V12 conversion from 6v to 12v

[Mohsin]

I have been thinking of a possibility of converting my 1947 Lincoln Continental still running on 6v to 12v. Can someone advise me what I need to do to carry out this conversion. I have made a plastic base and installed two connectors which give current to rotor from 2 x 6v coils ...it fires up but goes dead immediately .... looking for advice. My car is located far away i Pakistan. It was originally owned by the ex King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Mohsin (see edit history)

[Ken/Alabama]

Why would you want 12 volts ?🤷‍♂️

[19tom40]

Changing a 6 volt car to 12 volts causes more problems than it fixes. A 6 Volt system in good working order is also much easier to maintain.

 

To make the change, you will have to have the starter, generator, hydraulic pump motor and any other motors converted to 12 volts. Then you will have to replace all of the light bulbs and find a reliable voltage reducer for the gauges. You will also need to have your coils converted to 12 volts. You will need a 12 volt voltage regulator and 12 volt relay for the overdrive. You will have to have the overdrive solenoid converted also.

 

I may have missed some of the things needed, but it is not a inexpensive or easy project. There are many reports of voltage reducers for the gauges failing or damaging the gauges, so finding a good reducer is key. Reports are that the best ones is the one used on the 1957 Ford cars.

[abelincoln]

It does get worse.  You'll need new, reversed capacitors in the radio input circuit for negative ground.  Then you need to pull the wire out of the ammeter and put through the opposite way so charge and discharge will read correctly.  I built an electronic voltage reducer, but you can also use a 57 Ford vibrating instrument regulator.  I connected a separate wire for the holding coil inside the OD solenoid with a resistor in the circuit to maintain 6 volts.  Main solenoid works fine on 12 volts.  Before I replaced the coils, I used a large resistor in the coil circuit, got really hot, but it did run.  Then I found a nice 100 amp 12 volt alternator.  Needed all this for electric fans, 1960 Lincoln top pump, and engine control computer.  The starter loves 12 volts, spins nicely.  But realize 12 volt conversion is not for everyone.

Abe

[V.Milke]

A 6 volt system, if clean and well sorted out , works just fine. A key element is that all grounds should be perfectly clean, even light bulb bodies versus sockets. It is surprising how well they light up once everything is as it should. I would advise not to change to 12 volts as it will do much more harm than help.

Victor

[deac]

I agree 100% with V.mike.  Moreover it will take far less time and very little money to clean all 6 volt contacts than it would take to covert to 12 volts!

[cw4dove]

Is there an alternator that looks like the generator available in 6 volt?

[certjeff1]

Yes. You have a couple of options, there might be more. Powermaster with their powergens or genernator.com. I have not used genernator.com. I have used powermaster. The nice thing about their unit is down road if it goes bad they are repairable as they used the  GM CS130 alternator internals. Not sure what genernator does.

[19tom40]

The only advantage of an alternator over a generator is the ability of the alternator to supply a charge at low speeds. I had one on my Lincoln and changed it back to a generator. It did not supply a charge until the engine had run above 1,000 rpm and the diodes kept shorting out causing the battery to go dead overnight.