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I have a 55 sportsman 2dr,Ht, any ideas on converting it to 12 volts
Hi Brian, welcome to the forum. I really can't help you with the 12 volt conversion as I have never done one. My comment is that it isn't necessary. If the car is tuned right and things are as they should be the 6 volt system works just fine. Unless the car is going to be judged at events like the National DeSoto Club convention, converting to 12 volts isn't a big deal unless you want to keep the car original. There is one big advantage to a 12 volt system. I had to buy a 6 volt battery for my 52 yesterday and there are very few options. I did find one that was the right size at a farm supply but most places either didn't have them or only had one size.
Brian
Any NAPA Auto Parts Store, Inter-State Battery's
or even Costco has the Six Volt Btry.
The Six Volt Btry is a Standard in the Golf Carts.
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Even though you change the Generator/Regulator and Battery to
12 Volts, you will need to change all lights, Fan Motors,
Radio, Windshield Motor and etc.
Then when finished you will be treated as if you are wearing
"Polyester" to the event's.
Rodger & Gabby
COS
FltSgt@outlook.com
correct about those pants Im certain My biggest issue seems to be instruments ,gas guage,ect , the other stuff is not so bad.,,Of coarse I wouldnt wish 6Von anyone,I remember pushing those cars more than I drove them
I agree with Les - there shouldn't be any difference in performance between 6 and 12 volt system in a properly tuned car. But there are other reasons to convert. I have '54 New Yorker with 331 Hemi which I plan to keep strictly as a daily driver and as such it does need to have 12 volt system to power audio, gps, my phone charger, aftermarket A/C, maybe HID headlights and whatever else I may want to use in the future... At the same time I do want to use my original instrument panel, clock and tube radio. Well, there is plenty of space under the hood. My plan is to add alternator and a second 12-volt battery and keep dual voltage system - 6 volt positive ground to use with original equipment and 12 volt negative ground to use with newer gadgets. This way you can proceed with conversion gradually and keep your car fully operational during the process. Just a suggestion...
- Igor.
I have a '55 with original 6V and tired wiring and it starts easily. No need to push!
If you decide to convert to 12v, the '56 parts will bolt right in. Not worth it in my opinion.
Have a nice day
Steve
I have changed my 38 DeSoto and 55 Dodge LaFemme both over to 12 volt. On the 55 models you must change the generator, voltage regulator, coil, starter solenoid, signal flasher, and all light bulbs. The gas gauge will function fine since it operates with a variable ground. The oil pressure gauge is not electronic and will be fine. The polarity needs to be changed from Pos. ground to Neg. ground. (only thing required to do this is switching the 2 main wires on the Ampere gauge) if this is not done the gauge will read backwards. I have installed a hidden 12-V stereo in both cars so original radio is not used. As for the heater and windshield wipers they will work fine on the low setting as the built in resistors reduce the current by 50% (6-V) they will run full speed on low setting, I have added a resistor to both to further reduce voltage so all speeds work. I also installed a ballast resistor from 56 model so contact points will last longer. The change over takes about 8-10 hrs.
