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By 82warren - 9 Years Ago
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A lot of guys are replacing their generator with an alternator, this is OK if you have a '56 or later but for those of us who have the original 6 volt system in the older cars and want to stay that way, either for staying 'original' or for wanting the radio and other things like gauges and heater motors to work, there's no reason not to have a good working and reliable generator & regulator setup.
Generators are actually simple, take it apart, clean everything with ether, it's fast but do NOT SMOKE while doing it. Next is to check the armature, it has to be done on a 'growler', take it to a shop that has one, only takes a couple of minutes to test. If good you're 90% in the clear. Next is to check for continuity of the field coils, also test for shorts, you must disconnect the grounded field wire to do that. Put in new brushes, make sure the brush springs are OK. Have a new rear bushing put in, also a new ball front bearing.
If the commutator on the armature is smooth and not burned, smooth and clean with fine sandpaper, NOT the black paper used in body work, use fine flint sandpaper. If it's not true or rough, get it turned, the mica undercut also. Put it together and you're in business.
As to regulators, there are books that show how to fine tune them, I've found that a decent old one is better than you can buy new, most are not made in the USA anymore, maybe none. I search junkyards for old originals, then try to tune and fix them. All Ford 6 volt generators and regulators are 30 amp, more than enough for any car or truck, you do not need excessive amperage. Don't try to use a GM Delco regulator with a Ford generator ... bad idea. Plymouth or Dodge regulators will work with Ford but ....
Warren
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By lowrider - 9 Years Ago
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All good advise on generators there. Years ago as a young guy starting out in an auto electric shop the "old man" that owned the place would always take the time to show everyone that worked there how to set up regulators. Sometimes he would seem obsessed about setting them up. This being the time (67-68) that alternators were the norm it seemed a bit outdated to take it too seriously. Kinda like learning how to shoe a horse. Good to know but when is one gonna show up in the shop. All these years later if I run into anyone that worked there nobody remembers how to do it. Only bits and pieces of it. But it is always good to have a few laughs concerning the old man. He was a good guy.
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By MoonShadow - 9 Years Ago
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There is a fellow here in New Hampshire, I wouldn't call him old as he's about my age, that still does 6 and 12 volt generators and regulators. I met him in the 60's and he was already the "go to" guy for the old stuff. He has as many old carb kits on his shelves as many parts stores. Last one I saw him working on was a 6 volt out of a 40's Lincoln sedan. It was working but not keeping the battery charged. He boosted output to 8 volts. Said the 6 volts would only maintain the battery but not put a charge in it. First I heard of this, may be common knowledge but still a first for me. Long winded way of saying if you have any units that need gone through or rebuilt he is the guy. You could ship them to me and I'll take them to him. He's fair priced for the work he does too. Just let me know.
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By pintoplumber - 9 Years Ago
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Chuck, there's a place in our area that has a lot of young guys working. I guess there's 6 volt tractors that need work. It's a Mennonite outfit, I take my stuff there.
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By Pete 55Tbird - 9 Years Ago
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I had a friend who also had a 55Tbird and he kept his 6volt but changed out the generator for a 6 volt alternator. Why not look into something along those lines.
My radio and heater still work because I have a resistor that steps the voltage down from the 12volt gen. Pete
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By charliemccraney - 9 Years Ago
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Powermaster make a 6v alternator that looks like a generator. Not cheap, though.
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By paul2748 - 9 Years Ago
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They do have 6 volt positive ground alternators. I have seen lists for them. The Model A guys use them as well as others.
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By 62bigwindow - 9 Years Ago
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This may be a novice question but what's the advantage of switching over to an allternator? My car is basically stock with an MSD dizzy. I don't have air a radio or anything else that would rob power. How would a alternator benifit my car?
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By MoonShadow - 9 Years Ago
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An alternator will charge at idle while a generator will not. Also you can run an engine without a battery hooked up if you have a failure. You cannot do that with a generator. Other than higher amperage outputs I think that's about it.
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By ian57tbird - 9 Years Ago
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Alternators are lighter, and more compact. Unless you car is idling for an extremely long time the low output should not be a problem. You can change the pulley size to charge at idle but only if your engine does not see the higher RPM's otherwise the centrifugal forces could cause the armature windings to throw out. If you don't have lots of power consuming accessories and are not having problems then I would see no reason to go to the trouble to change the generator out.
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By Pete 55Tbird - 9 Years Ago
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After I put the 312 in my car in place of the 292 I had issues with slow starter turn over with the 6 volt system. I could not use all the initial timing that gave the best power and start the car when warmed up. I added a 12 volt gen, changed the lite bulbs added a resistor between the radio and fan motor and a 12 volt battery. I kept the 6 volt starter ( been working 30 + years).
It is easy to find a 12 volt battery and or jump start the car. Brighter headlights too. Pete
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By Lou - 9 Years Ago
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I've run generators on all my 50s early 60s Fords, never had a problem that $15.00 in parts couldn't fix.
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By Ted - 9 Years Ago
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It’s easy to forget why alternators ultimately replaced generators. While generators do get the job done, they are another frequent service point on a vehicle that’s driven regularly. In a performance application, generators do fail prematurely simply due to the rpms that are generated. Using larger diameter pulleys helps but that’s only a work around. I find alternators good for 150K+ miles without servicing and that alone is a good enough reason for me to use them in place of generators.
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By 82warren - 9 Years Ago
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Actually, I've had generators last a long long time, what might not last as long is the voltage regulator but that's lot easier to deal with on a lonely road someplace in Montana than a bad alternator. I carry a 21cp bulb in a socket with two wires handy, you connect these from the BAT connection on the regulator to the FLD terminal and it will feed enough to make your generator charge, you'll get home and with no calls to AAA, this with the Ford 6v system. With a GM generator you hook the bulb to the FLD, the other wire to a convenient ground. If you ground the FLD terminal with a simple wire it will charge full blast, not good for your battery but it can get you home. Cars, generator, alternators, they can all fail at one time or other, I guess nothing is fool-proof.
warren
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By cokefirst - 9 Years Ago
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I too like the look of the original generator but I seem to have problems with the brush springs. The original ones always lasted a long time, but the replacement ones seem to break after a couple of years of moderate use. I have 5 vehicles with generators, and I was always having one fail at the most in-opportune time. My oldest vehicle is a 1931 Model AA ton and a half stake bed truck. I put halogen bulbs in the headlamps so I could have some light and the generator produced 15 amps and the lights took 30. I saw several alternator set ups, but they look way out of place. I started looking at Powermaster Powergen alternators. They are NOT cheap, about $400, BUT, they look like a generator and put out plenty of power. So far I have put them on my Model A, 57 Ford retractable, and my 1956 Ford Thunderbird. I am going to put one on my 1955 Ford Thunderbird and my 1956 Ford pick up. I am sold on these. They make a 12 volt model that will work the gen light on the dash and they are a direct drop in. Only a slight wiring change and I did the wiring through my voltage regulator so it looks stock to all but the trained eye. My 55 is 6 volt positive ground and they make a model for that set up.. The only reason I have not purchased one for my 55 Thunderbird yet is because they don't have the two wire system on that model to operate the generator light. Once they make that modification, I am ordering one for that car.
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By speedpro56 - 9 Years Ago
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I'm using the powermaster powergen alternators as well and they work and look great! Will not go back to a generator, just the insurance of safety with the alternator is worth it to me.
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