12 volt conversion is complete after many days of waiting. I won't bore you with how I did it because that's well-documented elsewhere on the web. But I did run into a few things that are worth noting.
1. My friend welded the new alternator bracket for free.
2. The guide from HUSSY on The
6 to 12 Volt ConversionJalopy Journal was essential.
3. I did not like the result of trying to use a resistor for the blower motor. That thing got HOT. So I went with a 12 volt motor from a classic parts store. The problem I found is the outer diameter of the new motor is smaller than the original so there's extra space in the firewall uncovered by the motor gasket. Not sure what to do about that.
4. This was a good example of the snowballing project. Deciding to replace the heater motor led to replacing all the heater hose lines (a very good choice considering the old condition) and disassembling the heater to clean.
I'm not doing a new wiring harness (probably could have) so a few problems were encountered there (future post). And I learned that being a 6'1" contortionist is not in my future. I did have one good idea under the dash which was to prop a 1x6 under the parking brake and accelerator pedal to keep the clutch and brake pedals down as close to the floor as possible. That helped.
Bottom line: it still runs. (But needs some electrical TLC)
