When I started up my 52 Chevy today, the voltage regulator was making loud clicking noises. After taking the cover off, I could see that the cutoff and the voltage relays were opening and closing several times per second with the engine at fast idle. Is this normal? The battery shows 8 volts.
Now I'm worried that the Previous Owner put the battery in backwards on purpose (positive ground) and bought a regulator for a positive ground system. I switched the battery back to neg ground yesterday and polarized the generator. How can I tell whether the regulator is a positve or negative ground type?

My dad always told me, "Don't force it, get a bigger hammer".