The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Rebuilding 6 volt starter to 12 volt configuration?

My 1952 1/2 ton Chevy 3100 series has a 1956 235 stove bolt 6. During its rebuild it was converted to 12 volt. Recently the starter has failed to work. I checked connections and charged the battery. Still no go. Note over the past 9 years the truck has been derived less than 500 miles.

Anxious to get back on road. All after market starters from Carters, Chevy of the 40's are 6 volt. What are the best options for Southern California.

Buy a 6 volt starter.
Bolt it on.
Crank up and go.

There are thousands of 6V starters out there doing just fine on 12 volts. Keep the engine properly tuned so it doesn't require an extended cranking time and your starter will last for years. I seriously doubt the current starter got much, if any "conversion" in the first place.


EDIT: Wait a minute- - - -The 1956 starter will be 12 volt in the first place. Just buy a year-correct starter for a 1956 truck. They're available at Auto Zone, O'Reilly's, NAPA, and just about any local parts store. No point in letting one of the old parts vendors put a vacuum cleaner in your pocket! A 6V starter will have the wrong pitch gear to match the flywheel ring gear on a 56 engine.

Jerry

I've got the 56 grain truck that came to this farm new. It was six volt with the floor starter up until the original engine wore out and I put a 350 in it. I also have a 58 GMC 370 with the original 270 that's 12 volt. I was under the impression it was the first year for 12 volt and a fancy key starter.

I could be all wrong about the 12 volt stuff - I just use them on the farm and pretend to know enough about them to keep them on the road.

12 volt electrical systems began with the 1955 2nd. series, I'm pretty sure. By 56 everything was 12 volt.
Jerry

As Jerry posted, all GMC trucks were 12v negative ground in 1956.

GMC Blue Chip small trucks in late 1955 were still 6v positive ground.

Chevrolet 1955-2nd series Task Force trucks were 12v negative ground.

The OP needs to determine if the '56 engine has the '56 flywheel or a '47-'54 flywheel. That will tell if the starter is 6 or 12 volt.
I prefer a 6 volt starter powered by 12 volts personally. That baby will start up like right now! I drove mine across a parking lot in first gear with the ignition off, with nothing but the stomp pedal to the floor.
Carl

Carl, I think that technically that makes your truck a "hybrid"

Another way to figure out which starter he needs is to measure the size of the armature shaft on the one that's removed, or look at the Delco part number tag if it's still attached. 12 volt starters have approximately a 1/2" diameter shaft and a red-painted tag. 6V units have a shaft about 5/8" in diameter and a black painted tag. Both starters have the same number of teeth on the drive pinion (9, I believe) but the tooth shape and root circle is different. The 12V stomp switch will also have a small electrical terminal for a bypass wire built into the side of the switch.
Jerry

Good info from the boyz. May I add, You can tell whether an early Chevrolet or GMC starter is 6 volt or 139 ring gear teeth because the starter drive pulls out straight. The armature has straight splines. The 12 volt or 168 tooth ring gear starters have helical splines on the armature and will twist when pulled out.
Also the exposed end of the starter shaft on the
12V starter will be .470 while the 6V starter has a shaft diameter of closer to 5/8.

OK now Richard Bowman, "Checking connections" is fine but a voltage check/starter check is what should be done. You really need to be specific about what "no go" and "failed to work" means. If you want to jump to buying a new starter, that's OK with me but if you want to know what's wrong then state what it does when you stomp the foot. Noise? no noise? partial rotation of starter? Then we can do tests, with a meter, to see if starter system is getting juice and is grounded. As you know, there is a big cable from battery to starter. We don't know if you have a foot start BUT: The foot button pushes a lever down onto a plunger switch that pushes down and touches a big lug contact on the starter. After we hear what it does or does not do, we may suggest a new plunger switch or a new lug, both available. Don't know when "during the rebuild" was? Just rebuilt? Starter been OK for 500 miles? That's not a whole lot of starts.

If it was mine I would take off starter (very easy) and play with it on the bench using my battery charger as a power supply. Could be brushes. These starter motors are very robust and easy to repair most of the time. Had to change to Richard because your name is automatically censored. Isn't that special?

Jerry is the last guy to say slap on a starter before testing anything, but he realizes it's your money not his....or he has changed his M.O. without letting us know.(insert some kind of smiley face thing here)

Be advised the starters are not all that available. None at the places listed. Most will be rebuilt. Classic Parts of America is $160 plus shipping. 6V, 12V or 12V conversion ($170). All rebuilt and have a $125 core charge.

Just getting weary of giving detailed troubleshooting instructions that everybody ignores- - - - - -Once somebody drops a C-note or two on unnecessary replacement parts, they're generally a little more receptive to good advice.
Jerry

I hear ya.

Another issue is that a C-note today is a 20 spot of not all that many years ago.
Slinging parts at a problem can be cheaper than paying high labor costs of even a trustworthy mechanic's shop.
All of this leads the current generation down a different path than what previous generations travel.
Carl

Back when labor was cheap and people with skills were appreciated, I had a sign in my shop:

GIVING ADVICE: $15.00 AN HOUR

LISTENING TO ADVICE: $15.00 AN HOUR

ARGUMENTS: $50.00 AN HOUR!


Jerry

Under $90-$100 for a 12v Solenoid starter at NAPA - if your store will look for it.

Around $120 plus core for 6v/12v non-solenoid starter at Chevs of 40s.

I agree that $100 is easy to come by for many folks. I can afford to have things fixed. But I don't buy old trucks that need fixing up just to have someone else restore them for me. The other factor for some of us is the enjoyment and the learning. I realize that some of these trucks are daily drivers and need fixed pretty quick. I don't know which poster is which, so if a person joins a forum and post on it I guess I assume they are looking for advice as to what's wrong and how to fix it. We have all used the replacement technique by narrowing down the possible, and fairly inexpensive, culprits. I don't have a beef with anyone who does it that way. It's a viable way especially if a $100 is a $20 to them. I did check NAPA and found no entry for a starter.
The beef I have is a poster posts a question, we all respond with advice and questions so as to advise as best we can...and the poster goes on vacation.

X2

What's helpful on these forums is if the OP comes back to the thread and posts what he/she did to fix the problem. Closing the loop, so to speak. We all learn from the original problem statement and the solution.

yes, it burns oil AND gas

I like the kind of hybrid that burns gas, oil, and rubber.

Give Ken Warner a call at Classic Generator a call. He is very helpful with advice and parts for both starter and generators. He also remanufactures them. (817) 473-1448. Website: Classicgenerator.com
I rebuilt my 6 volt starter and converted it to 12 volts. Ken told me everything I would need and shipped the parts quickly.

Tim

Tim,
What is involved in converting a 6 volt starter to 12 volts? Or am I miss-reading you?

Carl,

Guess I was thinking slower than I was typing....Ol' age. Converted truck to 12 volts. Starter is still original 6 volt with all "NEW" internals.

Tim

That 6 volt starter on a 12 volt diet sure is sweet ain't it?