So my 54' 235 is in the 40' truck chassis with the 40' bell housing and starter, 6v 54' flywheel. The stomp switch has the main power terminal and one small terminal on the outer side. is that a positive connection from the ignition? I had it apart to repair it and it seems it has to be +. Also I've never seen a knob adjustment on a distributor like this. Which made me question 6v / 12v , I'm planning on a 12v coil, my condenser and points shouldn't care witch, correct? I also have the 6v generator on so the belt drives the water pump. Will I damage it if I spin it with no wires connected?
That's a stomp switch for a 12V starter, which is a good thing. The small terminal should have a wire connected to the coil + terminal which bypasses the ballast resistor during starting to provide full battery voltage to the coil. After the engine starts the resistor will drop the voltage at the coil to around 9V to keep from burning the points. Jerry
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Too many questions, that have related/unrelated answers.
If you will have a 12v electrical system, you will most likely need the side terminal on the foot-starter switch. That lead goes directly to the coil, giving 12v going to the points while you are cranking/starting. You then have a ballast resistor between your ignition switch and the coil, so when you are driving there is around 8-9v going to points (otherwise, 12v will burn the points).
"Also I've never seen a knob adjustment on a distributor like this. Which made me question 6v/12v." That is the vacuum advance control for the distributor - needed 6v/12v.
"I'm planning on a 12v coil, my condenser and points shouldn't care witch, correct?" - points do not care, as long as you have a ballast resistor - condenser might be different 12v/6v - wait to hear from others (or, just buy a 56-63 235/261 condenser).
Go ahead and spin that 6v generator with no wires attached. How will you run current to the 12v battery (to keep it charged).
Check the Tech Tip (top menu, above) on 6v to 12v conversion.
Thanks everyone for a quick lesson. I have just placed a parts order with a 40' and 54' shop manual included. I'm really new at this stuff so please bare with me. My first goal is to figure out how to simply wire up the motor to run it long enough to warm it up and hopefully know there are no major engine issues. I plan to use a modern alternator and was just going to put a charger on the battery if need be. I'll need to look into a ballast resistor. I cringe when it comes to wiring.
