The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay A case in favor of a 6v system.

I’m always reading about people up dating their Advance Design truck to a more reliable 12v electrical system. Fact is, when I first brought my 1950, 3600 to her new home I had my doubts about a 6v electrical system because of all the negative press it was getting. But, after applying some plain old common sense to the subject, I couldn’t see the logic in updating or modernizing unless I was going to run a bunch of 12v accessories. After all, this truck was still in its stock form and it was good enough to take a lickin’ for 56 years of regular use as a village utility vehicle and was still tickin’. That was the reason I decided rather than update or modernize this truck, I’d restore it to the way it came from the factory in 1950, factory stock as close as possible.
So in the fall of 2006 up on blocks she went and all the running gear and electrical was “restored” before I even drove her around the block. Now there are many different degrees or ways you can think of a restoration. At one end of the scale it simply means to do just what you have to, to get it up and running, even though it might not be completely reliable. Then at the opposite end of the scale there is the guy that pays meticulous attention to all the tiny details in order to duplicate what Chevrolet did from the factory. Well I’m kinda like the last guy, that’s what restoration means to me, to take the entire unit completely apart and down to bare metal and repair or replace anything that shows any signs of wear or deterioration. The end result is a truck that is just the way it was when it rolled off the production line. So in the spring of 2007 my running gear was like new, and the 6v electrical system also was new through out, except for the battery, which was replaced right before I bought the truck in ‘06.
Since the spring of 2007 I’ve put about 8,000 miles on the truck, but only when the weather was decent, she’s seen enough bad weather in her lifetime. Never had a problem starting it and we’ve done quite a bit of night driving and I have to say the lights are plenty bright.
When the weather turned sour last October, I parked the old gal in my attached garage and headed for the basement and my other hobby, old radios. The truck sat untouched till a few weeks ago when the weather broke and I decided to take a drive over to see a buddy. I never disconnected the battery so I just turned the key and stomped the starter and after about 10 seconds I had fuel up to the carb and she popped right off. The 50 miles to my friends house was uneventful and when I got home I shut her down and the snow hit us again. It sat for more than two weeks untouched and the other day the sun came out and the roads were nice and dry, so I decided to take it out for a little exercise. When I got in I could hear a bussing sound, and I looked all round thinking it was the florescent light over the bench but found that I had left the original tube radio on when I parked it, so it had been sitting there with the vibrator buzzing away for more than two weeks. To my surprise I gave it a 1/2” of choke, stomped the gas pedal twice, hit the starter and she popped right off. I drove around town stopping to do errands at four places and she started just fine every time.
Now this was an orfull long way around it, but what I’m saying is, don’t discount the reliability of the 6v electrical system, if it’s restored completely, it just might surprise you.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Just one more thing, I did install a 12v booster tucked up under the dash to power any 12v devices that I my have in the truck. I’ve used it for a 12v tach and a Sony stereo on a quick disconnect that mounts back up under the dash. I also have a RediRad unit plumbed in but that’s powered by the 6v system.

Yup.

just goes to show you should always run all the electrical via an accessory terminal on the key switch, garage fires are a real pain in the wallet

Bill

Another point in their favor is that it seems 6 V batteries are able to recover better after being discharged for a long time. The 51 2-door hardtop I'm tinkering with had not been driven since 1981. I figured the battery would be sulfated beyond help from sitting so long, but after a few charge/discharge cycles, it can crank up a 216 I've got on a run stand in the school shop! Not bad for a battery that sat unused for almost 30 years!
Jerry

Denny,
I agree - my 54's staying 6v - I too feel that if the system is in good shape, it works just as good as 12v. Put it back into like new or better condition, and it'll last another 50+ years!
Samantha

Ya but Red, the Chevrolet radio accessory instalation instructions don't specify wiring it that way. And you know me by now, gotta be the way it was back in the day. Remember now, I'm living in the past.
And Sam, as long as all the grounds and connections are clean and tight they are perfecly adaquate for the job. The reason people give them such a bad rap is from improper maintainance.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

And, don't forget poor starting/cranking from the wrong sized battery cables (I'd bet 80% of 6v cables are 12v cables and are therefore too small a gauge).

Tim

I too stuck with a 6v system and you would never know the difference. Engine cranks over just fine and the lights are adequately bright.

I enjoyed your literary skills Denny. Thanks for the story.

I also intend to keep my '50 1/2 ton stock 6 volt. I've read all the bad press, but my truck starts just fine with the system that came in it. My only complaint is that the starter motor does not spin the motor as fast as I'd like it too, but I don't guess there's anything I can do about that. I keep a 6v battery charger/maintainer on 24/7.

Spot

Stuck with 6-volt on my '41 Fire Engine. Just LUV how long that Sterling Siren takes to wind up!!! Sounds like an air-raid siren from WWII - heck, it pretty much IS an air-raid siren from WWII!

Nothin' like it. 6-volt all-the-way, every-day!

-Michael

I drove 6 volt GMC's daily well into the 60's and 2 of them into the 70's. I never had a compelling reason to change one over. Too small cables gives 6 volt a bad reputation. So does a dragging starter, but 12 volts won't fix that. 6 volts never seem to go totally dead like 12 volts. Seems like you can always get one more start out of them. My jalopies that were born with 6 volt are staying 6 volt.

Hey Spot, I felt the same way when I first got my truck running. I have since come to the conclusion that we are just used to the higher speed of the modern day starters. Actually the 6v system is as I said, adiquate for starting these engines. I mean, if you can start one with a hand crank how much better is a 6v starter?
Denny G

Hi Guys , I'm new to all of this. I have a 1953 Chevy 3100 pickup 6volt . Where can I get a 12 volt booster so I can put an AM/FM radio in it??? Thanks,Bruce

http://www.pressenter.com/~cmeyer/index.html

http://www.powerstream.com/dc6-12.htm

Thanks for the info. That clears up alot of fog in my head about this. Now all I need is a good or new generator for my 235,and I'll be all set. Thanks again,Bruce

"Clean, bright, and tight" is the 6V mantra. tom