6Volt or 12Volt

RichardD

VAL, if you type ' 12 volt ' in the search you will probably get answers on all the stuff before you even ask it. Most has been discussed and cussed for years in the forum. Have found that technique very useful.

Jon B

1. Optima battery will probably give you longer service than the old lead-acid batteries.  I paid about $90 for my lead-acid battery a couple years ago and hope to get 4-5 years use out of it; check the prices on the Optimas, maybe they will be cost effective if they give you long use.  You WILL have to find a way to rig them up in your battery holder as they are smaller than the original.  For maybe $100 you can find a  simulated battery "hell" that houses the optima and looks like a real lead-acid battery.  Personally, I just use the lead acid battery but if you go in that direction get one with sufficient cold-cranking amps.  I think my DEKA has about 780 CCA, but some of the cheaper batteries have a lot less.

2.  The quartz halogen lamps I mentioned in an earlier post, will fit the original socket (3-hole flanged base).  I think they sell two different wattages; be sure your generator can handle the wattage requirements.

3.  As for the radio, you can use the original 6-volt radio (assuming it works, of course!) and buy a Redi-Rad for $100.  The Redi-Rad https://rediscoveradio.com/  allows you to connect a iPod, smart phone, MP3, or satellite radio to your car radio.  If you want to spend a LOT of money, I believe there are still folks who will convert your radio to AM-FM so you can use the original knobs to select stations in either AM or FM.

Val

Thank you Jon B, I  so appreciate all the info. And yes I saw the earlier post about the bulbs . as for my generator can it be upgraded to say 8 volt?   

DavidC

Val, yes, originally had gen.  12v conversion is a big job, not for faint of heart.  And, you can burn your car up.  Not for everybody.  But it was very nice to cruise thousands of miles with AC, knowing you can get a jump from anyone, a blade fuse from the glovebox, and a battery from any auto store.  Park's guide was key to my success.

Val

Thanks DavidC but I will be staying with my six volt system. Good enough for 1093 so good enough for now for what I will do with the car.