55 Electrics

Posted by John On 2008/3/1 18:42:56

Hello All,
New to this site, but have had my Packard for about a year, and am really just starting to get some work done on it. My biggest problem is that the car was disassembled when I purchased it and I am now up against the wall on a major decision. The vehicle is a 55 Constellation and has the 352 ci V8, but is missing the starter and generator. I purchased a starter a while back and just discovered that it is from a 56, and not a 55. I also need to replace the wiring harness and have decided on one of the EZ 21 circuit harnesses. My plans are to build a driver, not a show car, and to ultimately add AC (I live just outside of New Orleans), and maybe some other power options, so originality is not paramount.
What I'm asking is: Should I just pursue acquiring a stock starter and generator, or should I consider changing over from 12V positive ground to 12V negative ground? What impact on things like torsion level controls and motors, gauges, etc., would be encountered when changing from positive to negative ground?
TIA,
John