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I know a bunch of people here will cringe when they see this product for sale.

Clover Regulator

It is an electronic regulator for generators. Point and Condensor Preservation Society members look away. It costs as much as 3 normal regulators, but I was wondering if anybody here has heard of it yet?

My Porsche has a 12V generator, and they (Bosch) stopped making the mechanical regulators and now sell something similar to this. Electronic guts in an old fashioned housing. After putting it in that car, I got a nice steady 14 volts.
The price is pretty steep, but I might consider it as a christmass present for myself....

Thanks for posting, I was unaware of that company and it's products and as the supply of traditional regulators begins to dry up this should prove a valuable source.

The concept isn't new, among the service folks that support our hobby there are those who convert the Owen-Dyneto style of cutout/regulator used thru 1936 to a solid state system within the existing housing so it still has stock appearance. However the 3rd brush generators must also be converted at the same time to a conventional two-brush configuration.

Looks like a nice unit and if it works as advertised should be a welcome addition to the hobby. Keeping and using the original regulator cover to disguise the unit is a nice touch. Judging by the number of people recently who have had no luck finding NOS regulators for postwar cars and then using using a universal -- or one that was supposed to be correct but needed replacement not soon after installation it might be an answer...

Like most all solid state device replacements the literature does come with the caveat that reversed polarity will damage the unit. Anyone installing one in a positive ground car should beware of the absent minded mechanic who accidentally reverses the battery cables. Didn't see a mention of what if any protection is in the module so if the solid state regulator did get damaged, it might leave the car stranded or worse..

Judging by the number of people recently who have had no luck finding NOS regulators for postwar cars

HH56, I can understand the supply of NOS regulators being exhausted, but are there postwar models for which NORS like NAPA/Echlin and others are no longer available? In every recent case I'm aware of locally covering a good range of postwar models, NAPA had the units.

The NOS regulators are what several were looking for and what I was mostly referring to as being NLA. Napa regulators are available but seem to be falling more into the universal category compared to the originals. Some vendors have sold units that say they are for a specific Packard but I recall 2 that were bought new by posters in the last year that caused issues after a short time and had to be replaced.

A question I have on the universal offerings is they seem to be the same unit for positive or negative ground cars. I've mentioned before that I do not know what makes a mechanical regulator different internally so it can be labeled for use specifically on a positive or negative ground and if there is any change in efficiency or function if wrong. NOS Packard Autolite and Delco numbers seem to be quite specific on the subject when you look them up in the catalogs.

Car manufacturers have many different OE part numbers and specs for what seem to be identical items, examples are shocks, coil and leaf springs and regulators. Aftermarket manufacturers such as DELCO, a GM company, use the same part # for a front shock fitting a 51-55 Packard, a 49-54 Chev and a 53-62 Corvette. and in fact they work just fine on all the vehicles.

As cars get older, aftermarket parts books tend to "generalize" more and amperage settings for regulators become broader, thus fewer part #'s fit more vehicles. Often a high amp unit is replaced by a lower amp unit as the high amp unit is engineered for worst case driving such as a 3 hour traffic jam with the lights and AC on

We do not see ever running out of regulators, we have 1000's in stock, are able to buy more NOS and NORS constantly, a shipment of 7 NOS is expected soon.

Reliability?? We can't recall when we had a defective unit returned although we get them back saying "it won't work". They test fine so the cars problem is elsewhere.

The last 3 or 4 postwar regulators I've been involved with came from NAPA and all were specific to year/model and polarity, not generic. Maybe the well is finally running dry? I've said it often, this type of stuff, distributor caps, rotors, points, generator brushes and the like won't be available forever from the likes of NAPA and AutoZone - get spares while you can.


Correct or not, one comment I've heard a few times over the years is that on the generic (either polarity) generator regulators, one difference is in the alloy of the contact points. True or not, can't say.

While a fender is specific to year and model usually a regulator is not

For example an aftermarket supplier such a Filko or Standard replaces 22 Delco regulators for over 30 makes with one part number for Pos ground. For Neg ground and the same amperage its 11 part #'s for 7 makes. Some manufacturers have regulators that work for both pos and neg ground, thus 1 part # will replace 33 Delco OE numbers.

I'd call the '40-'54 7" high/low sealed beam headlight units "generic" as they fit all makes and models although the lens flutes differ, they're all interchangeable and all function fine.

Thanks Fred, but you knew what I meant. Year and model often defines whether Delco or AutoLite.

It's these "either polarity" units that seem to be gathering a very poor reputation for longevity.

I bought a new in the box unopened, but I opened it to inspect, 6V reg for the Delco Packards. It's the same number, if I recall. If anyone NEEDs one, I'd part with it. I'm not going back 6V so the original is around the garage as well. It works and so does the generator which is still on the motor and trans. I'm probably going to keep engine because they don't command the price they should yet.