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I too must vote "don't do it". Good grounds and basic care/maintenence go a long way toward better electrical systems. If you want it to turn over faster, 1st check the ground circuit to the starter. Check for electrolysis or rust between the block and starter. Yes big battery cables are a must. Poor grounding is the main reason for poor 6V systems. What did they do in 1939?

A high torque starter is easy to build. The field coils (the big magnets that screw to the case) need to be closer to the armature. This is done by shims between the case and coils. Old timers know this trick/improvement. I'm not aware of any down-side to doing this. Also, always be certain the voltage regulator is working correctly. You want the generator putting out near 8V, just like modern alternators put out 14V in 12V systems. There's more but this simple overview is a good start (no pun intended).

As you already know converting to 12 volts is unnecessary. It is also a lot harder than it looks, to do it right.

I would add one more thing. Please, please save all the parts you take off, box them up carefully and put them away. You or someone else will want to change it back one day.

Changing to 12 volts will cut hundreds of dollars off the value of the car, throwing away the parts will cut off hundreds, possibly thousands more. So do yourself or posterity a favor and at least save the old parts.

39Limo,

You may be getting MORE 'don't do it' advise than you asked for from your post. Here's my 2 cents (2 volts) worth:

BAD NEWS: - The advise does not "cool off" a Packard Limo in FLORIDA. Yikes, it gets hot down there on a regular basis!

GOOD NEWS: - Our advise is all FREE. Plus, it all comes from the heart and experience (at least from the other guys that know more than I do)

ADDITIONAL NEWS: - I know a Packard man who put a 12 volt A/C setup on a Packard without converting the electrical system to 6 Volts.
From what I remember, he powered the 12v electric clutch and other stuff with a 12 volt battery pack that was a jump start unit. That unit held a charge and recharged from a 110v plug in. He made the whole thing work separately from the regular car 6 volt system and had the added bonus of a 12 volt power source for other things.

Sounds weird, but this guy could make anything work.

The less you alter your beautiful Limo, the more valuable the car.

DanL
In COOL South Dakota

After all I read in the other threads about changing to 12 volts I'm glad to see I'm not The only one that thinks you should not. I fully feel that cars of any kind are far more interesting when left the way the manufacturer built them. You can only appreciate so many hot rods and modifieds.

The idea 41ParPac gave about using a separate 12 volt battery to power the A/C and other accessories I think is a simple and good idea. After all people with electric cars don't think twice when they plug their cars in at the end of the day for a charge. If the A/C clutch draws say 5 amps and the 12 volt blower motor draws say 3 or 4 amps a 100 ampere/hour battery will power the system for more than 10 hours before needing a charge. I think the A/C clutch is the majority of the load. If you consider the fact that the clutch is only energised part of the time that extends that time even more.

You could mount the 12 volt battery in the trunk so when you pop the hood to show someone how nice your straight eight is you won't have to make excuses regarding why the alternator and the 12 volt battery are there.

Also, Yes by all means if you do alter the car pack away all the parts you remove. Someone after you will want to restore the car back to it's pre-modified condition. Although A/C is nice If I aquired a Classic Packard with added A/C I would remove it.

I am really suprised with how much adding A/C to a 6v car has come up. Not only here and with Packard, but with other cars on some of the different car websites that are out there. I wonder when a aftermarket A/C is going to step up and come up with a 6v compressor clutch. That is really the crux of the getting it to work on a 6v platform. If you had a 6v A/C compressor, and prehaps had a higher output generator, then this would work very well in many 6v cars.

ARE YOU LISTENING AFTERMARKET A/C VENDORS!!!!!

If you do the separate 12V battery without a standalone charging system, don't just buy an ordinary battery, get a Deep Cycle Marine battery. They're made to take a lot of draw almost to the bottom, then recharge back up over and over. They're used for trolling motors on boats and such. The battery will last a LOT longer, and save you money too.

OR

You can do like some of the hot rodders are doing, albeit it only charges when moving, but it's better than nothing and hidden out of the way:





The HAMB

Further down the page is this brilliant idea:racemate.com/

Slow cranking with a 6 volt system ? Baloney. Be ASSURED a properly maintained 6 volt Packard did NOT crank slow. You have to really work at it to maintain a Packard 6 volt to the point it will crank slow. I suggest 1) wrong - too small battery cables 2) crummy battery 3) lots of un-maintained cables and grounds.

Some years ago, at a car show, someone saw me starting up my Packard V-12 (bone stock except for its high speed rear axle ratio) and was puzzled that it started so fast, even tho it was a hot day, and I had come off a fast freeway drive.

I SHOULD have told him that is the way Packards were SUPPOSED to crank over, but instead,I decided to have a bit of fun. I explained that modern 6 volts is too fast for the old 6 volt system - the "juice" just goes thru the wires too fast. So you need to get a 4 volt battery to get the old style slow electricity.....

Yup..you guessed it...a couple of years later...the "gossip mill" amongst these damn fool self-styled experts worked....overheard a couple of these clowns marveling at how fast my bone stock V-12 fires up....and they knowingly explained to each other about that "four volt battery" I must have had in there........

Great story Packard Twelve Fan. Somehow I'm not surprised that people will believe the 4 volt battery story. You are absolutely right about the size of the battery cables and the condition of all the connections. Makes you wonder about these 12 volt conversion guys. How could anyone have ever gotten a 6 volt car to start? Must have push started all of them. I must add that to convert to 12 volt systems to run a 12 volt A/C system does make some since. Seems I remember cars with 6 volt systems as well as A/C.

I'm in complete agreement guys, this whole 12 volt conversion thing just baffles me with the exception of the wife who demands AC. Also, when people say they convert so it will turn over faster, who gives a s..t how fast it turns over, what matters is how fast it starts. With a good battery and cables and starter, it turns over at the speed it was designed to turn over!