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Fascinating discussion. Gave me lots to think about.

Thanks for all the good comments (Denny, HH56, the Daves [Clip47, 49 Pack] Owen, and PackV8. You guys forgot more than I know. I am learning a lot from this discussion. Several thoughts:

The comments about generators, gen repairing, harder to find parts, 6 volt battery quality, parade rpm's ... all that is important Packard Info.

Therefore, I am thinking that this PowerGEN product is not quite ready to put in my Packard or in my spare parts bin. I think I would rather find an original generator ... a rebuildable one.

I envy those of you who have driven your old cars for long enough to know how to keep them going. Mechanical know-how, equipment, and a speed dial to all the mechanics/repair-techs that do special stuff to keep them on the road.

IN THE MEANWHILE: I will give PowerGEN folks a while to perfect their product a bit more. Any body got them on speed-dial? Have a rep sign on to the forum and give us the scoop.

DanL

If a generator is all that is needed then u've made a wise decision to get an original and rebuild it.

HOWEVER, if u are looking at a complete rewireing of the car, and replacing of many other electrical components that are bad or not rebuildable or missing then a 12v conversion would be most prudent in terms of cost, time and reliability. It won't win any trophies at the shows tho.


THese type of decisions become judgement calls based on a wide variety of circumstances that can vary from owner to owner, vehicle applications and so-forth.

V8,

It's about more than Generators!

I didn't think my initial post would raise so many considerations. BUT your right. Some Packard 'remains' are not restorable on the average Joe budget. ANd some Pack-guys are cleaver and talented enough to make their own car from what is left in the remains.

I hope PInfo can remain a place where all varieties of Packard lovers and old Packard-remains can find resources

This post has taught me that I need to post a Project Blog of my 1941 Clipper. All of us have a story of what we are doing with our cars and what they were before we got them. AND all of us develop a philosophy of how we will restore or modify our projects.

It's wierd but this 6Volt Gen-Alt conversation has got me thinking about the total process of restore.

DanL

A little off topic, but I have found the 6V optima batteries to be very very good. True, they don't look original, but on my cars they are hidden below the seat or in a fender well, so that is not a big deal.

I have had an optima last 10 years with only seasonal use and a trickle charger during the off-season.

We used to have a real problem with sulfation in our wet cell batteries.

Tom

Let us consider the cost issues.

A 7 year 12 volt battery that will start my big V8 will certainly start ANY engine from the 6 v era. It cost about what??? $70 maybe???? What does the optima cost wheather 6v or 12v????? What do the large industrial 6v batteries cost for a Cat, Harvester, or Jim Beam industrial equipment???

What happens if u get 50 or 60 miles from home and the battery craps out???? 12v standard car batteries are rather common place, even at wal-mart.

NO. I'm not trying to make any case here for a 12v conversion. But i'm not trying to make any case against it either. These are judgement calls based on circumstances that vary widely except for the strict purist.

In many cases the strict purist may not know what he is getting until it shows up at the door. Case-in-point. I ordered valves from a vendor. They were SS. Did Packard use SS valves in 56???? So the purist will go ahead and put the valves in and not say anything. No one can see the valves anyway. The owner wants to win his dash plaque. If asked he will say "OH YEEEEEES!. I ordered those from a world class supplier". But it's NOT PURE>

The big NAPA or Delco 7210 truck/bus battery goes for about $100 last time I looked.

But if your intent is preservation of original features and historical accuracy, $30 difference on a battery is really a non-issue.

I consider the above post still on topic if we are talkin' charging systems -- Gen, Bat, VReg. I am pleased to hear 6V options.

SO, Owen when you say, Quote:
I take it that these are different than the Farm Store batteries that I see. That would fit under my Clipper hood (about 18 x 4 inch footprint). They are about 950 amp hr and sell for $69-$75. they seem a bit lighter than original equip.

Am I on target here?

DanL

You're correct, this is a very different battery that is usually under-front-seat mounted (closed cars) and under rear rumble seat floorboards (convertible coupes, victorias) from ?1932 or 33 onwards to more or less the end of the Classic era conventional bodies cars. As I recall it's a Group 4. For some years prior to that the same or similar size battery was mounted in the right-front fender battery box. The battery I referred to is also used in the Super Eight and Twelve so it's got plenty of capacity for the Eight.

The battery you're referring to is, I believe, a group 2E, the long skinny one also used in many GM cars of the same era.

Quote:

I have a 3E in my '47. It is 1/4" wider than the 2E but has 850CCA and 1005CA so plenty big enough to crank the 356 engine and just fits within the frame of the top hold down frame also.