Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Scott, I do not total disagree with you,

This will help if anyone can tell me what I'm in for...
I'm doing a 12 volt conversion on the car, what all will not work, I know all the lights, and gauges.
My car has the r11 overdrive, and the ele. Clutch.

I see that you are in Joshua,

I sold a 53 starter core to a rebuilder out of Arlington, at the Pate Swap Meet. If you want his name let me know. Anyway we had a discussion, and if you have it setup properly, there is no need to convert a 6 volt to a 12 volts, I am told.

David is leading to a good mechanic in Terry. Terry has a 50 that he drives all over the place. Look into Packards North Texas, the region of PAC in the north Texas area.

It's your car, do it your way.

Any help would be great,
I don't have the experience with 6volt positive ground, and what I'm learning, I don't want to keep it.

And I want the best of both eras, love the look of the car, and love the cool toys on today's cars, I think I can make a happy marriage of the two.

Check my blog. I am running 12v on my '54 327 motor just fine. I used the original starter, and just replaced the solenoid with a 12v version. Only other thing you would need to change as far as the motor is concerned is to add a ballast resistor. I just used the one that they used on the 55/56 cars. Otherwise, the motor doesn't care as long as it gets fuel, spark and air.

My motor was stuck when I found it. The rings had rusted a bit to the cylinder walls. I soaked the cylinders in ATF and let soak and after a few days was able to break the motor free.

I never opened the motor except to adjust the valves, and she runs great. Sure she smoked like a crop duster for awhile. But after some mileage and a little Lucas oil stabilizer the rings freed up and she runs great now. So my point, is that the motor may not need a rebuild, or not a rebuild for the short term. Run it until it wont run anymore, then address the issue.