Is it worth it and how much trouble is it? Thank all you experts, and I mean it . This is the only thing that makes this #&*! computer worth having in the house . I hate it.Thanks again jim
No need to do it in a T.
If everything is in reasonably good shape...wires correct gauge and good connections and grounds it'll work just fine on 6 volts.
12 volts likes to bust up starter drives also.
They're getting hard to find and when they break it dumps bits of metal in the crankcase.
It's a waste of time and money. I start a tractor, a truck, and a car on six volts with no trouble. Heck, a T in proper condition will start by hand. Six volts is more than enough.
All you do Jim is replace the battery with a 12v one, and replace the cutout with one meant for 12v or put in a solid state regulator. Then adjust your charge rate down (and change yer bulbs of course).
Garnet
If you use the replacement 2 Gage cables and repro ground strap, you will get about 8 of those 12 volts to the starter.
If you want cranking power and replace the 6 volt battery with a 12 volt same size battery, you will have crowded 6 more cell walls and 3 more cell partitions into that same case.
What did you displace? A whole bunch of those plates that actually make the electricity.
You better hope your T starts right away, because you will not be able to run the starter near as long.
Jim, a properly maintained Model T will work just fine on 6V. Converting them to 12V isn't as simple as it may appear. Yes, you can adjust the generator to produce 12V and install 12V bulbs but 12V is really rough on the starter bendix in a 6V starter.
The only way to properly do it, is to convert the entire car to 12V. Starter, generator (or alternator), bulbs and all and that's not cheap considering you already everything you need to run on 6V if all the connections are properly cleaned and tight. There are advantages to running 12V, like being able to use a GPS, cell phone chargers a lap top and things like that but there also ways to get around that with a 6V system too.
This may be a different option but I wanted a little more umph to the starter for my speedster so I installed an 8 volt battery along with an 8 volt regulator. After adjusting the generator and no other mods, the car starts better and the 8 volt battery operates everything else with no problems. I also obtained an 8 volt charger to keep it up when not in use. This was done for the cost of the battery which I needed anyway and the regulator special ordered. With a 12 volt system, there would have been more cost and things to change. May need to mention I am running a distributor and no mag. or coils but I don't think this would effect them anyway.
OK Fred, I've got a question for you. What about the lights? It seems to me that 8V would blow 6V bulbs and 12V bulbs would be too dim. Do you have an 8 to 6 voltage dropping resistor in series with the lights?
Dennis: The lights burn fine and have never burnt out. Maybe I should put a resister in them but after everything worked as it should, it didn't seem necessary. I also have added signal lights which are set up as 6V and they work good.
Fred:
Not trying to cast any dispersion on your project but just by way of info to properly operate an 8V battery you need a charging voltage in the car nominally set to 9.4V and that voltage when applied to a typical 6 V light bulb will reduce the life of that bulb to about 3-4% of their normal life. Lots of voltage drop in your wiring will help to increase the lamp life a bit but I would carry some spare bulbs if you drive at night very much. I typically do not recommend folks to convert their T's to 8V if they intend to drive at night.