old, rounded volvos.....

  • Thread starter Thread starter ~^ beancounter ~^
  • Start date Start date
How hard is it to convert? Starter motor, bulbs, maybe a regulator for the
instruments, what other electrical stuff do these cars have?
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I never converted one myself although I thought about it several times
but I have seen some really kludgy jobs done.
 
I had two '60 544s years ago. Like the earlier models, they were
six-volt. If *I* were looking for one today I would much rather have a
'61 or later since they're twelve-volt.
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I agree, but in addition to the 12v system, the '61 or later cars came
with the b18 motor. That's what I consider to be the greater advantage.
The b16 motor was a little undersized for the car and had only 3 main
bearings. The b18 is a great little engine--5 mains and tough as nails.

I've owned a couple of b16's and they were pretty zippy around town due
to gearing, but they got really buzzy on the highway. The B18's are the
same as the b20, but with a smaller bore. You can build a b20 out of the
ipd catalog and poke it in there and go street racing.

Also, If memory serves, the 4-speed tranny in my '59 445 had an
unsynchronized low gear, and it was sooo low you could pull stumps with it.
 
what are the main drawbacks to an old 6v vs. 12v system? weakness, or
just un reailibility..?.....thanx...richard / colorado
 
Hi,

~^ beancounter ~^ said:
what are the main drawbacks to an old 6v vs. 12v system? weakness,
or just un reailibility..?
Click to expand...

I think, you can search for the headlights with a candle... ;-)


Roland
 
~^ beancounter ~^ said:
what are the main drawbacks to an old 6v vs. 12v system? weakness, or
just un reailibility..?.....thanx...richard / colorado
Click to expand...

The 12 v batteries are much easier to find and a 12 v system is much
better for starting in cold weather. 6 volt systems must use twice the
current and are much more sensitive to resistance in cables and cable
terminations. 6 volt systems have twice the voltage loss and half the
voltage loss tolerance. So the problem is 4 times as bad percentage
wise.
 
I see...thanx....Richard / colorado



The 12 v batteries are much easier to find and a 12 v system is much
better for starting in cold weather. 6 volt systems must use twice the
current and are much more sensitive to resistance in cables and cable
terminations. 6 volt systems have twice the voltage loss and half the
voltage loss tolerance. So the problem is 4 times as bad percentage
wise.
--
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA
Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '01 Volvos.
The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '01 through European Delivery.
http://rhodyman.net/homevo.html
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