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I think one went bad and ruined the other. They were definitely hooked up correctly. Positives tied to each other, negatives to each other, both with heavy gauge battery cable. The positives went to the chassis. I did like how easily they started the car. The problem existed before I put the alternator in. I noticed while running that the battery voltage never got above 5.85. The voltage regulator was allowing the generator to charge the battery, but I believe the batteries were losing voltage constantly. I put the alternator on, but waited til the next day to hook up the wiring. I found that the batteries were fully discharged, 0 volts flat. I placed them on the charger. They got to 4.8V then the trouble light on the charger came on. At this point the charger stopped and battery voltage began quickly dropping, even while off the charger. I pulled the batteries and placed them each on separate chargers. Same thing happened to both.

I figured 2 optima batteries would be the way to go. Are they really such poor quality now? My current battery is very old. Everyone seems to be going with the dual optima setup with an alternator, but apparently they don't last more than a couple of months.

Well. I decided to leave my generator in and go with the two optima batteries, since I could get a good deal on them. Everything was fine until I was hooking up electric wipers and noticed the battery voltage was staying low. So I checked the regulator and it seemed to be working fine. I decided to put the 6v alternator in, and the next day my batteries were dead. I hooked them up to charge and the trouble light comes on once the voltage gets to 4.64. Then battery voltage keeps dropping. I pulled both and put the old battery back in. Now everything is good but two brand new optima batteries are bad.

Mine is pretty rough. The cable seems to be turning fine. The speedo was at at 20-40mph when sitting still, and went up from there. Lots of bouncing as well. I pulled it all apart and cleaned it, getting it to sit at 0. But it still shoots up to 60+ mph when going 15-20mph. It seems to me that the speed cup might be getting contacted by the piece spinning inside it. I am a little confused as to what exactly causes a correct speedometer to operate properly. There is no adjustments apparent. Speed cups were a regularly sold item, so maybe they wear quickly? I have 3 speedos to work with but they are all reading incorrectly. What can I do to get one consistent operational speedometer?

I haven't found any 6v jump starters. Do you have a source handy?

Not all at once. I did swap a coil in a couple of minutes, 5 minutes to swap carbs, changed a tire in 3 minutes (use antiseize on lugbolts to make this possible) LOL I leave 10 minutes early for work just in case.

Also, I'm that guy that carries a spare coil, points, cap, rotor, plugs, wires, carb, etc. My vw bus has a parts dept under the z-bed

I know. I worry a lot. I just like the idea of being able to get going quickly if a battery or gen/alt fails.

I would love to have AAA, but by the time they get to me I might be late for work. We are extremely strict on tardies. Like, well beyond any normal level of strictness. I have never been late , but in 5 years I have been absent once and it still comes up. LOL

That would be awesome. My friend works at a parts house and they ordered 2 optima 6v batteries for somebody that changed their mind. 6V for cars don't really sell around here and they don't want the batteries to sit in stock for too long. Apparently they aren't allowed to sell them more than a certain number of months after the manufacture date. With his discount I can get them for $40 each. I might just run them parallel and throw the alternator in. I like the generator, and so far my lights don't dim. But my ammeter never gets above maybe 7A. It sits at 0-2 quite a bit, but never goes in the negative. Do you really think the generator will charge both batteries? My friend said that one optima is higher capacity than a normal 6V, and would require a higher output than the 35A the gen provides in order to maintain the battery efficiently. Would it be smarter to use an isolator to run dual batteries off the alternator, so that the 2nd battery becomes a backup battery?

I am just investigating for now. I would like to be prepared for anything. My main hope is to be able to get around a dead battery or failed charging system without need for attempting to jump start from a 12V source.

Dual batteries would have to be run in parallel. This keeps the voltage the same. In series, the voltage is doubled. It would be fine as long as the charging system never fails. I am most interested in having a backup battery that stays fully charged without having to place it on a charger or do some kind of maintenance other than just driving the car. Plus a 35A generator will have difficulty even maintaining one Optima battery to its full potential, much less two batteries.

This isn't written in stone yet, so please don't blast me too bad for asking. When I bought my 48 Special Deluxe, the seller had a new 6v +ground alt with it. He was going to switch it over. I opted to have the original generator rebuilt instead. I also have access to a couple of Optima 6V batteries super cheap. I was thinking of using the alternator as a tensioner of sorts and running it to a separate battery. I could build a stainless battery box to house two optima batteries. Were this a negative ground system, this would work fine. But with positive ground, both the gen and alt will be sending voltage into the chassis. I have read about the common issues with dual charging systems. If I understand correctly, having two sources with a 6V output should be fine since neither flows to the negative side of the other battery, which would create a "run-in-series" situation that would add the voltages together. With this setup, it should be possible to run the batteries separate by having one negative terminal connected to the generator and one to the alternator. I am just not sure how the batteries would react with positive power flowing from 2 sources. Since the batteries would both be new, I could also just run the batteries in parallel, creating one large 6v battery with two charging sources. But this could lead to the "in-series" condition I mentioned above. As well, I would prefer to run the batteries separate, to allow one to be used for starting if the other is compromised. I know there are threads about dual charging, but so far I have not found any that discuss running two charging sources, two batteries, and the added complication of a positive ground system. The other issue that might be more obvious is that the voltage from the alternator could cause the voltage regulator of the generator to open and keep the gen from charging.Thanks in advance for your help, and maybe this thread will help enlighten other newbs like myself in the future as well.

Not around the drain cock for sure. The car is a daily driver, so it might be a little while before I can pull the radiator. Lucky it is such a slow leak.

I think you are right on with the condensation. On the day that I really noticed it spewing water from the exhaust, it was very cold but also extremely humid, which does not happen often. My girlfriend even remarked that it was muggy outside, despite it being about 40F. The amount of water could not have been coolant without a misfire. I have been noticing a very slight misfire, but I think it is due to cap/rotor wear. I also need to rebush the distributor. I was pretty sure the radiator was brass. Unfortunately we don't have a radiator shop local anymore. I will check on some options for lead %. I always neutralize acid with baking soda dissolved in water. The leak is very small, and I think it should be an easy seal. If not, I would say epoxy will do just fine. Honestly, it almost isn't enough of a leak to worry about, but if I don't repair, it will get worse. Thanks for the help , everyone!

I will check out that kit. Any ideas on soldering the leaky radiator?

I have a slow leak from the rad on my 48 special deluxe. I don't see any wet areas in the fin area, so right now my assumption is that it is in the lower body, probably on the very bottom, as it is not visibly leaking on the front or back of the lower body, but coolant is collecting in the channel below the radiator. It is possible that it is due to vibration, as the bolts were loose when I got the car. I will be removing it soon to check it out. For now, I just want to find out what the radiator is actually constructed of. Being as it is a non-pressurized system, I plan to solder the leak. But my choice of solder may depend on the metal type. Any experience or tips are welcome as well. Also, I am noticing quite a bit of water coming from the exhaust while idling, and more when revving. I know that moisture is common from exhaust pipes. But this seems a little excessive. The car runs great, so hopefully it is not indicative of a head leak. Anyone seen this before? Thanks

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I am a little confused. I have a 48 so my situation might be a little different. My gasket set has the gaskets that fit under retainer flanges at both ends. But the set comes with O-rings which have instructions to cut and use for front main cap seals. Is this correct? The diagram above shows an oil seal with holes at the rear of the pan, but nothing like that came with this kit.

I will not know until I get the pump off. As of now, the bolt does not have room to pull out before hitting the back of the pulley, so it probably just stripped. It was not tight or difficult to turn though. Once everything is apart, I may find that a longer bolt will let me catch some more threads. I would hate to have to tap it to a larger size.

So I had the generator rebuilt on my 48 Special deluxe. I was reinstalling it and had loosened the water pump bolt that also secures the generator adjustment bracket . When I attempted to tighten the bolt back down, it quickly stripped and coolant started pouring out around the bolt. I have never known any threaded hole to enter into a coolant channel of a block. The bosses ALWAYS are to the sides of the channel. Coolant is not leaking around the pump body. It only pours from the bolt hole. Before I start disassembly, what am I dealing with? My only assumption can be that the boss that stripped also cracked internally, allowing coolant to flow outside of its intended path. Any help is appreciated.

Hello. I wanted to bring this thread back as I have been looking at the evr-dry kit as well. I have a 48 Special Deluxe, so don't have to worry about a leaky hood. But the humidity stays pretty high here and the dew in the morning makes it look like it rained overnight. I have definitely noticed trouble starting on the wetter days, and thought these might help. But it could be older wires as well being affected by the moisture rather than the plugs. The car sounded like a quiet sewing machine 2 weeks ago, but all of a sudden has developed a slight intermittent miss, and what sounds like a minor exhaust leak. I thought the miss sounded like a vacuum leak, but spraying carb cleaner everywhere didn't affect the idle. I did, however, have to adjust the air screw at the base of the carb to make it idle better. I am thinking it might all be ignition related, as it is unlikely that all of these issues presented themselves simultaneously. This is actually my first flathead, so I will have tons of questions. The fist being, could just dew condensating be enough to make it hard to start? And would the evr-dry kit actually help. Thanks