8 volt battery

[lscrymgeour]

A friend of mine was telling me that around Alberta, Canada some of the classic truck and car owners are using 8 volt batteries in place of a 6 volt battery and it supposed to provide better cranking and lighting and is not supposed to cause any problems, such as overloading the generator, shorter bulb life, etc. Does anyone have experience with using an 8 volt in a Dodge or Fargo halfton?

If so where did you purchase it. I know NAPA Canada has some industrial 8 volt batteries but they are expensive.

Thanks, Lyle

[ED LINSCHEID]

I Have An 8 Volt In My Plymouth` Coupe Works Fine And Spins Over Like A 12 Volt (ed)

[greg g]

Not to point fingers, but an 8 volt is a band aid for other problems. A properly functioning 6V system is a well engineered and good functioning system. Make sure your primary battery cables are properly sized, (minimum #2 gauge 00 gauge best), make sure your connections are clean and tight, and make sure your ground connections are up to snuff and you should not need to rely on stop gaps. Your Voltage regulator is set to provide 6.5 to 7 volts back to the battery, If you change to an 8 V battery, you need to reset it to provide 8.5 to 9 volts. You can do this but why mess with the VR.

[Dodgeb4ya]

I agee 100% with you gregg. Some of my cars have the straight eights and they always crank and start well.With good maintence and good original or high quality replacement parts 6 volts always works great!

Bob

[Don Coatney]

I do not advocate using an 8 volt battery but I did spot this 8 volt setup at a car show. For the record I have converted my car to 12 volts.

[MBF]

Ditto-after using the 8v to remedy the hard starting when hot problem w my '36 plymouth-I ended up converting it to 12v. The 8 v batts are not cheap and didn't last that long which I suspect was due to the limited use the vehicle gets. I'm happy w the 12v conversion that I did on this vehicle and the 52 1ton. 6volt bulbs are getting expensive anyway! Mike

[Jim Shepard]

I'm not an expert in auto electrical (or, any other electrical, for that matter...), but I'm very happy with the 6V alternator I put in my B2B. It was important to me to stay with a 6V syastem and this allowed me to do it. As I understand it, there is nothing inherently wrong with a 6V system. The problem is the generator. Of course, as you go to more and more 'goodies' you'll need more poop, which the 12V will give you. However, if you're not running AC, stereo, cell charger, GPS, etc., 6V is fine. Check out Fifth Avenue's web site for the description:

http://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/anniversary/index.html

I used the Optima battery Fifth Avenue recommended and my truck starts every time - I don't even choke it, even in Winter.

[Norm's Coupe]

I agree with Greg g. Using 8 volts to start the car is just masking the problem and not solving it. My coupe is still 6 volts. It starts all the time, 9 out of 100 times before a complete revolution, regardless if the engine is cold or hot. The key is having the proper wiring with good connections, and keeping the engine tuned up properly.

If you are having problems with 6 volts, switching to 8 or 12 volts probably won't help in the long run. You need the same things to operate the engine on those too. Good wiring and connections and keep the engine tuned. If you don't have that, you'll still have problems with the 8 or 12 volts.

Only time you really need to change over to 12 volts is to get more power to operate additional accessories.

Taking it one step further. Switching over to an alternator won't solve the problem either, unless you had a bad generator to begin with. However, if you had a bad generator and rebuilt it, it's just as good as the alternator. Just remember, back in the 40's and 50's they didn't have alternators in these vehicles, or even have them available for them. People drove the vehicle everyday, cold and hot and the engines started just fine when maintained properly, with the generator.

[48WingNut]

My truck when I got it was wired up for two 6 volt batteries. It cranks fine on just one. But with both hooked up it's got the extra umph when it gets colder out.

[pflaming]

The string of comments on 6 volt / 8 volt batteries and generators / alternaters was absolutely awesome. I copied and pasted much of that information. I had a 50 plymouth, my first car, drove it all around Nebraska and to California and back. It never left me standed. Will start on my B3B 1/2 ton this fall.

Last Christmas I met a fellow in Indianapolis, IN who had a 48 Chevy, old school but in great shape. He paid $12,000 for it and has been offered $18,000. Do Chevies and Fords command that much more $$$ than Dodges? If so, why, parts availability?

Great forum. Thankyou to each and all for the batt info.

PF

[TodFitch]

<snip>

Last Christmas I met a fellow in Indianapolis, IN who had a 48 Chevy, old school but in great shape. He paid $12,000 for it and has been offered $18,000. Do Chevies and Fords command that much more $$$ than Dodges? If so, why, parts availability?

<snip>

PF

First, everyone "knows" that all cars from the 1940s and earlier are Fords and that Ford invented the automobile. Second, everyone knows that all cars built in the 1950s were Chevrolets.

Of course none of that is true.

I think that Ford and Chevrolet simply have had a long term history of better marketing than any of the Chrysler products and have built up a larger fan base.

And yes, at least in the 1930s models I know about, an equivalent condition and model Plymouth or Dodge will command far less in the market place than a Chevrolet or Ford.

I think the difference in reproduction parts availability is more a function of how popular the car is than the popularity is a function of parts availability.

[Norm's Coupe]

First, everyone "knows" that all cars from the 1940s and earlier are Fords and that Ford invented the automobile. Second, everyone knows that all cars built in the 1950s were Chevrolets.

Of course none of that is true.

I think that Ford and Chevrolet simply have had a long term history of better marketing than any of the Chrysler products and have built up a larger fan base.

And yes, at least in the 1930s models I know about, an equivalent condition and model Plymouth or Dodge will command far less in the market place than a Chevrolet or Ford.

I think the difference in reproduction parts availability is more a function of how popular the car is than the popularity is a function of parts availability.

A prime example of price difference is what I saw yesterday at the NSRA show. Not really apples to apples as far as condition goes though. A friend of mine has a real nice ground up restoration 46 Ford Convertible. He had a for sale sign on it and is asking $59,000 for it. There was also a 48 Plymouth convertible at the show that also had a for sale sign on it. The Plymouth was nice but not in as good of condition as my friends Ford. The Plymouth also had a V8 in it (forgot what make V8). The sign on the Plymouth had a price of $32,500 on it.