6-volt Alternator installation

Greetings All:

I purchased a 6-volt 40 amp positive ground one-wire alternator from Brillman Company recently and installed it to replace the original generator. While I know this changes the originality of my '49 KB1 I can actually see some distance in front of the truck now at night and it seems to be running better than before. Installation was relatively easy for this novice mechanic. I unhooked the battery, took out the 2 wires between the voltage regulator and generator, then removed the generator. I used the generator's original mount to which I used a "mounting kit" also obtained from Brillman. It took a bit of maneuvering and spare washers to line up the pulley with the engine and fan pulleys. I also purchased a new fan belt a bit larger than what I had before. I ran the one wire from the alternator to the battery terminal on the voltage regulator (now a hot contact spot). It works like a charm!

I see no problem with this conversion. Not all will see it that way. Nothing was altered and the conversion could be reversed. The alternator, along with the halogen conversion headlamps, just makes sense for a truck that is used in traffic. This is my plan as well.

Like Oldbike99 says: there are some here who will have a fit over any changes, but the reality is if you want your truck to be a DAILY DRIVER, rather than one you putt around in once every month or so, you need things to work and work dependably,

I drove a 1949 KB-1 for 25 yrs. as a daily driver, for the first 10 or so years as my ONLY driver,

and up here in the NW. rain and cold most of the year, a 6v. generator can not keep up with low speed in town short distance driving,

I ended up converting to 12v. but I like your idea better, I never even knew there was such a critter as a 6v. alternator, probably didn't exist back then or too $$ anyway.

Like I said a daily driver needs to be dependable, and whatever you do to help that is great in my opinion.

Greetings All:

I purchased a 6-volt 40 amp positive ground one-wire alternator from Brillman Company recently and installed it to replace the original generator. While I know this changes the originality of my '49 KB1 I can actually see some distance in front of the truck now at night and it seems to be running better than before. Installation was relatively easy for this novice mechanic. I unhooked the battery, took out the 2 wires between the voltage regulator and generator, then removed the generator. I used the generator's original mount to which I used a "mounting kit" also obtained from Brillman. It took a bit of maneuvering and spare washers to line up the pulley with the engine and fan pulleys. I also purchased a new fan belt a bit larger than what I had before. I ran the one wire from the alternator to the battery terminal on the voltage regulator (now a hot contact spot). It works like a charm!

Kevin, more info on the 6-volt alternator. This sounds like it could work also on the other series of trucks that use 6 volt positive ground.
A link to the company, part no. on the one you got plus adapter kit, anything else you can think of.

Thanks

I second the call for more info... When I 1st got my '42 K-7 I went looking for a 6 volt altenator (as the genny was missing and a 12 volt 10SI was in its place) and didn't find any good ones. Everybody at that time was selling a 10SI with 6 volt regualtor, which is fine but the field was still a 12 volt field coil, and the magnetic flux was 1/2 of what it should be when fed 6 volts, this lead to low output and you needed to rev the engine high to get it to turn on at all. It also lead over time to a weaking of the residual magnatizm in the rotor which lead to it not turning on at all, requireing re-flashing of the field. All in all I found it simpler to fit a used genny in place of what was avaiable at that time just for reliabilty sake, as I was driveing it every day.
SO, does yours turn on at a sane speed? does it charge at low rpms? I hope both (which would indicate someone is finely re-winding the fields for 6 volt). If so this would be a good alternative for those who don't want a genny.
I would, however suggest that if you are going to go with an alternator, that you opt to change to negitive ground. Nothing on the truck will care (you need to re-polarize a genny if you are still useing one but not an alternator, and you need to flip the coil and ammeter wires) and it will give you more options. Some LED lights (useally the cheap ones) need neg ground, and if you want to use a 6 to 12 volt conveter, it is simpler and cheaper to do so if the truck is negitive ground. Also parts like rectifiers for the alternator are more common in the neg ground veriaty then positive ground.

CB, check the parts listings on both the KB and LRS threads, I copied what Kevin put in the KB section to the L section.

Dumb question - positive ground? Are all KB series trucks positive ground? I have a '49 KB2 that I dragged out of the woods last year that I am working on. Haven't gotten to the electrical yet - however I have started working on the engine that is going in it and I have had it running - briefly. If the starter motor is positive ground then I reckon I was running it backwards....

Yes all K's were positive ground but that will not reverse the direction of the starter, you must reverse the field in relation to the armature on a wound field motor to reverse the direction.

Hmmm - I guess I'll have to think about that for awhile. lol

I couldn't imagine how the engine would've run otherwise...I couldn't have been cranking it backwards. Doesn't matter I guess, it'll be neg ground when I get through with it.

only permanent magnet field motors reverse direction when polarity is changed, all wound fields stay the same direction because when you reverse the current in both field and armature, the field relitive to the armature stays the same. so the motor turns the same way.