[Farmall] Converting to 12 v system on Cub

[Mike Sloane]

I agree completely with Ray. In my case, I had to clear snow on a mile 
long private road at night, and the 6 volt system on my '55 Cub just 
couldn't handle it - it wouldn't start in extremely cold weather, and 
the lights were barely bright enough to find the tractor in the dark.

In my case, I used a small alternator of the type that was used on older 
Chrysler cars, a "universal" mounting kit, and the external "solid 
state" regulator mounted where the old mechanical regulator was. The old 
top bracket had to be bent a little to fit the alternator. On my '65 Cub 
that had a bad battery, generator, and regulator (and no lights) when I 
got it, I used the same style alternator but built a regulator from an 
old "electronics project" book. (I suspect that it would have been 
cheaper and easier to buy a regulator, but the project was a fun one to 
build.) Both machines' electrical systems have been running flawlessly 
for the last 15 or so years, and I have yet to change out the batteries! 
I also converted my Super M and 340 to 12 volts (using GM single wire 
alternators with internal regulators) for similar reasons. I keep all 
the old hardware and don't modify the wiring harness, so if anyone ever 
wants to restore the tractors to their "original" state, the pieces are 
there.

I have two other Cubs that have their original 6 volt system, but they 
are used only for cutting grass/weeds in the summer, so the old system 
isn't a problem (although the batteries don't seem to last nearly as long).

I would think that pretty much any of the newer Japanese car alternators 
would fit nicely under the Cub hood and would work just fine. On the 
Mopar and GM alternators, I was able to re-use the generator pulleys, so 
I didn't even have to change the belts, but that might not be possible 
on the Japanese alternators.

Mike

rjsmithent at juno.com wrote:
> KEN --
> 
> are you working this cub or just playing with it ? 
> if you use your cub like I use my 48 cub, then I see why 
> you want to convert it . And I'm not going to waste space telling you 
> why not to convert  . 
> 
> I used an old ford alternator with external regulator . 
> ( late 70's ) 
> it fits right to the old generator bracket , rotation is correct, and 
> with the external regulator you can adjust the charge rate so you 
> don't have to keep an eye on your battery water level . 
> If your starter is in any kind of good shape it will last a long time 
> run on 12v . mine is going on 15 years now .
> 
> my reasons for converting were simple , I had the parts, 
> I needed a charging system , and didn't care what it was as long as it 
> worked . Now I can run lights , jump other vehicles , use other 
> vehicles to jump the cub, and use the cub battery for other 
> 12vdc items about the farm . 
> 
> Don't get me wrong , 6 volt is nice , and it is original , but
> if you have to rely on the cub to work with you , then it's nice if 
> it speaks the same language as everything else on the farm .
> 
>   ray smith
>  northern n.y.  

-- 
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
<mikesloane at verizon.net>
Website: <www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>

It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods
or no God. -Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and
author (1743-1826)


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