Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Private_collector]

12 volt decision chosen for several reasons.

Night driving was certainly a factor, as was ease of finding a jump start or auto battery if needed quickly or in remote location where minimal choice may be on offer. I will also want to be able to use 12v tyre pump if situation arises. I do have a gearbox mounted pump, but that mat not turn out to be usable, practical or indeed reliable. I also expect to be running a solid state ignition system.

Not sure if I will get 12v generator or change for an alternator, which will (I have been told) remove need for using the regulator at all!

Instruments can run through a voltage reducer on the circuits, either individually or there are devices available that can reduce a number of circuits together. In that situation, I don't believe instruments will need to be recalibrated. At least this is the advice of my auto electritian.

Finally, for times when the vehicle is on public viewing, I will be mounting a 12v MP3 player circuit, hidden in lower section of the tool box, that will play some of the WW2 news and music. Speakers are to be hidden in an inconspicuous location beneath the truck cab or possibly under rear body.

Windscreen wipers are not a consideration because I will continue to run with the vacuum driven ones. They are an item that will be seen, so they will remain original in appearance. In fact, I just received the new wiper blades this evening, so wiper arms and the metal of the blades will be sandblasted on Sunday, in preparation for painting in the final color.

[hrpearce]

Tony I used an alternator to get 12v to run my spray rig and you are right you don't need a regulator, and if you add a resister ( the white bar in the exciter wire ) you dont have to add a red light either.

[Private_collector]

Originally Posted by hrpearce

Tony I used an alternator to get 12v to run my spray rig and you are right you don't need a regulator, and if you add a resister ( the white bar in the exciter wire ) you dont have to add a red light either.

Robert, I don't understand about 'red light'. I once had a friend that visited a 'red light' area, but I suspect thats different

[hrpearce]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

Robert, I don't understand about 'red light'. I once had a friend that visited a 'red light' area, but I suspect thats different

Hay street Kalgoorlie? My blitz didn't have a red light on the dash that comes on with the ignition and goer out when the engine is running and the generator / alternator is charging. So instead of adding a light to the dash I added a resistor to the alternator exciter wire.

[Private_collector]

Ok, thanks, now I get it.

P.S: It may have been Kalgoorlie, my friend was a 'minor' at the time.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

It could be worse. I hear the "God Particle" jokes have already started!

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

I do have a gearbox mounted pump, but that mat not turn out to be usable, practical or indeed reliable.

Oh ye of little faith! Have not these pumps proved themselves in wartime?!

Personally I'd sooner rely on a military spec blitz pump than a Taiwanese plastic one! Unlike electric pumps which can always burn out, they're extremely simple and robust. I doubt you could break one, even if you over-revved it. They can sound a bit rattly though, so you may want to rebush the conrod if it's a bit sloppy. You can even rebore the cylinder if necessary, I have some NOS pistons and piston pins, 20 thou oversize. Let me know if you need one and I'll stick it in the post. I haven't looked for new rings yet but they shouldn't be too hard to source. I'll start with motor mower shops!

The only criticism I've heard of these pumps is that they can empty the oil out of your gearbox. I don't really see how, unless perhaps they pressurize the gearbox somehow, eg. excessive blowby past badly worn rings. Like anything on a blitz, I take the view that if it's in good condition, it won't give trouble. Like I say, "proven in war". Not to mention sawmills!

I agree however that we do need 12V to run various accessories occasionally. But rather than convert the whole vehicle permanently to 12V, you can run the accessories off a converter, like the one in the pic below. More info here: http://community.pressenter.net/~cmeyer/MES612PG6A.html

These gadgets only put out 6 amps, but if you need more you can easily hide a 12V battery somewhere, like in the tool box as you say. The converter will keep it charged as you drive. You can even run your electronic ignition off it, and probably get a few hours of 12 volt headlight use as well. If you want indefinite headlight use, just fit two converters! That will give you 144 watts of power without draining the battery.

You can also use the 12V battery as an emergency back up for starting the motor. You may need an isolation switch in the 6V charging circuit, so you don't burn out the genny and/or voltage regulator. And possibly an auxiliary 12V solenoid, just to be fully confident.

To me that's preferable to converting the whole vehicle permanently to 12V. In effect, you have a dual voltage blitz, and you avoid having to: a) rewind the genny armature and field coils and replace the voltage regulator, OR fit an alternator and figure out how to run a belt to it and relocate the twin-belt fan pulley and find suitable length belts to fit; and b) recalibrate all your gauges.

I believe the gauges do have to be recalibrated individually, because they all draw different currents, and the currents are all variable. Unlike a light globe which draws a constant current, you can't simply stick a resistor in series, you need a voltage regulator as well. I'm not sure it's something an auto elec normally does, I think it's more a specialist job for an instrument maker. I think they generally pull the gauge apart and solder an appropriate resistor in series, and a little solid state voltage regulator as well. There may be ways of doing it externally but it's still a specialist job. That is, if you want your instruments to read correctly and not burn out!

Others may have better advice than me on the pros and cons of 12V conversion, since I've never actually done it myself. I see it as something to avoid if possible. One thing I particularly like about 6V is the sound of a flathead cranking over on the starter. To me it's part of the charm of an old vehicle. With 12V they spin too fast, which makes them sound just like a modern car.

[Mike K]

From memory Ford use a bimetal arm and contact points in their gauges .. Fuel Oil Temp. The Ammeter measures Amps, not Volts, it doesn't need changing , it will work fine on either 6 or 12 V systems .

With the points closed current would heat up the bimetal arm , it would then bend and alter the points gap thus affecting current flow . There are points at each end ie the sender unit and the dash gauge itself .

Fitting a 6 Volt regulator to power the instruments is cheap and simple .... most electronic shops will sell one for less than 5 bucks , you need to mount them on a heat sink and use caps to filter any spikes . The TO3 case can handle 5 amps I think ...

http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/article.php?id=040

This is a well written article ... step by step . Print it out and take it to any electronics shop to buy the components .. solder it together and away you go ...cheap as chips


MIKE

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

This is a well written article ... step by step . Print it out and take it to any electronics shop to buy the components .. solder it together and away you go ...cheap as chips

It's certainly a good article Mike, even I can understand it! And it certainly solves the gauge problem very cheaply, without having to modify the actual gauges. I figured there might be an external solution of some kind. In fact, reading this article it seems like the only way, because of the heat sink requirement.

I'm still not sure I see the point of the exercise though. The gauges work perfectly well on 6V, just like everything else on a blitz, except the headlights. Is it really worth doing all this work on the gauge circuits, plus fitting an alternator and a separate belt system to drive it, just to have brighter headlights? Wouldn't it be simpler to just stick in a couple of 60W halogen globes? That's more than enough headlight power for something that never gets over 45 mph. Besides, how many owners drive their CMPs at night anyway?

Likewise for occasional accessories, there's no need to go to all this trouble. You can either carry a 12V battery, charged through a converter, or carry a spare 6V battery, charged by the genny, and hook it up in series when you want to run 12V accessories. I'll probably go the latter route, just to have a spare battery on hand.

I can understand objections to 6V amongst hotrodders, who need 12V to crank over their high comp flatheads, and run their high performance ignition systems, but none of this applies for blitz owners. Unless of course you're building a blitz hotrod! Come to think of it, not such a bad idea! I'm picturing blitz drags down the main street of Corowa...

[Private_collector]

I knew it! I knew it!

I was afraid the 12v VS 6v debate would cause a reaction.

How about if I keep an open mind for now? There is still a long time until I must address this in a permanent way.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

How about if I keep an open mind for now? There is still a long time until I must address this in a permanent way.

Tony, don't take too much notice of my midnight ramblings about 6V versus 12V. It's your blitz, you do exactly what you bloody well want with it! I'm really just sticking up a bit for the poor old much maligned 6V blitz system. It happens to be my personal preference, but that doesn't make it right for everyone.

Fortunately these debates generally aren't entirely fruitless, in this case Mike's article about gauge conversion is a particularly useful resource I reckon.

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

Come to think of it, not such a bad idea! I'm picturing blitz drags down the main street of Corowa...

Tony don't start that one again. We had a jet powered blitz stir up the town a few Corowa's ago. Took a fair bit of talking to get things straightened out. Many of the towns people thought a jet had crashed in the town. The boys in blue came from as far away as Albury to investigate.

Regards Rick.

[Keith Webb]

That was one of the scariest contraptions I've ever seen... but it made for great video which can be seen on the Year of DVD. I remember him saying it was nice and smooth until you backed off the power and it wanted to go all over the place. Poor thing was a F15 with a Holden front end.
The most controversial bit was when he fired it up in the carpark at night.
His other vehicle was a similarly modified motorcycle. As a friend commented: "I wouldn't like to be riding with a time expired Rolls-Royce Viper between my legs when it started throwing turbine blades."

Originally Posted by lynx42

Tony don't start that one again. We had a jet powered blitz stir up the town a few Corowa's ago. Took a fair bit of talking to get things straightened out. Many of the towns people thought a jet had crashed in the town. The boys in blue came from as far away as Albury to investigate.

Regards Rick.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by lynx42

We had a jet powered blitz stir up the town a few Corowa's ago.

I hadn't heard about that Rick, that's just INSANE !! I must get a look at Keith's footage.

I don't think we have to worry too much about blitz hotrods though, a 4 ton hotrod is something of a contradiction.

[Keith Webb]

Not one with 2,700 pounds of thrust at 13,800 RPM PLUS a home made afterburner~

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

I hadn't heard about that Rick, that's just INSANE !! I must get a look at Keith's footage.

I don't think we have to worry too much about blitz hotrods though, a 4 ton hotrod is something of a contradiction.