On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 02:34:18 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:

First, I'll answer your other question, about converting 6v VW's to 12
volts. I recall the VW mechanics telling me how they left the 6v starter,
etc., in the car, so the engine would REALLY spin during the cranking. They
also applied the full 12 volts to the 6v ignition coil, during starting
only, to get a REALLY hot spark.

In the old 6v VWs, replacing the 6v starter motor with a 12v one was
more work than it was worth. The diameter of the starter motor shaft
was different, meaning you had to replace the bearing in the transaxle
(transmission) case. Besides, the 6v starters ran fine (meaning
*fast* g) on 12v! I did run a 12v coil, though.

The windshield wiper motor was a bit of a pain. The 6v and 12v wipers
parked on opposite sides of the car, so a simple swap wouldn't work.
Most people went with the dropping resistor, although I managed to
mate a 12v motor to a 6v wiper gearbox. This, along with replacing
the wiper switch (and running one more wire), gave you the 2 ! wiper
speeds!

The turn signal relay was worse. Running a 6v relay on 12v produced a
faster 'blink rate' (until the relay welded itself). DAHMKIT! It
didn't help that VW changed the flasher wiring (and relay) almost
every year (often combining too many things into the same 'relay'
spelled $$$).

The 6v horn worked fine loud! on 12v. The fuel guage was still
mechanical (no sending unit to worry about). The radio needed to be
changed, but then again, who wanted to listen to the stock AM radio?

Ok, let's see. What else .. Ok, all the light bulbs (headlights,
taillights, turn signals, brake lights, parking lights, dash lights,
dome lights, idiot lights, etc.). You *know* you're going to forget
at least *one* of them.

Ok, other than the headlight switch and the headlight/highbeam relay,
I think that's it.

Ah, memories .....