Congrats on the truck and the retirement! I picked up my '49 about nine months ago and have learned SO MUCH from the guys here on this forum. Enjoy the ride!

 

It was not really an easy task (depends upon your skill level being better than my novice level) - but more time consuming and at times not cheap. You can get a lot of help from the guys on the site and other experienced guys like I did. To me it was well worth the effort. Voltage reducers are a key ingredient. The alternator is much better than the generator in my opinion. It allows use of things like electric wipers, accessories, etc compared to 6 v. There are several threads on the issue (some guys that can maneuver the site better than I can can lead you to the most useful threads). Check out the aspects and see if it is worth it for you.

Here is one non-FTE link (several are out there if you do a search)
Classic Truck Shop - 6 to 12 Volt Conversion

 

It really depends upon how far you want to go. If you want to install modern components such as brighter headlights, electric wipers, modern entertainment systems (i.e. radios, CD players, etc.) then the easiest thing is to go to 12v negative ground. But about the only thing that will still work OK is the starter and wiring. Things like gauges, interior lights, parking & tail lights, etc. will need some sort of modification or replacement.

On the other hand there are quite a few members on this forum that are very successfully still running their original 6v systems. I'm not one of them but then my truck was a mess when I got it with a half-done conversion to 12v. I would recommend that if your truck is basically sound that you continue to run it on the original 6v positive ground until you can gather the knowledge, skills and the components necessary to make the conversion.

It really isn't hard to make the conversion to 12v if you don't care about some things not working . . . but if your truck is a good as it appears I would go with the old motto "if it ain't broke don't fix it".