New member here! I have been reading your comments and suggestions and have benefitted greatly. Question, what is the big benefit of upgrading from 6 volt to 12 and is it worth it?

 

Welcome. We are always pleased to have a new member join us. You have come to the right place for advice and support for your F1 truck. I personally intend to keep my truck 6v as I do not plan to make any modifications or add accessories that would require more battery power. What are your plans for your truck? For a stock truck, the 6v system it came with seems to work fine.

 

Welcome, also. As asked above, what are your intentions for the truck? If the charging system is working well and you have no plans to modify the truck later, stay with 6V.
If you may want to add accessories, if your generator and regulator are failing, if your wiring is trash, if your battery is old and failing, it may be time to consider upgrading.
The 6V system works well for a basic truck. The 6V system must be in top shape to work well.
Again, welcome to the forum. We do like pictures of trucks.

 

In my cases it has been to get better lights.

 

My case was, "might as well". The old wiring was shot, so I figured I might as well replace the generator with an alternator and get the benefit of better lighting and the ability to add electronics, if I choose to.

 

Both my trucks a still 6 volt. If you have no plans to add a stereo, air-conditioner, etc I say keep it 6 volt. Make sure your cables are 00 gauge and if they haven't been replaced lately get new ones. The old ones might look good from the outside but the copper may be corroded on the inside. Get your generator rebuilt and you starter. Make sure your cable ends are clean and not corroded. Make sure you have good grounds with no paint or rust.

They do make 6 volt sealed beam halogen headlights. I bought mine at NAPA.

 

Abe, In my cases I did the conversions long before 6v halogens were available. I did it on a 1934 2 door after a trip with my wife from Massachusetts to Maine. At the time the 34 had the original, non seal beam, lights. Working my way down a foggy penninsula (never been there before that trip) in the dark prompted the change out when I had to get out of the car to read road signs! That was early 80's.
Willard my F-1 was converted to 12v sealed beams sometime before 1963 when a 56 Buick Nailhead replaced the original V8. I changed from 12v seal beams in Willard to an H4 setup on my build and boy do I have light now.

 

Hey, I don't blame you for that back then. I wanted to throw it out there for anyone's future reference. Before I put mine in at night I would see the shadow of my truck in front of me if a car was close behind me with his lights on! When I saw the price of the halogen 6 volts it was a no brainier!

 

We have some differences of opinion on this forum. Some say yes some say no. If your trucks wiring and other electrical components are shot and you are not concerned about keeping the truck absolutely stock then IMHO it is worth the change. And then consider that the OEMs thought the change was worthwhile in production in the 1950s. There also are a lot more aftermarket parts that are available when you go to 12v. And the wiring does not have to be as large so it is easier to work.