12 volt sending units
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Joined: Nov 2007
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12 volt sending units
i am helping to rebuild a 1950 ford pickup.it has a chev 350 in it. we want to use the original dash and gages.it will have a 12 volt system in it.i know i have to put a dash gage current voltage reducer in to use the 6 volt gages. what i dont know is if i can use the 12 volt sending units from the chev engine.has anyone had any experience with this? also, can i use a 12 volt gas gage sending unit with this set up? i will appreciate any help i can get on this.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 448
Likes: 1
From: La Mesa (East San Diego)
Hi,
I converted my 51 Ford Truck to 12 Volt and used the original gauges. But, gauges and sending units are usually matched so you need to use the original sending units for the gauges, not the chevy senders. Eventually, I converted my Oil and Temp gauges to mechanical using new gauge insides and the original faces and cases (except the gas gauge where i used the voltage reducer) It worked out great. If you have an induction loop on the back of your amp gauge, you don't need to change that. The gauge will pick up the flow whether it's 6 or 12 volt. I have a one wire alternator (no firewall regulator) and ran the output wire through the original amp gauge and it works fine. I have pictures of building up the new mechanical gauges. When I figure out how to do it, I'll build up a gallery for folks to look at.
I converted my 51 Ford Truck to 12 Volt and used the original gauges. But, gauges and sending units are usually matched so you need to use the original sending units for the gauges, not the chevy senders. Eventually, I converted my Oil and Temp gauges to mechanical using new gauge insides and the original faces and cases (except the gas gauge where i used the voltage reducer) It worked out great. If you have an induction loop on the back of your amp gauge, you don't need to change that. The gauge will pick up the flow whether it's 6 or 12 volt. I have a one wire alternator (no firewall regulator) and ran the output wire through the original amp gauge and it works fine. I have pictures of building up the new mechanical gauges. When I figure out how to do it, I'll build up a gallery for folks to look at.
Last edited by Sandidande; Jan 21, 2008 at 09:54 PM. Reason: typos
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 400
Likes: 2
From: Arvada, CO
On a 51 panel truck project this past summer I used the stock gauges and used the runtz voltage reducer that mounts on the back of the gauge to drop from 12v to 6 v. I then used the both the oil and water sending units from the flathead v8. Installing the oil sender was easy but the water sending unit is rather large so I was able to use a 3/4 inch steel pipe tee and screwed the sender into one end and plumbed this into the manifold to water pump bypass hose. This allowed coolant to circulate around the sending unit. Need to solder a ground wire onto the steel tee to complete the circuit but worked great. The engine in this truck was a dodge slant 6. 
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 448
Likes: 1
From: La Mesa (East San Diego)
Hi Folks,
I figured out the gallery and album thing. I have an album for converting your gauges to mechanical if you prefer. But like 'Ol gearhead says, it's pretty easy to use the voltage reducers with the flathead senders. Check it out!
I figured out the gallery and album thing. I have an album for converting your gauges to mechanical if you prefer. But like 'Ol gearhead says, it's pretty easy to use the voltage reducers with the flathead senders. Check it out!
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