This page is intended for those who wish to convert the 6 volt systems of their stock VW Beetles to 12 volt.  Why would you want to do this?  I don't know your reasons, but mine were:  Better lights- There were times when I wasn't even sure my lights were working; better indicators-  Not having reliable indicators (and not using them) drove me nuts!  And a better stereo- Let's face facts, even with one decent AM station (1190 for us in Denver) one enjoys a little variety in life.

I have a 1965 Beetle.  It's my fourth VW, and third Beetle.  My first car was a 1968 Beetle, my second a 1969 Baja.  I also had a 1987 Golf for about a year.  I really did not expect the  6 volt system to be as weak as it was.  I was on the fence about converting it to 12 volt (the whole keeping it totally stock argument) until the nearly non-functioning indicators almost got me killed.  I was on a rural highway taking one of my beagles to obedience.  The speed limit for the highway was 65, and the turn off I needed was a sharp left turn with no turn lane.  On this day a huge white pick-up was riding me very close.  Knowing what was likely to happen, I put my indicators on about  a mile before the turn, but still only got 2 or 3 flashes out of them.  Even with my pumping of the brakes to indicate my slowing down for the turn, the truck had no idea what I was doing (I even hand signaled, but how many people know what that means?)  In the end, I started the turn, and the truck had to use the shoulder to keep from hitting me, all the while using his macho truck horn.  I decided at that point that I was going to convert my Beetle to 12 volt at the next opportunity.  I feel that I did everything right, and the truck did everything wrong- I signaled as best I could, and he was too close and not paying enough attention- but the fact is; if he had hit me, he would have won.

Now, the 6 to 12 volt conversion is a relatively easy mod to make, but as with everything, it may not be for you.  I am not the world's greatest mechanic, but I have gained a lot experience with my previous Beetles and my scooters- one of which I'm building from the ground up.  Scooters?!?   Yes, scooters.  As my friend Dan, one of the mechanics at our local scooter shop, said when he saw a VW engine for the first time- 'It's a big scooter engine!'  I also have a garage and a very complete set of tools.  This whole thing took me about two days to complete, so you are going to need to plan on some down time.  If you are at all weary about this, call a local shop and see what it'll cost them to do it.  I found a shop that would do it for me, but they would not give me an estimate- so I decided to dive in and do it myself.  If you've decided to go on, I suggest you gather all the parts you need first- so it'll be a straight start to finish deal, which is the motivation for this site in the first place.  I searched everywhere  for a site that could give me as much information on this before I did it.  I found a few links, but they were dead.  I went to the various newsgroups and chat rooms, and although these are a brilliant resource, I got a less then satisfactory answer.  I read the sections dealing with removing and replacing the generator/alternator in both the Muir Idiot book and the Hynes manual, and finally decided that I would just have to get on with it. 

I bought the parts I needed and pulled the car into the garage to get it done.  For the most part, the procedure was very straight forward, and I had no real problems.  I did have three or four surprises though, hence this site.

The first surprise was the oil filler.  I could not, no matter what I tried, get the nut (or whatever) out of the oil filler to remove it from the generator stand.  I tried for a good 2 hours, and made 3 tools to try and get this thing out.  In the end I jumped on the Vespa and bought an aftermarket filler.  The old one is sitting on my work bench doused in Lock-Tight, and I am determined to get it apart one day.

The second surprise came when I had put the alternator in and was putting the carb back in place.  I found that since the alternator is bigger then the old generator, the carb would not fit.  I ended up making a quick trip to the hardware store (you have to love Vespas!) to buy a flat bar of aluminum.  This was just a stock bar about 1/8th of an inch thick.  I made a copy of the gasket that goes between the carb and the manifold with the aluminum and that solved the spacing problem.  You can get an after market spacer, but the one my local VW shop had was about an inch high.  I don't think the old style oil bath air cleaner would fit with this spacer, and I wanted to keep the engine as stock looking as possible.  Since I had already put in a monster alternator and new oil filler, I kept my homemade spacer.  If you go this route, get two new manifold gaskets, and make sure that everything is nice and air-tight.

The third surprise was something that no one could have told me about.  I bought an adjustable wiper motor switch that also served as a voltage drop.  This item is needed to keep your 6 volt wiper motor.  It drops the amount of power to the motor to 6 volt to keep the motor burning out and to keep your wiper blades from flying off.   I opted for the adjustable speed type instead of a simple inline voltage drop for two reasons.  1.  I'm a sucker for gadgets, and 2. the hole needed in the dash needed to install the item had already been supplied by the former owner/jackass.  Right between the light switch and wiper switch, the previous owner had installed a simple fader switch for the front and back speakers.  In his defense, seeing as he is a good friend of mine, it did look stock.  The surprise came after we installed it.  The thing didn't work, and one of my wiper blades went flying.  Just so you don't think I just screwed up it's installation, I didn't install it myself.  I had my friend Dan, who is famous in the Vespa scene for creating a reliable non-battery stator and electrical system for the GS 150, help on this one.  After trying to make it work in every conceivable; configuration, we gave up, and I ordered a replacement.  Of course the replacement never came, and I eventually had to use the car.  I had left the radio out of the dash so I could get the replacement switch in. (I mounted the new stereo under the dash and out of the way, so I could keep the original in it's place.)  As I was heading down the road, thin wisps of white smoke began to come through the stereo port, and I began to hear the tell tale sound of an electrical short.  I swung of the road and popped the bonnet- you guessed it.  The wiper motor had burned out.  I disconnected everything, and took out the switch.  I called and canceled the replacement and asked for a refund.  Luckily I found a used 12 volt motor at my local shop and just installed that.

The forth, and at this point final, surprise was that the negative lead for the battery was to short.  The old style 6 volt battery has the positive and negative terminals on opposite sides of the battery, but the 12 volt battery I bought had them on the same side.  Another trip on the Vespa.

So baring all the miles I put on the Vespa, this conversion is quite easy.

For the procedure, use as many manuals as you can get your hands on.  The entire operation is in both the Muir Idiot book and the Haynes Manual.  What you will be doing is - Replacing the Generator/Alternator, changing the coil,  changing the choke element, changing the light bulbs, changing the horn, changing the wiper motor (if you need to, although I recommend using a voltage drop switch if you can- it's cheaper and easier), changing the battery, installing a new stereo, and you are all set.