Hey Soundguy

I noticed the post below with the discussion about the coils. I'm probably going to change my WD over to 12 volts this spring. Check my figuring & tell me if I'm wrong & what I need to do to make it right. 1 wire delco alternator with wire going to amp guage and wire from amp guage to ign push pull switch. Now do I change the coil or leave it as the 6 volt is now and add a resistor (ballast resistor from mopar) to it. Thanks in advance, Keith

The resistor is a cheap fix so you can keep the old coil. What will probably happen will your 50 year old coil will crap out in a year and then you will need a new one anyway. It dont cost that much to upgrade now and be done with it. You will get a much better, reliable spark also.
On the alternator, the single wire is o.k., but some guys have had trouble with the alternator kicking in and starting to charge. Some of the single wire units need to be revved up to 1500 rpm to get them to kick in. You might consider a regular run of the mill 10 SI alternator. It will have two spade terminals on the side. One can jumper to the big lug on the back, the second you run to the switch as you mentioned. To get it to function you put a resistor ( i use 10 ohms, 10 amps) in the wire to the switch. It stops feedback, and will also help the alternator to kickin and start charging as soon as you startup. It works similar to the idiot light when the alternator was mounted in a car. A standard 10 SI alternator of about 40 amps can be bought cheap at Auto store. Ask for something like a 1975 chevy pickup alternator. YOu dont need a lot of amps on a tractor.

oops... the resistor i use is 10 ohms, 10 WATTS. It is about 1/4 inch square and 2 inches long. You can get one at Radio Shack for about $1. I use a small terminal block to screw the resistor and wires together.