Thread: 1940 Mercury question

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I bought a 40 Merc and the guy had put a 12 volt battery in it and its a 6 volt system flat head V-8, the distributor sticks out the front of the motor with 4 wires going to each side. I can't get it to crank, did he burn the points up with this 12 volt---Richie

Those old coils weren't all that reliable on 6v. Put a 12v coil and a resistor on it.
Did you mean that the starter doesn't turn the engine over? If so, the 12v could have fried the starter, but they will usually last a long time if you don't grind on it for long periods.