I have a restored 1947 Plymouth Business Coupe. That was the same year I, too, came off the “assembly line.” The Plymouth has a 6-volt battery, and the starter motor turns over slowly. Can I safely ...

All of the above, Jerry. The problem is that everything in your car is designed to run on 6 volts. Running 8 volts through 6-volt components will put some stress on them and might shorten their lives ...

DEAR CAR TALK: I have a restored 1947 Plymouth Business Coupe. That was the same year I, too, came off the "assembly line." The Plymouth has a 6-volt battery, and the starter motor turns over slowly.

Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began ...