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Which Battery?

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Steve,

Great, thanks for the advice.... Wow.... cheaper, lighter, and only one to deal with... can it get better than that?? :thumbsup:
 
Today paid 109 bucks for a battery for the wifes car. Interstate battery. Last one was good for 8 years.
 
Group 26 fits nicely in the compartment, I don't have one of those plastic boxes but imagine it would fit.
The last 2 batteries I purchased for the MG's were Deka's on sale from Auto Barn, 60 month, $39 . They don't hold up too long. Now I get all my batteries at my local junk yard. Go in there with a load tester. Have found the group 26 AC Delco ones are very good. $20 with a 30 day warrantee. Can't beat that.
 
Steve_S said:
The best battery you can fit in a battery box liner is a Westco type as found in Miatas. Moss sells them. They last forever, don't leak and hold a charge longer than standard batteries. I have a couple in my cars.
Click to expand...

Another vote for this battery. I have one in my B and it's great. Holds a charge forever (like years).
I bought mine directly from WestCo for about $80 shipped. It is not a wet cell, so UPS is fine.

Do a search for "AGM and Miata" and I have some photos.
 
mk2sprite sorry for not responding to your pm any sooner. I had not checked my messages in months. Even when I came in the forum I hardly ever looked to see if I had any messages.

So the WESTCO looks like a good choice. Scott you must have gotten yours a long time ago, cause their website sells them for an extra $30 now. I'll check Steve's and probably get one for myself as well.
 
Let me vote for the group 26 Delco. Got sick & tired of the hassle & expense of replacing two six volt batteries every few years; for authenticy that no one sees. Moved to a group 26 Delco 10 years ago, still the same battery & it started right up a week ago after not being run since November.

Car is a 1974 MGB by the way.

Now I'm just sick & tired of being sick & tired.

Colin
 
Another vote for the Westco battery. The main reason to get this is that it holds up much better than a regular battery in a car that spends a lot of time sitting still.
 
Hey ddrumman...

Nice looking B, by the way.....
 
Another vote for the WestCo battery.

These AGM (Absorption Glass Mat ) Batteries really do last! My 2000 Miata still has the original Panasonic AGM battery (still cranks great...and is always parked outside). But many of my Miata buddies have really been happy with the WestCo. Another AGM battery that is very similar is the American Eagle battery (by American Battery Corp.). Do not buy the Miata "replacement" battery from Mazda...it's a cheaper wet-cell type.

American Battery Corporation
525 West Washington
Escondido CA 92025
(760) 746-8010

WestCo Battery Systems
Anaheim CA
1-800-214-8040

By the way, right now, my MGB has a single 12-volt, Group 26 WalMart battery in it ($39). I put it in the race-Escort last year and am temporarily using it in the B. My race-Spridget has a 4-year old version of this battery too. Not saying they're great but so far, so good.
 
Of all the batteries out there, I like the "Oddysey"! It's also approved for some aircraft and aerobatics. But then again, it isn't cheap by far!!

car.jpg
 
I don't mean to hijack my own thread, but PAUL161 can you post a photo of your top? I have a canvas top on my B since 1994 which is when I got the paint job done. I purchased it from MGOC in England and it never fit right. The material feels very nice and all, but it's impossible to make it snap in if the top is down and the rain comes and you just want to put the top up quickly.

Also, does yours have the headliner and come w/the window?

MGsv1060_glass_window1.jpg



I'm looking to somehow have the local upholstery shop do some mods to mine so it'll function properly.
 
ddrumman said:
I don't mean to hijack my own thread, but PAUL161 can you post a photo of your top? I have a canvas top on my B since 1994 which is when I got the paint job done. I purchased it from MGOC in England and it never fit right. The material feels very nice and all, but it's impossible to make it snap in if the top is down and the rain comes and you just want to put the top up quickly.

Also, does yours have the headliner and come w/the window?

MGsv1060_glass_window1.jpg



I'm looking to somehow have the local upholstery shop do some mods to mine so it'll function properly.
Click to expand...

Here's a photo of my top. It doesn't have a liner but the fabric is much thicker than most and does quiet a lot of road noise. I don't have a close up of it, but maybe you can get an idea how it looks. I had the same problem with my top being very hard to snap around the rear windows and come to the conclusion that they used cheap after market snaps that weren't made by "Lift A Dot". I replaced my snaps with the original "Lift A Dots" which are better made from Moss and the problem went away. I used a two foot claw type finger grab to pull out the old snaps one at a time and reversed the procedure to install the new snaps. It was easy. Incidentally, I gave serious consideration to buying a top like yours, but without ever seeing one in the real, I decided against it. They do look nice though!
SANDYINMG-4.jpg
 
Switching back to batteries...I was at my local battery store today & asked him about the Miata jell battery....he has a jell "lawnmower" battery with 330 CCA's that he says is just as good as the Miata one but much less $$'s (even with the post adapters that allow us to use our stock cables)!
 
PAUL161 said:
.........Incidentally, I gave serious consideration to buying a top like yours, but without ever seeing one in the real, I decided against it. They do look nice though!
SANDYINMG-4.jpg
Click to expand...

The glass one is NOT my top. Prestige is <span style="font-style: italic">now</span> making these with the glass. I got my top 14 years ago. Yours looks very nice, clean and ...well brand new!

As soon as my battery is in the car I'll be going to Chatsworth to see if they can do something about this top issue.
 
I did and there is a lot of good info in there.

I noticed on your thread starting post, third photo down you have your "tinned copper", actually both wires wrapped in electrical tape. Is that something that you'd recommend?

Man I gotta say, staying around and reading all the posts makes me want to start driving my B again. I guess spring right around the corner in Sunny SoCal doesn't hurt either. :yesnod:
 
ddrumman said:
I noticed on your thread starting post, third photo down you have your "tinned copper", actually both wires wrapped in electrical tape. Is that something that you'd recommend?
Click to expand...

Not really. Since that photo, I replaced the main battery lead (battery to solenoid) with a new one from British Wiring. Same thing with the ground lead. The new one had half the resistance of the old and was slithgly thinner. The braids were full of corrosion.
 
Update,

I got the Westco and it was heck trying to put it in with all the additional cables for my amp and the tiny one from the fuel pump. I didn’t have the right tools to begin with and didn’t want to bother Steve.

My across the street neighbor brought over a nice big jack and we lifted the car so we could push the battery box up, from underneath. We had to because, the Interstate was so stuck in there that even when we had the box out of the car it still didn’t want to come out.

The Westco is so small it made me laugh. After, my neighbor with the jack left I was NOT able to install it properly because of that freaking indentation on the battery that’s being outlined in red. I wish I could shave it off. Also, I butchered the battery box because I needed the hole, where the positive comes through, to be bigger and didn't have the right tools.


HoneyBeeBattery1Westconow.jpg




The positive is nice and tight but not all the way down, while the ground is not tight, and you could probably wiggle it off. I got it started and drove it. It seems to be fine.

Question: Is it hazardous to have the ground somewhat loose?
 
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