The 'E' Type Forum

Having purchased a black period looking battery for the 3.8 I was fairly underwhelmed as the top cracked on both that and its replacement. Its also a bit too big for the space and , well looks good, but for the money.....?]
so, was looking for some recommendations for a great battery that looks sort of black preferably and will fit the space and work well. Any thoughts out there please?

edit, sorry I should have asked what the amps should be. Its a 4.2 series one.

I use a bog-standard Halfords HCB-005. Perfect size and fit, it's black, the stickers on it peel off easily and you can stick a "Lucas" sticker on the visible side of it if you really want to. Lasted 5 years so far with no issues.

thank you John . I will take a look into that. Sounds very promising.

Sorry, vetoed, unacceptable.

Cut out the contents of your correct-looking black battery, gut it completely, and hide a lithium ion one inside the case, cabled up internally and invisibly to the original pillar terminals.

There's a post with pictures from a few years ago that shows how I did it and and why.

Am in fat finger iPhone mode whilst travelling otherwise I'd dig out the link, maybe an idle desk-bound lackey would oblige ?

Worked perfectly ever since.

Happy to oblige...

viewtopic.php?t=4426

I'm sure Rory's solution is the best, but out of interest I have a Power Bull battery, I think now made by Banner.
It was ten years old (as per label on battery) when I got my car 3 years ago. Also, the label was a German "tested" label, and my car was in Germany then, so I know dates all add up. I thought it was a sealed unit, as there were no top-up caps.
The guy who looked after my car in Essex (really well!) said he believed the battery was the wrong year for a sealed unit. He got a sharp chisel and removed the label on the top of the battery. You could see from the colour of the plastic underneath that the label had never been off, but underneath it were the filler caps. We looked, and all electrolyte levels were still perfect.
I still have the same battery; it crtanks well, never runs out of juice if the car takes a bit of starting, and fits perfectly in the E Type battery holder. With the labels off, it's black. Only 50 amp hour I think, (car away at the moment) but does the job perfectly. And 13+ years and counting.
Bet it packs up now after that build up!

rfs1957 wrote:Sorry, vetoed, unacceptable.

Cut out the contents of your correct-looking black battery, gut it completely, and hide a lithium ion one inside the case, cabled up internally and invisibly to the original pillar terminals.

There's a post with pictures from a few years ago that shows how I did it and and why.

Am in fat finger iPhone mode whilst travelling otherwise I'd dig out the link, maybe an idle desk-bound lackey would oblige ?

Worked perfectly ever since.

I think this is probably a very very good plan. I have done a similar thing on one of my old motorbikes. Its possibly to buy the old rubber batteries but with a removable top and no innards. However, I cannot see me doing this on the car. Maybe I should have kept the old Lincoln battery I had but sold it to the scrap man last summer!!!

If you want visual perfection then you can scrape the innards out and add a lithium ion battery. Do remember though that sulphuric acid in wet batteries is extremely corrosive and hazardous to bodywork, concrete and skin. Don't pour down the drain!

If you just want a reliable battery then I have a power bull in mine...seems fine after four years.

Visual perfection, that's it.

That's why we have E-Types no ?

Mine's a Banner Power Bull P44 09. It fits the space and is very patient when it comes to cranking.

It is a 44 amp hour and fits nicely in the well, under the heater box. I don't know what the cold cranking amps are.

The labels are rather garish but can be removed, although I'd leave them on for the warranty period which, I think, is 24 months.

Regards