The 'E' Type Forum

My last old-style battery lasted 5 years but ended up spewing acid during hard-cornering through leaks in the pitch/resin w.h.y. seals around the tops of the cells.

Once the battery had been rinsed out copiously, I used a sharp tenon saw for the lobotomy, along a suitable seam, and completed removing the guts with a Fein Super-Cut (without which, frankly, I wouldn't have tried it). The Fein enables you to neatly chop out all the baffling and section the lead-work with a minimum of contortion.



I wore eye-protection, gloves, did it outside in a well-ventilated courtyard, washed everything thoroughly, disposed of the contents responsibly, no animals were harmed during the experience, so spare me any health-and-safety preaching. My car's got no air-bags, head-rests, or ABS, and if I roll it I'm dead.

This battery is a perfect fit inside the case, needs a couple of judiciously-placed rubber blocks etc - but if you can hack this kind of modification you can work out the details for yourself.

http://www.motobikestore.com/scheda.asp ... 19&ID=4711



The roof isn?t particularly stable once the cells have gone, and nor are the terminal posts, so I screwed it to a board to keep it flat, and laid 2-3 layers of fibre-glass cloth plus resin stuffed into all the available crevices, whilst incorporating an angled strip at each end to give me a positive location of the lid on the case, see pictures. Then I painted it black because it looks fairly horrible. The terminal posts were drilled/tapped 1/4 UNF and stainless studding loctited into place.


25mm² wires and crimped fittings fit comfortably on either side of the battery inside the new case, and the original top frame and tie-downs go back as before.




The only failing is that the top warps slightly (see the uneven gap when viewed from the side) because I've used the lid to constrain the new battery vertically ; one day I'll make a strap to clamp the new one, and the old case will become purely cosmetic.




The only potential weakness, that I can see, of this solution, is the 26 Ah autonomy, half the original, but the doubled 900A cranking power starts the car like it never has before and I never leave the car parked with its lights on anyway.

I like it!!

Very neat mod. Do you have a hi-torque starter?

On the other hand, if you're doing it to look original, why not paint the heater motor and battery hold-down black as well, like wot they shud be?

Pete

Peter, are you trying to spread another case of Shipwright's Disease?

Starter motor is standard, was NOS in 1990 and only done 7.000m since so I was hoping it would last a while yet.

Heater motor should be black, should it ? Could have done it recently since had the coils re-wound ...............

My car's actually 1963, must change my listed spec, does that make any difference?

The battery frame is hot-zinc-dipped, as is the support, since I got tired of the edges always looking chipped, and sometimes I'll make an exception if it makes the car look neater.

What sticker should I have on my battery case to divert attention from my trangressions, and who can supply one ?!

tHERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN SUPPLY lUCAS STICKERS BUT IT LOOKS FINE as it is. Sorry about caps. For parts that have been zinc plated it is handy to powder coat them to overcome paint adhesion issues, although I'd have thought an etching primer would work OK between plate and black top coat?

Pete

SNG sell a suitable large Lucas sticker e.g:

Just stumbled across this exchange, seems like a life-time ago !!

Thought it worth mentioning that I've not touched a thing since I fitted this nearly 4 years ago, and the side-view picture I printed that shows the "cheat" seam is really rather unfair to it, as no-one has ever noticed - even when invited to spot the scam.

The reduced-capacity has never been felt, and the motor whips up as if on steroids when you hit the button.

Now that those vibrating-quadrant cutters like the Fein SuperCut (the first to do it ?) have become so common-place, cutting out the old plates has become much easier.

One of the best mods I've ever done, and it just looks so right - every time I lift the bonnet it reminds me that it's not always 2 steps forward, 3 steps back.

Very neat Rory!

Rory

I've just come across your thread while searching for replacement battery alternatives. I currently have a Lincon battery which has been leaking (again) and I've finally run out of patience with it. It's been an expensive failed experiment.
Anyway I can't see your images in the original post-something about updating my photobucket account and the link to the battery you used doesn't seem to work anymore. I can however see two of the images if I do a google image search and the shell looks like a Lincon case. What was the make and model of your hidden battery?
I have the added advantage of having an old Lincon battery which I drained after it failed on me as well. I can use this to practice the internal removals.

Cheers

Alan

Hi Alan, Internet fritzed by lightning Saturday and still awaiting replacement box, funny how much more I’ve got done in the workshop since then. Will dig out pictures and refresh the thread once I’m hooked up again. R

ALAN COCHRANE wrote:Rory

I've just come across your thread while searching for replacement battery alternatives. I currently have a Lincon battery which has been leaking (again) and I've finally run out of patience with it. It's been an expensive failed experiment.
Anyway I can't see your images in the original post-something about updating my photobucket account and the link to the battery you used doesn't seem to work anymore. I can however see two of the images if I do a google image search and the shell looks like a Lincon case. What was the make and model of your hidden battery?
I have the added advantage of having an old Lincon battery which I drained after it failed on me as well. I can use this to practice the internal removals.

Cheers

Alan

A timely post Alan! I am going through exactly the same issues with a Shield Battery , which i believe are manufactured by Lincon. Its the second one I have had which leaked and I am trying to find a modern battery that fits correctly. I came across Rorys post and noticed the photos had disappeared. I am very interested to read the instructions. Meanwhile if you find a battery that fits nicely, please share. This is my second battery to do this.

Rory

Sorry to hear about your IT problems, I'll look forward to your upload. Since my original post I have managed to find all your photos using a general google search and can see clearly how you've converted the original battery. I must say the results are very impressive.
As I said earlier I have the luxury of a drained Lincon battery to try it on, although I need a new battery whatever the result.

Andrew
I feel your pain, I've been there more than once. The problem is especially bad with the E-Type clamping arrangement. The Lincon (and Shield) battery box and top are separate pieces and joined by heating the bitumen and "floating" it to seal and join the two. The clamp frame when tightened pulls the edges of the box from the lid, eventually causing a split and the escaping gases cause the residue you've shown in your photos. I also have a Lincon battery in my GT6. The clamp in this case does not stress the join and so no residue.
You can re-float the bitumen with a blow torch-not as scary as it sounds, trust me, but it's only a temporary solution at best.
I like Rory's solution because I like the vintage look, but I've had my fill of these batteries at least for the E-Type.

Cheers

Alan

ALAN COCHRANE wrote: You can re-float the bitumen with a blow torch-not as scary as it sounds, trust me,
Alan

I once had a battery explode on a moving vehicle when one of the terminals came loose & caused a spark. If a spark can explode a battery, taking a blow-torch to it sounds pretty scary to me! I guess if the battery's not working it's not gassing? So don't try it on a moving vehicle? Is that the idea?

Right.

After an extensive trawl through my ostensibly "well-organised" photo archive I discovered that I no longer had the pictures .................



However, despite the best attempts of the little spotty sh--s that run Photobucket to blackmail us over access to our stuff, it IS actually possible (click on one of the incomplete address-links offered on their Blackmail Page, then paste it onto a blank Word document, and you get to see the original file name) to see what your hidden picture was called ...............

And then searching for that reference on my computer I managed to find a hidden trove of stuff archived under an earlier architecture, showing just how flakey my "organisation" is.

The original post has thus now been re-erected with the correct pictures, and whilst the type of battery I used doesn't appear to be readily available or identifiable nowadays, I did find this

http://www.motobikestore.com/scheda.asp ... 19&ID=4711

and

https://venditabatterieonline.com/index ... etail.html

which gives you the right idea.

I made no adjustments to charging voltage, and just hooked it up to my Dynamo system, complete with its Positive Earth, and its Mechanical RB340 Lucas Regulator Box, and I've not opened the old-battery case to even look at it for over 4 years now.

I started the car just today for the first time in 2 months, having forgotten to plug in the charger for the whole of that time, and it fired up first time without hesitation - so whatever is in there seems to hold its charge.

I think these are just lead-acid with felt, to give mounting-orientation freedom, and nothing fancy like Lithium-Ion, but since the battery market is so fertile, with capacity and current-rating having moved in leaps and bounds since 2013, it's probably enough to go looking for something that will fit inside your case and has at least 26Ah capacity and 900 Amps cranking available.

I got mine from a specialist local firm in Montpellier, and will go and ask them again what's special about the construction that justifies the circa 300€ price - and what they would sell me, today, if I were to come with a similar request ?

Rory

Thanks for your efforts. That's given me some food for thought. I've unearthed my old Lincon battery and given it a good clean, so it now looks presentable. It has developed deep cracks on the top of the lid and one side can be pushed in and out due to it parting company with the lid. Not a particularly good display of longevity.
I see what you mean about the battery prices, a bit on the high side. I'm sure I can find something a bit cheaper.

Cheers

Alan

Hi Everyone

My odyssey to find a modern battery to fit in an old Lincon battery continues.I thought I'd cracked it with the Leoch XR-600 Xtreme.
It measures 181.5mm(l)x77mm(w)x166mm(h) and more than one supplier states that the CCA rating is 600A. Well not quite, the packing box clearly shows the battery rated at 300CCA. One supplier Tayna Batteries has since altered their website after I'd pointed this out. Despite extensive internet trawling I can't find a more powerful battery that will actually fit.
Before I send this battery back, I'm of a mind to try it and see if it is powerful enough. The full spec is as follows:-
CCA(at 0 degrees F)=300A
MCA(at 0 degrees C)=350A
PHCA(at 70 degrees F)=600A
Now I don't think I'll be starting the car at 0 degrees F anytime soon even with help from the "Beast from the East" maybe at 0 degrees C although my garage never seems to get below 5 degrees C even in the depths of winter.
I know there was an old rule of thumb for CCA calculation which thought 1A per cubic inch was sufficient.
A 3.8l is equivalent to 232 cubic inches-I had to look this up. So 350A should be adequate for the XK under this rule.
Sometime ago I fitted 160A cube battery post fuses to both the Triumph and E-Type in an attempt to protect the ignition and starting circuits. This was after measuring the starting current of both with a Fluke multimeter. I had no trouble until I tried to move the E-Type on the starter motor after the fuel pump packed up, resulting in the fuse blowing after about a second. I've since removed the fuses since they give very limited protection anyway and as I now realise stop you using the starter motor in an emergency.
Both cars are fitted with a high torque starter which seems to greatly reduce the current demand when cranking.
So what do you think?

Cheers

Alan

Well at last I can report on my disguised battery experiment. It turns out the Leoch XR-600 Xtreme is more than up to the job of cranking an XK engine. It actually cranks the engine faster and for longer than the old Lincon battery.
I went the whole hog and changed the battery cable clamps for the old Lucas helmet caps.
I drilled the centre of the lid terminals and inserted 1/4 UNF helicoils so that the helmet screws would have a good grip when screwed in.
The lid of the Lincon required a lot of the rubber removing and the main case needs to be completely stripped of it's internal ribbing. A Dremel or similar is essential for this.
One important caveat to all this though-my car is fitted with a high torque starter that only draws about 160A. I don't know if this setup would cope with the original Lucas starter motor, although I suspect it would.
Here's some photos:-








The other good thing about the Leoch battery is that it only cost £71. I can picture Rory crying now since his Italian battery cost more than three times that!

Cheers

Alan

Looks great - and much cheaper, sniff.

What's more, I think the Italian manufacturer has disappeared.

I wonder whether Lincon Batteries are prepared to sell an empty case and lid to make conversion simpler? Maybe worth asking?

A point on originality - the Lucas red & gold label was used from the 1970's. The original Lucas FRV117A battery had 'LUCAS' moulded in relief and was black like the rest of the battery. In 1965 Lucas introduced this label:

This is the US version; UK version did not have 'Lucas Electrical Services Inc' printing. Label was originally white with red printing and FRV117A applied later in black ink. It is reproduced and sold on eBay. Either search for FRV117A sticker or go here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/weskcar?_trk ... 7675.l2563