Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Case
Early Cobras used Lucas® batteries. CSX2117 first chassis by invoice to drop by contract the AC Cars supplied battery, generator, tachometer drive for generator, and tachometer.
Posts orientation for street cars is opposite that of a Mustang and no one makes look-a-like 1963-64 Autolite® batteries with "reverse" posts Cobras would require that I know of. The only new car road test showing much of the battery show what appears to be an Autolite 24C type battery with white text on the short vent caps. I believe that it was a generic service battery not used in any other new car. I have talked with original car owners that have hunted for decades and not found a match.
I have been using Motorcraft® BXT-24 models in our Cobras for a long time. They are hard to install or remove because they are physically larger than the original battery.
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I thought I'd put a charge into this battery thread.
My car currently has a group 42 which just fits and does the job (plenty of CCA). However, its height precludes using the stock Shelby supplied hold-down. I know I can use tubular spacers to accommodate the 42's low height but that's not the look I'm shooting for.
Shelby's stock battery box is 10 inches long so no group 24 will fit. However, I'm thinking a group 22F might be my best choice and may have been Shelby's choice back in the day.
As a teen, I didn't flip burgers during the summer, I worked at Gould Battery in City of Industry, CA. I loaded thousands of batteries on the shipping line where they were cleaned, painted, boxed and loaded on semi's. There were a lot of Autolites and Delcos as well as service station brands. I loaded many many 24's, 24F's, and 22F's. The 24's are still popular; the 22F not so much. But they seem to be available if you're looking for a lawn/garden battery application. Compared to a 24F, the 22F is significantly shorter (9.5 inches), about the same width, maybe a half inch lower.
Size matters. Especially for my car. I've got the "Daytona coupe" style backbone chassis which restricts access to the battery box.
So, based on my experience with wrestling ANY size battery into position, I'm looking for a high CCA 22F battery. Antique Auto Battery is/was offering a battery that should work with the correct look. If I recall correctly, they were even offering a Lucas lookalike with Optima internals.
Dan, could you clarify "reverse" post batteries (the ones that Cobras require). In the case of group 24 batteries, is it the 24F that has reverse posts? At Gould IIRC it was either "Ford" style 24F or standard group 24. But confusing the issue at the time was the fact that some GM cars used "F" post batteries!