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1960 battery options

Started by David Greenburg, January 02, 2022, 03:15:50 AM

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David Greenburg

Looks like I need a new battery.  Short of getting one of the repro Delco's, or the very expensive Odyssey Group 60, what are the options other than a Group 50 that will fit in the battery tray? It seems like the standard width for most modern batteries is 6 7/8", which is too wide.  The Group 50 I've been using is too narrow, and not really up to the task, lasting only about 3 years.
David Greenburg
'60 Eldorado Seville
'61 Fleetwood Sixty Special

Jon S

I use a group 27 which I believe will fit in your 1960 and doctor it up with individual letters I had made up. Not the large stickers on eBay.
Jon

1958 Cadillac Sedan De Ville
1973 Lincoln Continental Coupe
1981 Corvette
2004 Mustang GT

Big Fins

Put an Interstate battery in it and call it a day.
Current:
1976 Eldorado Convertible in Crystal Blue FireMist with white interior and top. (Misty Blue)
1969 Fleetwood Brougham in Chalice Gold FireMist with matching interior and top. (The Old Man) SOLD!

Past and much missed:
1977 Brougham de Elegance
1976 Eldorado Convertible
1972 Fleetwood Brougham
1971 Sedan de Ville
1970 de Ville Convertible
1969 Sedan de Ville
1959 Sedan deVille

David Greenburg

Jon:

I've seen your battery dress-up before, and it looks great. While '58-'62 all used the group 60 originally, it looks like your battery tray is pretty open on the front, which may make the width less of an issue.  But I'm going to go measure a group 27 and see if it will work.

John:

I like Interstate batteries; the question is finding one that will fit.
David Greenburg
'60 Eldorado Seville
'61 Fleetwood Sixty Special

Big Fins

I used a Group 27 in my '59 with no mods to the tray. I did that simply for the CCA that was available with that series.
Current:
1976 Eldorado Convertible in Crystal Blue FireMist with white interior and top. (Misty Blue)
1969 Fleetwood Brougham in Chalice Gold FireMist with matching interior and top. (The Old Man) SOLD!

Past and much missed:
1977 Brougham de Elegance
1976 Eldorado Convertible
1972 Fleetwood Brougham
1971 Sedan de Ville
1970 de Ville Convertible
1969 Sedan de Ville
1959 Sedan deVille

Scott Halver

David,  I found a group 35 Optima battery that fits like a glove.   The battery comes with a lip on both sides, base.   I sawed-off like a 1/4 inch on one side so it would slide down inside the stock battery box.   I could not find a Group 27 that had the right dimensions (or even find a Group 27), but maybe Interstate Group 27 is right .........   if they sell a Group 27.     I put a classic top and wrap around the battery.  I've been getting 5 to 9 years out of my Optima batteries-   own 7 Red Top Optima batteries, 5 cars 1 diesel pickup and 1 Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery in a travel trailer.   SHalver #24920   
1960 Eldorado Seville, Grandfather Bought New
1970 Corvette Convertible 350/350

76eldo

Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

The Tassie Devil(le)

I put the biggest battery in my '60 CDV that I could find.

The extra wires are going to the Battery Tender.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

David Greenburg

If the Gr. 27 fits, it seems like the way to go, as it appears to be available from NAPA or Interstate, among others.  Its just that the spec I keep seeing is that Gr. 27 is 6 13/16" wide, whereas my tray is only 6 3/8."  Perhaps the 6 13/16 is for ones that have the hold down lip on the bottom, and without that it will fit, assuming it is available without the lip. Or perhaps the lip can be trimmed, as Scott mentioned with the Gr. 35.  At least I can go see one locally and measure it.  My research also led me to a Gr. 65 Delphi AGM, showing a width of 6.375, which seems like it would fit.  It also sounds like a real beast of a battery.  But the BCI standard width for a Gr. 65 is much wider, and I can't find any other sources to confirm the Delphi's width, or any local places that carry one so I can go measure it. So if the 27 doesn't pan out, I will probably follow Scott and get the Optima.  I can see from pics that there is a very substantial lip at the base that certainly looks like it could be easily trimmed.
David Greenburg
'60 Eldorado Seville
'61 Fleetwood Sixty Special

David Greenburg

Lest anyone here or coming across this in the future get there hopes up about the Delphi Grp. 65 fitting, it will not.  The information I saw indicating it was 6.375" wide is incorrect.  Took some digging in the Delphi catalog, but it is actually 7+ inches wide, consistent with other Grp. 65 batteries.
David Greenburg
'60 Eldorado Seville
'61 Fleetwood Sixty Special

David Greenburg

Since replacement batteries seems to be a popular topic, I figured I would share the results of my shopping and research.  I decided to go with a Group 27 battery, primarily because it does a better job of filling the battery tray, and Grp. 27 batteries seems to have more power as measured by CCA's and reserve capacity than the other modern sizes such as 24 and 34.  I did need to shave off the hold-down "flanges" at the bottom, although this would be true of pretty much any modern battery.  The width of most batteries seems to be standardized at about 6.8," while the width of the '59-'60 battery tray is 6.343" (6 11/32").

Having decided on the size, the next question was "which battery?" My priorities were durability and power (CCA's), so I leaned toward AGM.  I'd heard very good things about Odyssey (other than the price).  They list a Grp. 27 in their "Extreme" series with 930 CCA's, but it is backordered/out of stock.  But I learned that Batteries+ of all places sells the same battery under their house label "X2 Power" and was in stock locally, so that is what I went with. Less than the Odyssey (if it were available), but still not cheap.  I'm gambling that they live up to their reputation and last substantially longer than conventional batteries.  My runners up had this not been available were the Duracell Ultra (840 CCA) or the NAPA Legend Premium (710 CCA).Both of these seem well-regarded, and are much cheaper, although they are not AGM. 

If you really want to fill your tray, the closest thing to a Grp. 60 that I found is the Odyssey ODS-AGM70A. This is a very heavy duty battery that is a full 13" long.  It is not listed as corresponding to a Group size Besides being expensive, this might be too wide. When I measured it in a store, it appeared to be a hair over 6 11/32".  Had I decided to pursue it further, I was considering taking my battery tray in for a "field check" on the width.  It does not have the hold-down flanges found on the other modern batteries, so there is nothing to shave.  But despite its size, it is rated at "only" 810 CCA's, and would have been a bit more expensive than the X2. The one available to me also would have required a terminal adapter kit to give it the old school posts.  It is also available with those posts, but that would have been at least a couple of weeks out, so I did not pursue it further.  If you've read this far, you're geeking out on this stuff as bad as I did.  Happy New Year!
David Greenburg
'60 Eldorado Seville
'61 Fleetwood Sixty Special