Stepdown Battery

SuperDave

Yesterday my battery took a dump. 3 years old. Must have been the cold weather. (down in the forties here). A quick search of local chain and independent auto part stores turned up only little Volkswagen or small tractor batteries. Oh they had Golf cart batteries too. Way too tall. I found a Group 2 battery at Battery+. INSTOCK P/N SL12 Basic price $84.99. Plus FL sales tax of 6% ($5.10) and an "environmental tax of$1.50. plus 6% tax on that..of $ .09. ( a tax on a tax?) Grand total $91.68. Also it's interesting that they would have charged me $10.00 if I didn't have a core, then charge me $1.59 to dispose of it? Big government!
Specs on the battery:
CA-940 amps
CCA-780 amps
Perfect fit to original hold downs.

lostmind

Seems like a fair price by todays standards. The cheapest price I could find for a Focus battery was $89 plus tax , it's more common and 1/2 the size. They last longer , so they charge more.
Interesting to find out there are only three manufacturers of batteries.

RonS

Last week I saw a terrific 2 hour feature on the American Experience , a program on PBS, titled The Poisoners Handbook. It was about the use of poisons by businesses, and their use in crimes by ruthless people... before forensics and the FDA, ie, lack of government "interference". We all cringe at the prospect of paying taxes to some oblique agency, but as Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society". I do agree that the sales tax should be on the base purchase price of the battery not on the fees added. BTW, Optimas last twice as long and are only $30 more on Amazon.

SuperDave

The battery that was in the car was purchased in Georgia . It had a completely different name on it than this new one. The label is a "sticker". The two battery cases are identical. Obviously same manufacturer.
I would have opted for the Optima , but I wanted something that looked more "original". It's the 49 Convertible that is For Sale.

Jon B

I'll probably be buying a battery from Batteries Plus this spring, for my Terraplane. Apparently that particular battery is made by Deka (in Pennsylvania) and it may be the exact one you're looking at. I've used the Deka batteries for a couple decades now, with fairly good results. Though frankly, they never last more than 5 years. They have good Cold Cranking Amps, though -- about 780 as I recall -- and that is great for starting. That puts them close to the CCA of the Optima batteries, but the Optimas last way longer. I was surprised to read (here) that one could buy an Optima for as little as $120 at Amazon.

Still, Batteries Plus is a "brick and mortar" store and you can avoid those (often expensive) shipping fees from the internet companies. However, do check with Batteries Plus -- at first I was told the battery was in stock, but when I pursued the matter it turned out they needed a week to get it. In fact, the second time I phoned I was told that they no longer carried this particular battery. When I called back yet again, it turned out that they did!

RonS

Dave, for future reference, you can buy a "dummy" battery box at a company called Quail Services .com. You can use the box to make a 6volt Optima look authentic. Place a decal on the box and it can be used over and over, from car to car. No good for 12volt, and no one makes National decal that I am aware of. Delco, Willard and others are sold.
Jon, the price is a bit more now... $127 with free shipping. Last year I bought one for $115.

SuperDave

Ron, Maybe some enterprising member will make a National sticker. I wonder where one would find an original to copy?
I knew about the falsie battery cover. I'm just too cheap since I have her or sale LOL!

[Deleted User]

Ron, thanks for the Quail Services information. I have been looking for a couple of years for a battery cover but have been unsuccessful. I'm already ordering one and will report back on my impression of it when I get it.

Allan

RL Chilton

I'm getting ready to buy a battery, as well. I was thinking about going this route:

http://www.antiqueautobattery.com/index.html

They also offer a 12V battery, which looks period-correct. Anyone have any experience with these guys?

53jetman

RL - They are only showing a 600 CCA battery for Hudson in the step down years. I don't believe that is sufficient for the Hornets. I have found batteries in the 800 to 850 CCA group 2's available at most farm & fleet type outlets. Of course they are usually not a name brand, but somewhere in this discussion it was mentioned that there are only about three battery manufacturers left in the country & these outlets usually offer at least a two year free replacement if the battery should fail in that time.

J Spencer

Advance Auto, Auto Zone, NAPA, Intersate all have 6 volt batteries. I have one from Advance a Group 1 in my Pacemaker now, about 5 years old. I had 2 Interstate batteries that lasted 10 years a piece. One was Group 2XHD and the other was OPtima that was 4years old when I replaced the 2XHD and it lasted another 5-6 years. Yes the prices are in the eighty dollar ranges now and don't know about disposal fee as that is usually in the core cost.. I worked at Advance Auto for 13 years and never heared of a seperate disposal fee.

SuperDave

Nether Advance nor Autozone had a group 2, 6 volt in the computer. Other than the golf cart type I mentioned. They did list, and some had, a group 1. Much smaller and look like I had in my old Volkswagen. Group 1 is not appropriate for a 308 and probably marginal for a 262. Never had a 232 so maybe it would spin it over on cold morning. Don't want to try.
The Environmental fee was charged at BatteriesPlus. I think I said they had a$10. core charge. that was wrong. It was $9.00. OOPs.
I did not go to the Interstate shop. I could not find any battery listings for Interstate "on line". I wanted to check specifications. They want you to call or go to the shop. From past experience, A year or so ago, they told me they could order one. When I asked about it. They wanted to sell me an Optima. So I skipped them this time rather than waste time. Maybe they have a group2 available? But not in stock here in Melbourne, Fl.. They do make nice battery cables though!
I think Volkswagen and Mack trucks were the last vehicles sold in this country to use a 6 volt battery, so the demand has dropped off drastically. Stocking a slow moving product is not profitable . The prices have gone up a LOT too!

RonS

O'Rielly has an on line listing of 6v of all variations like the long 6 volt used in Packard. Real convenient for me( 5 minutes away), but don't have the life span(average 3 years in AZ) and are wet cell type. Antique Auto is the place to go for Show Cars. They sell Authentic Script batteries for judged cars such as Bloomington Corvettes or Dearborn Fords. They are expensive but are reputable. There is no disguise box for anything but a 6volt Optima... 12 volt are too large to fit. FYI, Guys in the Model A clubs can take a Group 2 and it will fit in a A box under the floor. They can therefore hide a Optima. The terminals are standard,that is like Hudson, pole terminal on Fords changed in 1932 and are reversed. This is a concern if you plan on getting a disguise box OR the new batteries are too tall to fit under the floor boards. The floors(metal ?) touch the terminals, measure them if you wish to install one in a 30s car.

SuperDave

I sent a friend to Tractor supply a few months ago because they used to have an "In store" selection of 6 volt batteries. He said they didn't.. Hmm.. I checked "on line" and didn't find anything that I could use. Oh well... My two door is now 12 volts..
Another friend has a 56 T bird. It has been hard to start. He came by a few days ago and I grabbed my hydrometer to check his battery.. It was a sealed battery with fake caps. Sure fooled me! Must be a one of those neat ones mentioned above.

cpr3333

I can't add anything to the 6-volt discussion but I do have some experience with Antique Auto Battery. I had one of their batteries in my '70 Buick and it was fine until the body shop that was fixing the damage from the infamous boat incident let it completely drain to the point where it wouldn't recharge.

Since it was still under warranty, I called them and they wanted me to go through some complex procedure of charging it at like 100 amps for 17 minutes and then 65 amps for 43 minutes and... whatever. I told them that I wasn't a repair shop and didn't have that kind of equipment. My other option was to ship it back to them at my expense. I decided that either option was going to cost me more than just buying a new battery from NAPA and getting one of those battery covers.

They seem to have a reasonable product but batteries are just a bit too heavy to be shipping across the country if and when something goes wrong.

Glowplug

To add some fodder to the feed mix...

Johnson Controls owns Interstate Batteries which is the parent company of Optima. Those battery lines are now totally manufactured in Mexico. Johnson has other battery lines too.

Environmental laws have driven most battery manufactures from the US. A recent victim of the aforementioned manufacturing location change is SEARS DieHard battery line. If you happen to own one of their DieHard GoldLine batteries and it goes bad, you will be surprised when you try to get the battery replaced. As of fall of 2013 the longest warranty battery from Sears dropped to 3 years. This includes any warranty replacements for GoldLine batteries (originally sold with up to 84 month warranty). I had the distasteful experience of getting to the bottom of what was going on with Sear's change in warrenty. Bottom line after 3 days of telephone calls and run round, I told the Sears rep I was taking the problem to the States Attorney General. When this comment was given they abdicated and told me the truth. Sears is on hard times in their automotive and tools area. To cut costs they are not going to honor battery warranties past 36 months as they are losing money due to poor materials and manufacturing.

To me this is a sign of the times. As they say Buyer Beware.

Hudson Grandpa

Nothing like an Optima Battery. The 1st pic battery is 1 yr old maybe. The second pic battery added is 3 yrs old. nothing like two Optimas in series. Just one of my branstorms. Well anyway if the 1st pic doesn't show up it's the newer one on the left. My Interstate Battery in my daily driver is now 48 months. Guess what my next battery in it will be. 12 Volt Redtop. Direct from Optima.

StillOutThere

I've had a single Optima 6V in my '53 Studebaker for 8 years. Still perfect.

Frankvintagefullflowcom

I'm a big fan of the Optima as well. I 've been using them for 25 years or so in everything from our 6V Hudsons to the 'dozer I used in my excavation biz. Well worth the extra up-front cost since they last longer, perform better and don't make a mess of the battery compartment. I have A 6v "Yellow Top" (deep cycle version) that I keep in the trunk of whichever Hudson we're driving......just in case. It has paid off a couple of times. They can be installed in any position (although they don't recommend inverted) so I just lay it down in a box in the trunk.
I've considered the nostalgia cover idea but I'm more concerned with reliability than appearing to be "correct".
F

onerare39

Here's what the battery box from from Quail Services looks like.

RL Chilton

Been a great thread, but I'm still no closer to figuring out what to do about this, yet. Absolutely, positively have to be 12V, so the options are thin on at least looking vintage.