Battery Hold Down

Wogbe,

Thank the Lord on that one.

I'm sure there are people who don't hesitate taking a car to one of these places, but the chances of good (honest) work is ify.

Good luck from a native of Houston----many years ago ;-)

Garfield

Garfield

That's funny, but true. If it's any comfort to you, I did not take the car there, just the battery hold down.

Edited on 2013-09-26 13:17:05
My-My-My. Going to a Midas shop for anything other then having a muffler put on an old Ford tractor (thus the bad messy job) is beyond me. That's like taking your car to a local quick change oil shop and having them do mantenance on one's car. These people hire folks off the street (God bless them--at least they were looking for a job) who have little or no mechinical experience at all and if they get it right changing oil, one is lucky.

Watch the video's that expose these people and learn. I told my better half I would dis-own her if she ever took one of the cars to one of these places. They thrive on women. My Jag's hood cat puts it's paws over it's eyes when passing one of these places.

IMHO

I finally got this sorted, but it was a real pain. I took the stock hold down to a Midas shop and had them cut it in half, then weld extensions in the middle to expand the width by about 1/4". However, we also came to find that the battery terminal slots didn't line up properly either. So those had to be ground out a bit. Actually, the welding and grinding where the easy parts, but for the fact that the shop guys were very messy and haphazard with the job.

So, to both improve the aesthetics, and also to protect against short-out the battery if the terminals accidentally touched the metal hold down frame, I used electrical tape to cover the hold down. Then I found that the Optima was about 3/8" shorter that a standard type 35 battery; and because of that, the hold down wouldn't sit properly because the left tab hit the car frame. Fortunately, I realized that the optima comes with a plastic attachment that can be clipped to the bottom of the battery to boost its height. Even then, it was a struggle to get the J-hooks in. But in the end, it all work out. This battery better last for 30 years! :-)

Peter,

I recently bought a new battery for my 1968 E-Type. I bought a Diehard Gold Group 86, Model 50686 and it fits very nicely into the stock plastic battery tray. This battery is slightly smaller than the hold down bracket, but the battery can be moved around slightly so that the size discrepancy isn't noticeable . Also, the battery terminals are in the correct location , so it looks right. I also removed the plastic name stickers from the battery casing.

I'm a fan of Optima batteries. It's not hard to fabricate (which i did), or have fabricated, a nice looking hold-down that fits the Optima. I think a good, long-lasting battery, which fits an E Type well is worth a non-stock hold-down. I realize that others may disagree.
Day

Peter the simple way to do this is to fit your bracket to the display models in the battery shop. One will fit well. As to the height simply put your hooks and bracket in the car and measure. Remember that the terminals are in need of attention but if you find a battery you like and the terminals need to be reversed almost all batteries come in an "R" version--which stands for reversed terminals. Good luck.

On the same topic, could anyone comment on the size battery they use in their car, and what seems to fit best and work with the existing battery hold-down ensemble.
Thank you,

Peter