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Re: 12 Volt battery size for MGAs

To: mgs@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Re: 12 Volt battery size for MGAs
From: Mark Moburg <markmoburg@mindspring.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 23:47:03 -0500 (EST)
        Carol wrote:
>> 
>> I don't know the Group I put in Darlin, but...
        *       *       *
>> Battery purchased at what was Western Auto. Part # 65-6626-9, 470 amps,
>> Group Size 26P
        *       *       *
>> Carol
>> 

        'cause someone else wrote:
>> >>Question to the MGA folks on the list:  Will a Group 26 12V battery fit
>> >>in the MGA battery tray?  If not, what is recommended?  TIA.

        and I wrote:
>> >Group 56.  You will probably have to get it from a specialized battery
>> >supplier, but it fits right in the tray without modification.
>> >
>> >Mark Moburg

        then you wrote:
>Hey Carol!  
>
>Thanks for going the "extra mile"!  For Mark:  checked at our local
>Cars-R-Us place today.  They had a Group 55 and a Group 57.  Seems I
>have it bracketed.
>
>Reason for asking for the list's assistance is that the MGA I have
>purchased is still at the previous owner's, some 2.5 hrs away and I
>don't have one to run out and measure!  Going to buy a battery and take
>it down when I go to pick it up and am trying to avoid getting an
>incorrect size.  
>
>Now I've got two to look for.  Either a 26P or a 56, right? 

Okay, the reason I recommended the Group 56 is that I had used a Group 26
before, and it just didn't fit down in the bottom of the battery tray - it
was about 1/8th of an inch too wide.  I had to wedge it in, and the
hold-down didn't fit.  I didn't like having a loose battery, so when it was
time to replace again, I took the measurements at the narrowest part of the
tray and took them to Standard Battery in Seattle.  They are more of a
warehouse than an automotive parts place and they carry batteries for all
sorts of industrial applications like forklifts, cranes, and so forth.  

Of course, 1950's British production line standards being what they were, my
car's battery tray could very well be 1/4 - 3/8ths of an inch narrower than
Carol's, so she got away with it & I didn't.  

One thing to watch out for on modern batteries though - make sure the one
you buy doesn't have any sort of a hold-down lip on the bottom.  Some
companies put these on their batteries and they for sure won't fit an MGA
tray.  Good luck!

Mark Moburg
MarkMoburg@mindspring.com
Seattle, Washington


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