12V Battery for MGA

[williredale]

I converted my B GT to a single 12V Bosch S4 063 battery earlier this year which I should have done several years ago...

My dad has an MGA with the twin 6V which are no longer holding a charge. I've suggested that he converts to 12V as well but my questions to the PH hive mind are these:

Will the 063 fit in without modification? I trimmed the moulded tabs from the bottom of mine which was easy.
Will he have to modify the battery cage/holder in the A?
Will the existing battery clamp fit or will he have to change this?
Is there a better battery than the 063? Price is £46 from eurocarparts compared to £160 for the pair of 6V from Moss.
The car has been changed to negative earth so will the cables be long enough?

The car is in Portsmouth and I'm in Bristol otherwise I could answer this myself. Any help or suggestions gratefully received!

[nta16]

is the size of the batteries and space available the same as on a B?

IIRC 063 I'm sure is a bigger battery than would fit into one 6v B battery cradle

[williredale]

nta16 said:

is the size of the batteries and space available the same as on a B?

IIRC 063 I'm sure is a bigger battery than would fit into one 6v B battery cradle

I'm not sure of the space in the cradle. The 6V batteries are /were the same though. All I have to go on are some vague diagrams from the web and the old boy's description as he was hurrying to the pub!

I had to remove the moulded lugs from the bottom of the battery to make it fit in the B and the old battery clamps no longer work.

[nta16]

from MG BBS, MGB Technical (forum)

[quote]Dave O'Neill2, Solihull, United Kingdom
Varta B35 a la Fiat Punto seems to be the current battery of choice...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VARTA-B35-002L-202-CAR-B...
[quote]


[quote]Dave O'Neill2, Solihull, United Kingdom
Footprint is the same as a 6v, but slightly shorter

[quote]


[quote]B Anderson, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Yes to Varta B35. Spot on fit. Just needed a spacer on the clamp as they are a bit long.
Bernie[quote]

[williredale]

nta16 said:

BBS, MGB Technical (forum)

[quote]Dave O'Neill2, Solihull, United Kingdom
Varta B35 a la Fiat Punto seems to be the current battery of choice...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VARTA-B35-002L-202-CAR-B...
[quote]


[quote]Dave O'Neill2, Solihull, United Kingdom
Footprint is the same as a 6v, but slightly shorter

[quote]


[quote]B Anderson, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Yes to Varta B35. Spot on fit. Just needed a spacer on the clamp as they are a bit long.
Bernie[quote]

Excellent. That looks spot on and would avoid the need for hacksawing bits from a battery. The capacity is a little less than than the 063 but I'll get one ordered for him.

Thanks for that!

[nta16]

williredale said:

Excellent. That looks spot on and would avoid the need for hacksawing bits from a battery. The capacity is a little less than than the 063 but I'll get one ordered for him.

Thanks for that!

obviously with any source of info from any source check and cross reference it with at least one other reliable source for accuracy

in my mind the 063 is a lot bigger and heavy duty, so I've remembered wrong

the one average 12v will probably be better than two good 6v and you're doing away with the connecting leads but make sure all the earth straps, battery connections and all leads and long starter lead are all clean, secure and protected (leads can corrode under the insulation too) and then you wont need a heavy duty

[williredale]

nta16 said:

obviously with any source of info from any source check and cross reference it with at least one other reliable source for accuracy

in my mind the 063 is a lot bigger and heavy duty, so I've remembered wrong

the one average 12v will probably be better than two good 6v and you're doing away with the connecting leads but make sure all the earth straps, battery connections and all leads and long starter lead are all clean, secure and protected (leads can corrode under the insulation too) and then you wont need a heavy duty

A picture is worth a thousand words! Also it was one of the types which cropped up when I was looking to convert mine but the 063 fitted and I wanted the better capacity. When it arrived though I didn't believe it would fit but it does just.

The battery earth strap is the only part of the system left to replace on mine. Truth is I forgot about it when ordering the battery and reused the old one. It works though and can wait until I order another box of goodies from Moss. The car is much easier to start now and I no longer feel the need to carry a jump start pack

Thanks for your help.

[nta16]

no problem

I was thinking of the earth strap(s) on engine plate/gearbox (and around steering?) rather than the earth battery lead, as you say, especially with my words, a picture ...


(from someone else's B)

[williredale]

nta16 said:

no problem

I was thinking of the earth strap(s) on engine plate/gearbox (and around steering?) rather than the earth battery lead, as you say, especially with my words, a picture ...


(from someone else's B)

Which looks almost exactly like the one I removed! Mine was perhaps in an even worse state though. That was the first part of the electrics I renewed after getting fed up with hard starting. My chassis to battery lead doesn't look great but it's more protected there and is still working.
I've told my dad to check his out his leads whilst he's working out the polarity of the A.

[nta16]

to be fair it's more important with that strap illustrated that the connections are clean and connected to a clean air and that all are secure and protected and many would say that one is fine but I think if it's already started to deteriorate how long before it causes problems and like you I'd change it for new (protected cable my choice)

one of my pet dislikes is a car that isn't a reliable starter so a good battery and connections is a must for me

all the info I got for here was just lifted from others

I'll have to have a look at a 063 as I'm sure I've used it before but as I put remember it as being much wider and it's not like I remember thing wrong

good luck

[williredale]

I spent all my google skills on identifying the car I'd seen in the motorway services and missed that battery entirely. It would seem that that one is the more common conversion battery for 12V rather than the 063 but I wanted the biggest most powerful one I could after my hard starting issues.

I have replaced the old earth strap with the same braided type but obviously gave the two connections a good clean.

[nta16]

perhaps it was the 063 I put in my r/b B, you have proved that it is a heavy duty alternative so it's all good info

I must say I find looking up details for batteries on the web now very difficult I'm sure Google and others search throw up a disproportionate number of selling-to-you results rather than info results

I've always found search engine use hit and miss, I've turned up results others have missed in seconds (and visa-verse) and then the next time I look for the same thing I can't find it at all (obviously I've not used the exact same wording/terms)

as I type this top of the page is an advert link for euro car parts link for car batteries, I bet I could lose a long time looking for a B alternative battery - but I'm not going to