Time to replace the 24F battery in the '69 With the death of New Castle Battery, it looks like one is back to either the old dry charge Autolite repro battery (ugh) or a plain jane black flat top with the repro Autolite cover. Have heard from several car nuts that Delco (hate to type the word) is one of the best. What is your experience? Also, while we are on the theme of batteries, I have always disconnected the negative cable from the battery if the car is going to sit for more than a few days. Did the same thing while it is in winter storage. Charged it up in the Spring and away it went. Have heard lots of talk about trickle chargers or battery tenders for over the winter storage. What are your preferences? Ron
Ron and all... I've had excellent results by using a Battery Tender on all my batteries. I simply disconnect the neg. side when not in use and attach the Battery Tender. They cost about $59.95 and are worth it. It makes no difference if it's a sealed or conventional battery either. The big culprit in battery failure is sulfating of the plates when not in use. Keeping a slight pos. charge on the battery inhibits the sulfating. In the Shelbys, I'm currently using a sealed, maintenance free, lead-acid battery with one of the repro-tops and, unless you're entering a SAAC or MCA National show, I wouldn't worry. If you don't care about the "original" look, I highly recommend the Odyssey batteries. These batteries are drycell technology, can even be used upside down and still not leak, are less weight than that of a conventional battery of equal output and have a guaranteed shelf life of 2 yrs. I use one in my '95 Cobra R and saved 15 lbs. Check on eBay for great prices vs. race shops. Regards, Stan ----- Original Message ----- From: Ronald Robertson To: Shelby Mustang Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 9:13 PM Subject: Batteries Time to replace the 24F battery in the '69 With the death of New Castle Battery, it looks like one is back to either the old dry charge Autolite repro battery (ugh) or a plain jane black flat top with the repro Autolite cover. Have heard from several car nuts that Delco (hate to type the word) is one of the best. What is your experience? Also, while we are on the theme of batteries, I have always disconnected the negative cable from the battery if the car is going to sit for more than a few days. Did the same thing while it is in winter storage. Charged it up in the Spring and away it went. Have heard lots of talk about trickle chargers or battery tenders for over the winter storage. What are your preferences? Ron
