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MG MGA - 12V Battery to fit MGA

I've looked through the archive on this one, and there are plenty of US responses to my question, but not much from the UK.

I'm trying to replace my rather inefficient 6V pair of batteries with a single, modern 12V battery, which will fit into one of the MGA battery racks.

does anyone know of a battery available in the UK which will have the right power level for cold starts etc. and will fit in the rack without modification?

Thanks.

Richard.
Richard Ross

Richard look in the B archives I am sure that the battery frames for the A and B are about the same size. However I believe the battery most talked about was a Halfords one, which I believe to have been discontinued. I am not upto date with that, having not lived in the UK for few years.
Cecil Kimber

I have recently done this on a B. The battery size is 063, a tight fit. Mine came from Halfords. £40 IIRC. It even had a handle on the top!

David
David Witham

So they are still available..that is good news
Cecil Kimber

Richard

I can understand your wishes to keep the cradle original. However, it is only a small modification to lengthen the cradle a few centimetres. It can always be returned to original at a later date.

I lengthened both of my cradles and put a pair of 'beefy' 12v batteries in series (each one separately isolatable). I therefore have no trouble getting 'volumes of smoke' to travel up the long lengths of cable to the front end.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I have fitted a 063 to my MGA they are about £25 from most discount stores. The 063 is not a straight fit, the battery tray needs to be lengthened. Not a difficult job to do. Why would you need 2 batteries Steve?
Bob (robert)

I needed to redo the battery support anyway, so I lengthened it to take a longer than original battery (the common 12V size). Pretty simple, just drilled the spot welds, moved the brackets and rewelded.
Bill Haglan

Bill, I hope you wired your 2 12V bateries in parallel, not seies!
art

Thanks for all the comments.

Sadly I don't have my own welding facilities, so adaptation of the cradle is mildly awkward. I will have a think about how best to do it.

Steve - Do you mean in series or parallel for your 2x12V?

Richard.
Richard Ross

Richard, you don't need two 12v batteries in PARALLEL. The 063 is the correct battery with more than enough cold cranking currect. I've been using them on both my Bs for several years with no problems. Buy the genuine Lucas 063 from your local LS UK depot. Price is just over £25.
Iain MacKintosh

No plans to use 2x12V!

What about using a Group 26 battery (have now been reading the MGB archive as suggested)?

Seems to be the smallest 12V size (although still bigger than the original 6V).

Anyone have experience, or know of UK availability?
Richard Ross

All

Beg your pardon. I meant parallel. Suffering from the flu at the moment and the grey matter is a bit confused! I know what I meant to say, I just typed it differently!

I put the second battery in because it was sitting spare in the garage serving no useful purpose. I decided it could just as easily sit in the car for emergency use away from home. I have found it useful on the occasional very cold morning to give the extra boost to the starter motor.

I alternate the batteries daily, with only one normally on line at a time. In a previous thread it was said that keeping both on line all the time makes one battery 'lazy' and results in accelerated cell decay.

Steve
Steve Gyles

When in the UK, I used a mini battery, which I could fit without modification to the chassis. The only BIG recommendation is to make sure that you position the post with the ground polarity at the front, so that if the battery does move, you don't end up with a short against the chassis tube.
dominic clancy

Ricahrd
the group 26 battery is an american size and cannot be purchased in the UK go for the 063 single 12volt. It has far more power than youll need for an A. Given that you don't have a heated rear window, AC, three speed fan or high wattage headlamps.
Cecil Kimber

Dominic,
do you know a brand name or code number for this mini-battery?

I'm still keen to avoid adapting the cradle if possible, due to my lack of welder.

Point taken about the group 26, Cecil.

Richard.
Richard Ross

I wouldn't go there Richard. The 063 is correct for the size of starter and engine and will deliver sufficient current during adverse conditions. The problem with the smaller battery is that whilst it certainly will start the car without difficulty under normal circumstances it will not be so happy under cold conditions. Added to that of course is the fact that after two or three years as its capacity gradually diminishes it will not be able to handle these extra loads as unlike the 063 it will have nothing in reserve.
Iain MacKintosh

To quote; What about using a Group 26 battery (have now been reading the MGB archive as suggested)?

Doncha have dat battery over der?

[Don't you just hate it when them 'Mericans murder the language?]

Safety Fast
Dwight
Dwight McCullough

OK ...
Looks like I'll need to make friends with a welder.

Richard.
Richard Ross

Richard,
I have recently looked at the same problem. I went to a local battery supplier with my needs and purchased a 'Moura' Silver Alloy Type 002R. The battery is rated at 40Ah 62min and 330A SAE it measures 7" square and is 71/2" high. so it drops straight in the cradle without and modification. Cost was £32.

There were similar alternatives available but the connections were the wrong way round, which would have been a stretch and potentially haxardous.

Although the battery looks a little on the small side (almost identical to a 6V which I compared it to at the time of purchase)it appears to have sufficent power to start and run the car OK. Although I have not tried it in sub zero conditions.

Before I purchased the battery I looked at a friends Caterham and the battery on that was even smaller but it starts even with a modified high comppresion engine.

I'm told that like a lot of things battery technology has moved an in recent years.

Regards...John Bray
J Bray

Ah but you see John us hard up folk save 7 quid every few years. Look after the pennies!!!!
Bob (robert)

Nice try Bob, but as the 002 type is smaller and more importantly lighter than your 063 I will save fuel and hence recover my costs.

If you recall, in our racing days we would go to great lengths to save a few ounces and improve the power to weight ratio. Here in one swoop I've managed to save over 2 pounds. So in the world of 'Top Trumps' I believe my pounds(lb) beat your pounds(£)!!

Cheers...JB
J Bray

Very good John you have definately scored there. I may try an 002 when my 063 is on its last legs, but that will annoy me as I thought my wonderfully engineered holdown clamp was pukka.
Bob (robert)

With a mini battery, I mean one meant for an Issigonis designed Mini car. There is still alarge selection of these available in the UK, I should think, as the mini is still a poplar car.

I DON'T mean the battery for the BMW Mini.

The original Mini battery box in the floor of the boot (trunk) is aboout the same as the dimension of the MGA battery tray.

The battery does have enough power to turn and start a properly tuned engine, and I have to replace on average every 6 or 7 years.
dominic clancy

Greetings,
This is long winded so bear with me.

I just completed this conversion because I no longer could justify paying the high cost for replacement 6V batteries. I was looking at around $190.00 US for two batteries.
Using the Interstate Battery I-26R model the cost was only about $58.00 US.

I didn't want to modify the existing bracket on the car and I have other MGA's that I want to convert so I designed a bracket that slips into the original tray with a custom retaining bracket for the top of the battery.
If you cut the pieces and take to a welder he can easily put it together for you. All you need is a hacksaw, a square, and a tape measure. You can make this most any way, but I mitered the corners so that it looked good.

First, I made a 4-sided frame of 1 inch .065" wall steel square tube so that it fit in the MGA's battery tray as the original battery fit. Once this is in place in the MGA battery tray, you will notice that the top edge of the 1" frame is flush with the top edge of the MGA battery frame.

Make another frame of 1 inch .125" angle steel that the new battery will set in. I used zinc coated angle found at most hardware stores. This is not the same as angle iron but is flat stock that has been bent in a brake at some point in its manufacture.

This second frame is then welded to the first frame so that the edge of the new battery towards the front of the car is approximately in the same vertical plane as the orginal battery.

Now you have a removable frame for the new battery that can be used in either battery tray on the MGA without altering the car. Much easier to fabricate on the workbench than working under the car and much less dangerous than having sparks near things that shouldn't be ignited.

Use some self adhesive closed cell rubber foam to cushion the battery in the new tray.

Next, you will need to create a hold-down bracket for the top of the battery, I used 3/4" .125" angle steel and again made a 4-sided frame. You will need to weld semi-circular tubes on the sides for the new j-hooks to slide into. I used steel tube of the appropriate size slit lengthwise and shaped to keep the j-hook as close to the edge of the bracket as possible. Line up the location for these with the existing j-hook anchor holes on the battery tray diagonal support. They vary from side to side and I oriented mine so that they were vertical and not angled. The top of the tube should be flush with the top of the hold-down bracket so that a flat washer will rest evenly on the bracket and tube.

Tips:
Although I used .125" angle for the top and bottom frames, a lighter gauge would be fine, but this size is what was available to me.
When measuring, leave some leeway in the dimensions.
We don't want an interference fit anywhere on this project, ie, an eigth inch over size for the top and bottom battery frames and 3/16" inch undersize for the 1" square tube base frame is fine. This gives you some front/rear/sideways adjustment.
Take measurements of both the MGA battery trays so that you have the dimensions you need to work from and can compare. The J-hook holes are in different locations on the two diagonal supports!

The last item to make are new j-hooks of 1/4" mild steel rod. The ends are heated and then bent over to form the J. The opposite end is cut to length and then threaded. I would recommend making j-hooks with flattened sides below the threaded area in the vicinity of the J as the clearance is tight to the battery. You can also use the self adhesive closed cell rubber between the battery and j-hook for peace of mind.

Finally, I used stainless washers and nylock nuts so that not a lot of pressure was exerted on the battery, yet all remains secure. The end result is a very neat and secure installation that doesn't alter the car.
I hope this will be of use.

Regards-
Peter Dubaldi
CA, USA
Peter

Peter,
An excellent idea and shows that you can think outside the box! (even outside the battery box.:) )
I would not have thought of a removeable battery tray, but think now that this is how I will approach the matter.
Thank you for your tips.
Mike
mike parker

Peter I did the same and for the same reason. You can get 3 12V battery for the price of one 6V. Fit the one 12V bat. on the passenger side and you solve a weight problem and a financial problem.
Cecil Kimber...? that name rings a bell.
Miguel
Miguel

This thread was discussed between 07/03/2005 and 17/03/2005

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