063 or 038 ?

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mattyguk1
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063 or 038 ?

Post by mattyguk1 »

Hi all, I’m looking to fit a new battery to the minor now I have it running. It’s positive earth with no add ons, so which is preferable the 063 or 038?
ManyMinors
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Re: 063 or 038 ?

Post by ManyMinors »

I think that if you fit an 063 battery to a positive earth Minor, the battery posts will be the wrong way around and you'll have to fit the battery clamp too close to the battery posts because of this. An 038 battery is the recommended battery for a standard car but if you want a larger output, ask your battery supplier what other batteries are available with the posts the right way round.
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geoberni
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Re: 063 or 038 ?

Post by geoberni »

Battery posts is not a problem, so long as you know what you are doing.

I did see a motor at the national rally, I think it was a van, that had the clamp touching the posts and I was able to tell the owner he was damn lucky there was a good coat of paint on the clamp, because I had no idea why he hadn't shorted out the battery.
I would expect a battery boil or even potentially an explosion if the case were a bit thin.

But all you need do is apply some tape and be careful when fitting, or even file a little bit from around the area by the positive post.
Basil has tape and touches the raised plastic edge at the base of the posts.
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Basil the 1955 series II

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ManyMinors
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Re: 063 or 038 ?

Post by ManyMinors »

Getting the correct battery would be a better idea though........
mattyguk1
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Re: 063 or 038 ?

Post by mattyguk1 »

Thanks chaps, I’ll go for the 038 to save problems I think
IslipMinor
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Re: 063 or 038 ?

Post by IslipMinor »

The 063 is 'correct' for a -ve earth in a Minor, allowing the battery terminals to be at the back, by the bulkhead, and away from the battery clamp. I would not fit one with the terminals at the front.

An alternative to the standard positive earth 038 is an 057, which has around ~25% more Ah capacity and, more importantly ~35% more 'cold cranking amps' capacity (CCA), i.e. the bit that gets the starter motor spinning over nicely!

The next size up after the 057 is an 078, with ~70% more Ah capacity and ~85% more CCA capacity. Anything much bigger than that begins to get rather heavy, and awkward to get out from the battery tray (gravity helps on the way in!).

We have an 075, which is for the Minor negative earth terminal layout, and with double the standard CCA capacity it turns the 1380 over very easily, no matter what the temperature is. Very reassuring! On one occasion on the Euroclassic car run a few years ago, the alternator failed about 2 hours away from the overnight stop, and the last hour was in the dark with 2 x 80w dip beam halogen headlights on. The total load was ~25A and we got to the overnight stop, AND had enough left to start the car easily from cold the next morning, after the support people fitted a new alternator. You never know when that bit of extra capacity can be a real bonus.
Last edited by IslipMinor on Tue Jul 16, 2019 11:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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geoberni
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Re: 063 or 038 ?

Post by geoberni »

ManyMinors wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 9:41 pm Getting the correct battery would be a better idea though........
I agree that the posts at the back is the better option. basil has the battery he came with when we got him a couple of years ago. No idea why he has that arrangement, probably because past owners knew no better....
But I have seen a great many minors with the posts at the front.
Last edited by geoberni on Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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oliver90owner
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Re: 063 or 038 ?

Post by oliver90owner »

geoberni wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:13 am ...
No idea why he has that arrangement, probably because past owners knew no better....
....
Could be. Quite likely they were the ones to change the polarity and did so without changing the battery? Or perhaps simply replaced a previous dead battery with the same number?
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