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MG MGB Technical - Miata Battery

Just curious if anyone is using a Miata battery. It is quite small and appears that it would fit easily into an mga or mgb battery box. I know that a group 26 does not fit into my A (close but not close enough!) and I'm not sure that it would be a nice fit in my mgb battery box.

BTW, I made a platform for the A battery box and installed an Optima.

Tom
Tom Custer

Tom,
Have you had a look at a brand of battery named Odyssey?

Details at:

www.odysseybatteries.com

Pete.

Peter Thomas

I have a 74B and have been using a single 12Volt battery in my car for many years now. I believe that it is a group 26 butmay be a Group 24. Ithas worked great but is a tight fit. My B came with 2 6 volters.
Robert Ekstrand

Measure the MGB battery box, allow for the height of the terminals. Go to battery shop ruler in hand.
thats what I do.
Peter Sherman

Tom, I have a 90 Miata. The battery is 7 1/2 by 5, and 7 1/2 tall including terminals. The dealer says they're only good for 1 year but mine is still going after 5 years and on the Miata boards they'll tell you the battery will last 7 to 9 years.
On my 74 B I'm using a group 26. The original group for the two 6 volts was a 17H, but I don't know if the MGA takes the same battery as a B.
Ken
Kenneth Thompson

I always get the heaviest duty, longest lasting, (regrettible usualy, most expensive battery) that will fit in the car. Irrespective of make or model. Good lead acid batteries are all about lots of expensive lead.
All it takes is one single instance of getting stuck somewhere and you've blown all the money you've ever saved on cheap batteries, and then some whole lot more.
One thing I do use, and I thoughly recommend, is a battery isolation switch on the terminal. This is just a screw contact (green plastic top) that you unscrew whenever you leave the car for a period. I'm often away for many weeks and it means I can start first time every time I come home.
Peter Sherman

Year of your B? Single or double battery box?

Late 70s MGBs use the massive, ubiquitous, surprisingly cheap Group 24 battery, the very same battery used on many 70s Chevrolets with 5+ liter V8 engines.

I got funny looks last time I bought a battery because the guys are accustomed to installing Group 24s in full-size vans, not LBCs. But it is flush on all sides of the box with no spacers required - the box was clearly made for this battery and none other.

Few DPOs bought a full-size replacement! Buyers of used MGBs usually find a little battery borrowed from a broken-down Metro, placed on a bit of rotting plywood and held down with a bungee cord. Though that may resemble a lot of BL's work from the 70s, it is in fact not the stock setup.
Sam Good

Battery

http://www.bostream.nu/lindblad/sida5.htm

http://hem.passagen.se/larsragnar/
page 5

Ingemar Lindblad

Tom:
I bought a Westco version of the Miata battery to use in my MGB. So far it has not been fitted, but it's been in my Rover SD1 firing it up for the last 9 months with no problem. The battery is tiny and you can pick it up in one hand. If you don't have subzero winter driving, I think it's a good option.

Kelvin.
KJ Dodd

Tom - I have to ask a question here. Is the Group 26 too large to physically fit in the space, or too large for you to get your hands around and get it in or out?

I don't want to sound condescending, some folks in the "B world" focus on the battery itself, and forget that many batteries come with straps.
John Z

Thanks for your comments folks and thanks Kelvin for the note on the Miata battery. Well, I went to a few different stores and measured Group 26 batteries. The dimensions are by no means standard. Length and width varied up to 1/2 inch or so. But I did see an old Group 26 in a friend's garage that will fit the B battery box. It was called an Everstart but have no idea where they are sold or if the quality is good. The dimensions are smaller than the listed BCI specifications. Still contemplating how to get an Optima to fit (no maintenance!!) and the Miata battery just seems so cool because it's so small!

Thanks guys,
Tom
Tom Custer

(A different Tom..)

I'm pretty sure the Everstart battery is from WalMart.

I've had 3 or 4, and they seem to last as long as they claim they will. If you're taking one form a display, they have date codes on them. You might want to find the newest one.
Tom

This thread was discussed between 11/09/2007 and 24/09/2007

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