Happy Sunday!
I had another thread I started the other day but do not believe I asked my questions properly. I am hoping to give it another go. What battery should I use if I am going to run the car on battery only? The MAG has issues but I would rather wait till winter to work on that. I will be using a solar trickle charger to keep it topped off. I would like to use a battery with the smallest dimensions possible.
Second, any suggestions as to where to mount the battery. I would prefer to have it out of sight.
As always, my sincerest thanks to all on this forum!
Patrick
There's space under the front seat next to the gas tank for a small lawn tractor or motorcycle battery. One of those will run your car for hundreds of miles on the original coil system.
Patrick, I would get a Optima deep cycle 12 volt RV battery, they say you can mount it on it's side. I have a good mag, but I start mine with a 12 volt deep cycle flooded RV battery. I also run my tail lights, horn and turn signals on it. I have a 1916 T. With a deep cycle battery, it will take a deep discharge and be able to be charged back up to full. An automotive battery will never be charged to full after it has been deeply discharged. I just bought an alternator to put on to give me better headlights than the mag can deliver, plus if I wanted to, I could change over to a distributor. Hope this helps. You should get a battery charger that will charge and maintain a Optima battery. Check out the Optima web page, they have a small less expensive charger that was designed for Optima batteries. I hope this helps. Kevin.
Patrick - A small lawn mower battery is all you need. However, DO NOT put the battery under your seat next to the gas tank. The gas tank is a bomb, and the battery is a fuse. Batteries have been known to spark when switching from mag back to battery if the connection isn't that good, and also, when you connect, or disconnect the battery, there are always chances for sparks. That gas tank is RIGHT THERE and it has a vent so the vapors are there too. Put the battery under the REAR seat or on the running board in a small battery box that you can fabricate. Good luck to you!
I haven't tried it, but a friend mounted his small battery on the left front splash shield, under the floorboard up against the firewall. Seems like a good idea.
Patrick,
When I bought my 1915 Touring (which, I suppose, might be considered almost identical to your '16), the previous owner installed a 12-volt Optima battery using the mounting bracket that is readily available from Mac's.
http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_model_t/model-t-ford-battery-bracket-original-style-top-quality-not-for-tt-trucks.html
It fits neatly under the removable rear seat floorboards, so access is not a problem. In my case, the battery is a "Red-Top," which is the type normally kept charged by an alternator (or generator) and used for the short, high-energy bursts needed for starting.
If your car doesn't have an electrical system to keep it charged, and you'd be using the battery continuously to power your ignition, an Optima "Blue-Top," which is designed for continuous power and deep cycling, would probably work better. Of course, you'd need to use a house-current charger to keep it topped off.
Patrick:
I have had a small battery under the back seat in one of my Ts and a small battery under the front seat in another. The one in the back seat has been in their for 10 years or better. I charge it once a year and never have any problems. All I use them for is for hand cranking. Some one on the forum has suggested that you should use number 10 wire, I didn't do that but I suppose that is correct.
We have small gel-cell kiddie car batteries next to the gas tank in our roadster and touring. They have very very tight quick connects (like trailer light wiring) so they are easy to remove.
I'm not concerned about the gas tank being a bomb. I've been around antique cars my entire life and, to the best of my knowledge, there has not been a rash of Model T explosions.
Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Bob, thanks an awful lot for the outstanding pictures!
Patrick