8 volt battery

[JDP]

i picked up a 8 volt battery at Battery Warehouse to spin the 289 in my 51. I spent 5 minutes bending the spring on the regulator to adjust the charge voltage to 9.4 volts and I was done. The battery was $70.00 and is working great so far. Rumors has it that it will reduce bulb life by a few percent, but that is not a big deal to me.

JDP/Maryland
63 R2 SuperHawk (Caesar)
spent to date $54664,75
64 R2 GT (Sid)
spent to date $62,839.60
63 Lark 2 door
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)

[wagone]

Interesting....... Let us know how things go "down the road" as time goes by.

wagone

[Guido]

In my area, 8 volt batteries were most commonly installed in tractors (thus you find them at farm supply stores). It is an easy install that does not require changing light bulbs, etc. and provides additional starting power. You can distinguish an 8 volt battery by the 4 vent caps on top.

[willie j]

quote:Originally posted by JDP

i picked up a 8 volt battery at Battery Warehouse to spin the 289 in my 51. I spent 5 minutes bending the spring on the regulator to adjust the charge voltage to 9.4 volts and I was done. The battery was $70.00 and is working great so far. Rumors has it that it will reduce bulb life by a few percent, but that is not a big deal to me.

JDP/Maryland
63 R2 SuperHawk (Caesar)
spent to date $54664,75
64 R2 GT (Sid)
spent to date $62,839.60
63 Lark 2 door
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)

I just bought a 1941 Packard 120 Convertible that has a new 8 volt battery in it and the regulator is only putting out 7.4 volts which as we both know is not enough.

Which spring on your regulator did you bend, and how much did you bend it?

Bill Jones aka Willie J

[JDP]

It's the spring on next to the field terminal.I just tweaked it until I got a 9 volt plus reading when charging.

JDP/Maryland
63 R2 SuperHawk (Caesar)
spent to date $54664,75
64 R2 GT (Sid)
spent to date $62,839.60
63 Lark 2 door
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)

[556063]

I asked for some advice on this from my electrical engineer brother when it was recently time to buy a new battery for my '55. He advised that the 8 volt battery and increased voltage could also compromise radio component and dash guage life, especially given the advanced age of the componentry that would be subjected to the increased voltage. He wouldn't give me an unconditional green light. I bought another six volt to replace the dead one. He suggested rewiring or the use of a step down circuit to provide the higher voltage to the starter only. Since I don't have starting problems with a good battery, I saw little advantage to taking a risk.

I'm highly interested to hear what others who have run the 8 volt batteries have experienced.

Kevin Wolford
Plymouth, IN

55 Champion
60 Lark VI Conv.
63 Avanti R1

[bentlee]

I have experience with this on a few Studebaker V8 vehicles with great long term (20+ years) results. My dad did it in the mid sixties and my brother in the early seventies, both vehicles were driven for over 20 years afterwards. Guido is correct, the farm supply stores usually keep them on hand. This works very well on tractors as well as less interesting brands of trucks and cars.[}]

Brent Lee
61 Hawk
50 2R5 Modified

[52 Ragtop]

I still run the 6 volt in my 52, with a 289, good grounds will keep you rolling without a problem!

Jim

[RHO]

I have been running an 8-volt battery in another orphan car for almost 10 years now and no bulbs have burned out and all original gauges are still functioning well and recently I picked up a small 8-volt battery charger from someplace out in Orgeon or Washington. The extra little starting power helps. The 8V battery was in the car when I got it so I just stuck with that when I had to replace it two or three times.

'55 Commander
'55 President

[willie j]

[quote]Originally posted by JDP

It's the spring on next to the field terminal.I just tweaked it until I got a 9 volt plus reading when charging.

JDP/Maryland
63 R2 SuperHawk (Caesar)
spent to date $54664,75
64 R2 GT (Sid)
spent to date $62,839.60
63 Lark 2 door
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)


Are you talking about the battery terminal or armature terminal and how did you tweak it? Did you open the contact points or close them?

Willie J

[JDP]

I looked it up in a old Motors manual and it's the spring tension you adjust to get the voltage you want.

JDP/Maryland
63 R2 SuperHawk (Caesar)
spent to date $54664,75
64 R2 GT (Sid)
spent to date $62,839.60
63 Lark 2 door
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)