33/34 Battery

Hi Steve,

Just read your post, and I had the same problem with finding a battery for my 1939 Ford Deluxe, but this is what I did.

I bought an optima V6 red top on Amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/Optima-Batte...g-Battery/dp/B00099HVN6/?tag=atomicindus08-20)
and then bought a case from Quail Services ( http://quailservices.com/index.html ) the vintage case is 2LD-II. I did buy a ford script at a car show and added it to the case. Quail Services was great to work with though and are very helpful. I had to make a cut diagonally in the bottom of the case so that the optima would fit and it worked perfectly. I will add a few photo's of the final product. Good luck and hope this helps!!

Jim

Steve Staysko said:
I have a 34 Ford script battery with an Optima battery inside the case which is deader than a door nail and Optima doesn't make that size battery anymore. Does anyone know of a manufacturer that makes a battery that fits the original battery carrier? If not I may have to modify the battery carrier to fit a lead acid battery. I cant find anyone that builds a battery that's the right size let alone Ford Script battery case any suggestions? Thanks
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Steve,
There are two suppliers of correct script lead-acid batteries. One is located in Hudson, Ohio and the other is in New Castle, Pa. If you need their names, I will have to go through my resto folders to find them. Let me know if you need them. My '34 Roadster has one in it, though the first one I installed had a problem with the electrolyte was weeping out through the screw caps. Weird!!!

Milt K from Pa
 
Milt K from Pa said:
Steve,
There are two suppliers of correct script lead-acid batteries. One is located in Hudson, Ohio and the other is in New Castle, Pa. If you need their names, I will have to go through my resto folders to find them. Let me know if you need them. My '34 Roadster has one in it, though the first one I installed had a problem with the electrolyte was weeping out through the screw caps. Weird!!!

Milt K from Pa
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I think you'll find that your previous suppliers/vendors (in your "resto folders") no longer supply the Group 2LF battery....I hope I'm wrong....
 
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Milt K from Pa said:
Steve,
There are two suppliers of correct script lead-acid batteries. One is located in Hudson, Ohio and the other is in New Castle, Pa. If you need their names, I will have to go through my resto folders to find them. Let me know if you need them. My '34 Roadster has one in it, though the first one I installed had a problem with the electrolyte was weeping out through the screw caps. Weird!!!

Milt K from Pa
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Milt yes please give me there contact info and I will give them a call. Thanks
 
I talked to the folks from Antique Auto Batteries, out of Ohio, at their Spring Carlisle setup. They definitely no longer produce the Optima hidden inside the 2LF script case and for some reason they no longer produce the old style lead acid 2LF w/script case, and even if they did, I would highly recommend NOT buying those because of the short life and high cost. They are apparently making the 2HF script version and I saw one on their display table. The other company I am aware of who is/was making a script 2HF battery, is "Restoration Battery" also located in Ohio. Both companies have websites that can be easily found thru Google.
 
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John, thanks for taking the time to post those photos. That newer battery is fairly old and the other is even older. Our engineering team did confirm a design change was made more than 10 years ago, in conjunction with being the OE battery for the VW Eos. The additional height accommodated the vent port, which was needed for the Eos application. While that may seem like a bad deal for you guys, because the re-design prevented the battery from fitting into dummy cases, it actually works out pretty well in the bigger picture.

OE contracts like that one help make a business case not just for initial production, but replacement batteries in specific sizes for quite a long time. I don't know if we'd even produce 6-volt batteries anymore, if it weren't for that VW business, which had a ten-year run. Hopefully, we'll keep producing them indefinitely, but OE business certainly helps.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
 
OptimaJim said:
John, thanks for taking the time to post those photos. That newer battery is fairly old and the other is even older. Our engineering team did confirm a design change was made more than 10 years ago, in conjunction with being the OE battery for the VW Eos. The additional height accommodated the vent port, which was needed for the Eos application. While that may seem like a bad deal for you guys, because the re-design prevented the battery from fitting into dummy cases, it actually works out pretty well in the bigger picture.

OE contracts like that one help make a business case not just for initial production, but replacement batteries in specific sizes for quite a long time. I don't know if we'd even produce 6-volt batteries anymore, if it weren't for that VW business, which had a ten-year run. Hopefully, we'll keep producing them indefinitely, but OE business certainly helps.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
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I don't care about the 6 volt optima fitting in a "dummy case". I'd just like it to fit in the original battery carrier/holder in the floor of my '34....
 
petehoovie said:
I don't care about the 6 volt optima fitting in a "dummy case". I'd just like it to fit in the original battery carrier/holder in the floor of my '34....
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I understand that Pete, because I'd like to be able to pick up the phone and order a replacement hood for a '69 Mercury Montego. Unfortunately, there are not enough of those cars on the road or enough demand for their hoods for the aftermarket to make them available like they do for '69 Mustangs, Camaros or Challengers. There may be even fewer '34 Fords on the road. While we were able to make a business case for 6-volt production for the VW Eos that had a side benefit of making 6-volt Optima batteries available for other antique vehicles, there is no business case to be made for us to change the battery case to fit any specific antique vehicle. We haven't even been able to make a business case to do another run of BlackTop batteries for Ford GTs, almost all of which are still on the road...or in someone's private collection.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
 
OptimaJim said:
I understand that Pete, because I'd like to be able to pick up the phone and order a replacement hood for a '69 Mercury Montego. Unfortunately, there are not enough of those cars on the road or enough demand for their hoods for the aftermarket to make them available like they do for '69 Mustangs, Camaros or Challengers. There may be even fewer '34 Fords on the road. While we were able to make a business case for 6-volt production for the VW Eos that had a side benefit of making 6-volt Optima batteries available for other antique vehicles, there is no business case to be made for us to change the battery case to fit any specific antique vehicle. We haven't even been able to make a business case to do another run of BlackTop batteries for Ford GTs, almost all of which are still on the road...or in someone's private collection.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
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So, when can we expect Optima to stop the manufacture of their current and only 6 Volt battery???....
 
petehoovie said:
So, when can we expect Optima to stop the manufacture of their current and only 6 Volt battery???....
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That's a good question and fortunately, I don't have an answer for it at this point. I would say if we ever did elect to discontinue a product or size, I would push very hard for us to make an announcement ahead of time, to allow folks to stock up. I don't think there's any concern for scarcity of 6-volts in general though, as they are still very popular in golf cart & RV applications.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
 
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