1966 DC-12 Repop Battery
I have a late 80's reproduction Gurdjian DC-12 battery for my 66 Vette. Obviously, it has been dead for years! I would like to open the bottom of the case & convert it to enclose an Optima battery, & use the original DC-12 battery posts. One of the threads on this fourm mention a "high amp" Mazda battery because of its small size, but the Optima batteries in this size, that I have seen, only have a rating of 450CCA. This is probably not sufficient for a L-72 BB with original 11 to 1 compression ratio. Has anyone attempted this type of conversion, if so, what battery would you recommend, Optima? or convential? And what other suggestions do you have, if any? Thanks. Glen.
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Re: 1966 DC-12 Repop Battery
Glen,
Everybody has a opinion so this is mine FWIW. Go buy a walmart replacement battery, the warranty is good and see if one of those tar top reproduction parts will fit the battery to make it look factory.
The Gurdjian tar tops were made from original cases that he purchased from Delco, there may be some info on this in the archives. I have one also and short of rebuilding it I am not touching the case. If I have any of this wrong I will be corrected but these cases are the real deal.
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Re: 1966 DC-12 Repop Battery
The optima battery is a very tight fit into the restoration battery. All the interior ribs of the fragile repop battery must be ground off and all unnecessary plastic on the outside of the optima must be removed. Still lost 4 points because the judges said it did,t have tar on the top. I would not attempt it again.Comment
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Re: 1966 DC-12 Repop Battery
Tim & Ron, Thanks for your input. I think I will not try to modify the DC-12, battery, but still use it, as is, in original location, but drained & dead, with the original spring ring cables attached but not connected to the starter. Then I will install a small but powerful enough Optima battery in the pass side rear compartment (like C-3), on its side if necessary. I will have to raise the compartment cover slightly to make the battery fit. I'm not having the car judged, so the new battery location should not be an issue. I'm hoping to use some of the late 69 thru 79 side post cables. Of the five or so cable kits available for the L69-79, does anyone know if the lengths are different? I know there is a larger "0" gage used from 72-79. I would opt for the heaver gage if all other measurements are the same. I would think that if installed in a similiar manner to the C-3, the length would be OK. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks, Glen.Comment
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