Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi everyone
Some advice please, I am looking to replace my battery, I’ve attached a picture of the current battery, someone advised fitting a smaller battery similar to what would have been fitted originally,anyone advise what the best option would be and direct me on purchasing options

See Berni's really good post on the subject
viewtopic.php?t=75708&hilit=Batteries

Thanks for that Bill much appreciated

Whatever you go for, measure the tray and the clamp before you order. The clamp bar needs the case height to be right or it won't hold the battery down. Look at which side the positive post sits on as well. If the leads only just reach now, a battery with the posts swapped won't fit without new cables. Check if the car is still positive earth too, as it changes how the battery goes in. Around 40 amp hours is plenty for a standard Minor with a dynamo. A bigger battery won't do any harm, but a dynamo can struggle to keep a large one topped up on short runs.

Your battery in the photo at 75 amp hours is rather over the top!

The closest modern equivalent to the original battery is 038 with somewhere around 35-38 amps hours depending on the manufacturer. I had the Yuasa YBX 1038 which suits my positive earth car (the terminals when at the back of the battery box have the positive terminal on the right). The only trouble with that particular battery is that it is not a sealed battery and the electrolyte needs checking in each cell periodically. I have since moved to a larger capacity battery which is the sealed type (no topping up required).

35 years ago my car had a huge hard rubber case battery. Huge in physical dimensions but not huge in Amp hours.

I now have a Lucas LP014 (LP005R) which is more than enough for me at 60 Amp hours.

My car is positive earth dynamo.

You can get J-bolts of different lengths and there is more than one hole in the battery box for a J-bolt so different heights can be accommodated. It is important that the terminals are at the back so that they cannot short across the metal restraining bar at the front.

For a car that is not in regular use it is a good idea to trickle charge the battery with a charger designed for continuous use. Modern batteries will fail if they are left partially discharged for extended periods.

Stephen