What's the best battery for a pantera?

I have an Optima battery in #6984 and it is a great battery! They are sealed gel cell batteries that can be mounted in any position, even upside down! They have a 3 year replacement warranty and if it dies the store you bought it will just give you a new one.

Gary #06984

quote:

Originally posted by fordgt:
I have an Optima battery in #6984 and it is a great battery! They are sealed gel cell batteries that can be mounted in any position, even upside down! They have a 3 year replacement warranty and if it dies the store you bought it will just give you a new one.

Gary #06984

Gary,

Optima are great - another good choice is an aircraft battery (Concord) or the automotive equivalent (Lifeline). I have used all three in the past. Most High performance Boats use lifelines can take the abuse of the open waters.
Personally, I am going to use a concord in my pantera. It has a optima in it now.
I had an airplane for 6 years - used a concord. When you fly you gotta be able to trust that battery & ignition. The Pantera is a close to flying as you can get without leaving this earth -

Rt, where do you find the Concord batteries ? What do they cost ? Are they comparable to the Optima price wise ? Just curious.

Gary #06984[/QUOTE]

Gary,

Optima are great - another good choice is an aircraft battery (Concord) or the automotive equivalent (Lifeline). I have used all three in the past. Most High performance Boats use lifelines can take the abuse of the open waters.
Personally, I am going to use a concord in my pantera. It has a optima in it now.
I had an airplane for 6 years - used a concord. When you fly you gotta be able to trust that battery & ignition. The Pantera is a close to flying as you can get without leaving this earth - [/QUOTE]

7260,

Optima batteries are manufactured by Interstate batteries. They are available at any Interstate battery dealer. Optima batteries are considered the best "AUTOMOTIVE" battery you can buy.

George

I've been using a Dyna-Batt for while in another car. It's only 12 lbs. and it's about 1/4 the size of a regular battery. I recently put it in my Pantera and have had no problems at all although I'm not sure I'd crank it for a while on a cold day. It's an easy 30lbs. out of the front of the car. They're the same price as an Optima. I think about $150 or so. You can get then from a www.performancedistributors.com/batteries
Vince

quote:

When i see Panteras for sale and the car has an Optima battery in it ,it is stated in the ad.Is it the best battery? Who makes it and what is so special about it? Thanks #7260

Try Costco for your Optima, very very good price!!!! Just got one a month ago.

I agree with the general consensus. The Optima battery is great! Mine sat, unused, in my car for over a year and a half and turned over a high compression engine with no problems. I was amazed! The self discharge rate is significantly less than a "normal" lead-acid battery.

If you don't like the "cluttered" look inside the trunk they sell covers for the Optimas. If using the top terminals the covers would have to be slightly modified. Not sure if they fit under the trunk lid however.

Ant certain model # ?

Try Costco for your Optima, very very good price!!!! Just got one a month ago.[/QUOTE]

quote:

Ant certain model # ?

Try Costco for your Optima, very very good price!!!! Just got one a month ago.

[/quote]


They sell model 333359 here in Southern CA.

I have to second the Dyna-Batt battery also called Odessey. As mentioned, weights about the 12 lbs,a little larger than a motorcycle battery and its a dry cell.

I use it in my everyday driver VW Corrado. Mounted it behind the passenger seat.Also mentioned, nothing like taking 30lbs off the forward axle. Made a hugh difference in the handling of the car.

Danno

FWIW, I think the rule of thumb was that moving a 45lb. battery from in front of the front wheels to behind the rear wheels had the same effect as moving the engine back 2". It seems like a free lunch to me. I read in one of the Jegs or Summit catalogs I get that Holley was making a full size battery that weighed under 20lbs. I haven't seen one in person but if I needed a battery today, I definitely look into it. Vince

I put in an Optima just before Vegas. Had to have AAA jump me once when the engine was hot. I charged it. No trouble in Vegas. I get home, let the the car sit for apx two weeks. Started fine cold. Hot engine....It could hardly turn it over....AAA again *&^#^&&* Bad Battery? I never had the trouble with my DieHard. Connections are good.

I put in an Optima battery from Costco a couple months ago. Costco's price for Optima is about $40 less than the same spec Optima from an auto parts retailer (Interstate retailer). However, the Optima from Costco does have a slightly different housing - the terminal posts are in a different position (See pics).

Optima from Costco in my Pantera:

Optima from an auto parts store (Interstate battery retailer):

quote:

Originally posted by TerryM:
Started fine cold. Hot engine....It could hardly turn it over....AAA again *&^#^&&* Bad Battery? I never had the trouble with my DieHard. Connections are good.

Terry,
Check your ground connection. This is a common problem for the Pantera, regardless of battery. Then, go to Napa Auto Parts and get an Engine/Transmission-to-Ground Strap cable (12" X 1 GA.). It's NAPA part number #711291. I'm told this will solve your (and my) starting problem, but I haven't tried it yet. I had this problem with my old battery, but haven't had it with my new Optima battery. Again, not a function of the battery, but I cleaned the battery ground post with a wire wheel and added a new battery ground strap.

Anyway, concerning Die Hard Batteries - they're a crappy product with a decent warranty. Every Die Hard Battery I've had has left me stranded. One even exploded when I tried to start my 66 Mustang. Battery acid everywhere destroyed my freshly restored concours engine compartment. And all Sears would do for me is prorate it for the remaining life (2 of 5 years) and offer me a new one (same model) for nearly $90 - they wanted to do it to me again! And, they wouldn't do anything about the damage their faulty product caused.

So, for 1/4 the cost of a Die Hard, go buy a 36mo AC Delco battery at your local auto parts store and replace it every 2 years as routine maintenance. You'll be money ahead and you'll never be left stranded.

Wait, you already wisely invested your Die Hard money into an Optima, which is a better choice. Clean your ground contacts and add the engine/transaxle ground strap.

Cheers!
Garth

Yes Die Hards DIE HARD!

Garth's advice is right on. The block must be well grounded to the chassis, or your poor starter will not draw the current it is supposed to. This is often overlooked in troubleshooting starter problems, but the ground between block & chassis is part of the starter circuit. The starter must also be grounded to the block well, a well meaning painter could possibly create a problem in that area.

If you are skillful with a volt meter, there are ways to troubleshoot this.

your friend on the DTBB

I have only one problem with the optimas. I have a 140 amp alt. and when I have not driven the car in a month, I have to be careful about how much rpm I use. The belt will start slipping, I guess cause the batery is not at full charge, the volt meter does some crazy things. Once I've driven the car a few miles it acts O.K. I don't know for sure, but I don't think the batteries take a charge as easily as a lead acid battery. I don't have this problem with my ford that has the old style charging system.

Mick, The Optima IS a lead acid battery. But, among other features, it has spiral wound plates.

There are two diff. "red top" Optimas, I think the better ones are 800 CCamps, they do sell a cheaper model with less CCamps. My local Costco does not sell the 800cca one. I bet the smaller one is like 550 or 600 cca

I'm STILL not ready to jump up on my soapbox, However, 5 (FIVE) pages of responses and not a single mention of the "correct" Pantera battery or a proper reproduction. Hint, muscle cars (Ford or not) sold in the US during the same time sold for 1/3 of the then new Pantera. Those correct cars today bring $100,000 to > $1m. Any ideas why? Clue: It ain't Optima batteries.. With that said, please remember that I am a firm believer that to each his own, it's your car and do what makes you happy..


http://www.antiqueautobattery.com/



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I like originality too JohnK, but dont care about things you cant see (My car came from the factory with a sunken battery as it's RHD) If having a non original battery in my car half's it's value, that's fine with me. My car will never be for sale.

I considered an Optima but changed my mind when I learned that there was no weight saving to be had over the original battery. I also learned that I could not legally bring it home in my travelling trunk. The airlines still consider it to be a wet cell battery, Gel or not. I could buy one in England, but like everything else here, it costs twice as much as it does in the USA.

After speaking with Dennis Quella I decide to buy one from him. The Odossy dry sell. I was able to bring this home legally. It's called the PC925 it cranks the Cleveland over better than the big old fashioned battery ever did. It's tiny and weighs 26lb. My original battery weighed 41lb. It can also hold it's charge for 2 years. I know this to be true, because my friend bought one, sat it on the shelf for 2 years, we installed it, and it cranked his 427 Dart Windsor over with ease. I have never used my car in the winter months so cant say how well it would cope with freezing mornings.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter...109+115&autoview=sku

Johnny

I have a boring old AC Delco battery in my standard GTS.
It's underneath the floor and it's a very tight squeeze to get it in and a swine to get out.
I made two straps out of and old seat belt to lift it with which cured that problem.

I turns over the motor very well even if it's been standing for months.

I'll get the number off the top if anyone is interested.

It's heavy - but the way I look at is it'll help keep the front wheels on the ground at speed!

Johnk, do you know the correct or proper reproduction battery for the P car. I checked the website you posted and they do not know. Chuck

I have to apologize to everyone. When I need an answer to a question, I do a “find’ first so I don’t ask the same question a second time. When I do still need to ask it anyway I would add it to the best string of an existing topic that fits with. By reading all of these new posts I feed bad. All wanted to know was if anyone had trouble with the Optima Battery. My DieHard worked great, but it’s not red! Yes that’s why I changed it! It looks good in a red car! And the Diehard will go into a British car I’m going to sell. It’s the high 800 amp one, my grounds are perfect. My alternator is 160 amps and It’s charging. I think I just got a bad battery and before I exchanged it I thought I’d mess with everyone here to see if it was just me. Sorry to all...........Time for a beer.

quote:

Originally posted by #7260:
Johnk, do you know the correct or proper reproduction battery for the P car. I checked the website you posted and they do not know. Chuck

Heck, I don't know. Many Fords of that era used the Autolite group 24. I'd love to know what is correct. Surely someone knows. I have the new Autolite sealed repro batteries in a few other cars, and have never had a problem.. Great thread.