6 volt optima battery

will a 6 volt optima battery fit in my 1965 beetle. does the optima battery hold up much better than an interstate battery. thanks, gino

Reply to
gino
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A FRESH battery is the best!!! I have seen one Thing with 1.....no 2.....no 3 bad 12 volt optima batteries over the 5-7 years I have seen it.

He might be running a Delco now, unless he snuck back in a 4th optima battery! lol

6 volt batteries are probably scarce and not as many manufacturers out there any more, so your choices are limited.

BTW I just worked on a 1979 Super Beetle Conv (under 3K miles) that has a bad 1.5 year old Interstate battery in it. I warned the VW owner of Interstate and DieHard batteries that like to eat up metal floors. So have a plastic tray or some neutralizing mat under them to protect the VW floors!!!!

If the optima is fresh.............go for it! Worry about the height and any heavy people who sit on the back seat! 8^o

Reply to
dave AKA vwdoc1

When I had my 67 it came to me with its original floors, the PO had put a couple layers of shop rags under the battery. The metal was completely undamaged.

My 74 I had the passenger floor replaced a few years ago..completely rusted through under the battery, so after the repair I took some aluminum roof flashing that I had left over and hammered it into a 'box' that the battery can fit into. The downside is I can't use the bolt to clamp the battery in place, and the whole idea might have been a waste of time, as I don't know if battery acid can eat through aluminum. But I did note that when I replaced the battery a week or so ago(8 years old and finally crapped out..damn autozone battery ;-) that the floor and the aluminum were completely undamaged.

It helps to be careful when installing the cables, not to torque the posts or impact them as it causes the acid to leak out between the post and the plastic battery case, at least in my experience. I usually try to open the ends of the cables a bit before I press them down over the posts and then I try to keep the post stable while I torque the bolt on it. I've seen some knuckleheads hammer on the battery terminals, and those are the cars where the connectors are always eaten up by acid.

Chris

Reply to
halatos

don't know about the 6 volt Optima batteries, but i've bought several 12 volt Optimas... the last five vehicles i sold all had Optima batteries... my bug has one that i put in it in january of 2001... still going strong and it sits for long periods.

Reply to
Joey Tribiani

lucky maybe or maybe my guy was unlucky. ;-) Is your Optima exposed to cold winters?

Reply to
dave AKA vwdoc1

gets chilly here in the hills of Va.... and the winter is when the car sits the most.... this optima will die eventually, then i'll put another one in it!

Reply to
Joey Tribiani

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