1947 Ford Truck Battery

[jfcrash]

Helping a friend of a friend locate a source for an 8.5 volt battery for his '47 p/u truck.

Don't know if there still made.. Any sources come to mind ??

At this point he's not inclined to convert to 12v.

Thanks,
Jim

[FortyNiner]

I'm confused. You want a 8.5 volt battery for a 6 volt vehicle?

[jfcrash]

Yes, that is what I was asked... "has an 8.5v now and wants to replace it".

Not being familiar with a p/u trucks requirement myself, it could be what was in it went he acquired it ??

jim

[ponymare]

My uncle gets 8 volt batterys for his 8N ford tractor from napa or carquest.

[FortyNiner]

In all candor, your friend would be better off checking and cleaning the starter and ground connections after verifying the generator performance. Unless the charging system is set for it, the 8.5 volt battery will not be kept a full power by a stock 6V system.

[corvette8n]

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I agree with Fortyniner clean,replace. I have a Ford 8N and the first thing I did was replace the ground with a big fat braided ground cable and a heavy duty 6-volt covered cable to the starter. I used a wire brush on a drill to clean the spots where connections are made, tractor now starts in half a turn.

[Vic Piano]

8 or 8.5 batteries are Band-Aids and, as stated earlier, will not get fully charged by a 6 volt generator. As also stated earlier, clean and solid grounds with the correct size cables will make the 6 volt system work fine, unless there is another problem like low compression, etc., but that's a different situation altogether.

[Seth Swoboda]

Have your friend try a 6 volt optima battery. I put one in my Model A and I really like it.

[jfcrash]

Thanks, I have passed all your comments on.. he just purchased the truck to restore...

I guess his first order of business will be to check out the charging system as suggested..

Jim

[peewee2you]

I think an Interstate 4 XHD, but check with them to see if it's 8.5 they said to me it was for commercial and tractors

[Seth Swoboda]

Jfcrash, do you have that touring car in your avatar done yet? I'd like to see it.

[jfcrash]

Seth,

Yes, the restoration was completed mid 2013 (after 20 years) and by mid 2014 I believe all the buds have been worked out...

Attached are a couple of photos...

Jim

[rotorwrench]

8-volt batteries were common to some older 32-volt golf cars and old farm wind generated electrical systems. 4 batteries will give 32 volts and 15 will give you 120-volts. Very little runs on 32-volts now days and very little runs on 8-volts.

These batteries are not common to automobiles. Even back in the 60s it was hard to get good quality large gauge copper cable for the olf 6-volt cars & trucks. If the cables were replaced with too small a gauge or are corroded, it will not function well at all.

[Seth Swoboda]

Originally Posted by jfcrash

Seth,

Yes, the restoration was completed mid 2013 (after 20 years) and by mid 2014 I believe all the buds have been worked out...

Attached are a couple of photos...

Jim

WOW! You have a nice car, very lucky to have that. You did a fine job on the restoration. I figured if you had it done it was going to be a treat to look at. Thanks for the photos.