What's a good SMALL battery with limited space?

Hey fellas, I'm trying to finish all my wiring and charging stuff on my pickup and I need to get is a battery. I'm somewhat limited to the amount of space I have to work with, I know everyone loves the Optima red top, but that's going to most likely be too big for me, it's most liekly going to end up under the dash mounted to my cowl steering framework. Is there a small battery I can use that'll work for me? I have a 327/340hp with a .501 cam, lights, fuel pump and fan, that's about it. I's also running a generator / voltage regulator setup. Is there a certain battery anyone can reccommend that will last. I've used the Wal-Mart garden/motorcycle battery but it's only like 280ish CCA, is that enough? Thanks in advance guys!

 

i used a snowmobile sealed gel cell battery, its 460CCA , and much smaller than an optima, bout eighty bucks cheaper too. cant help you with part numbers, sorry. just go to a good battery store and look up high powered snowmobile batterys.

 

No idea on price or availability yet - but these are gonna be cool...

http://www.killacycle.com/photos/12-volt-racing-battery/

 

<!-- BEGIN LivePerson ****on Code --> <!-- END LivePerson ****on code --> You might look into these, I haven't run one yet, but plan to in my Model A. They are definitely small and they are gel, so they can mount just about anywhere.

Odyssey PC680

<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" width="100&#37;"> <tbody><tr> <th cl***="datahdr">Model</th> <th cl***="datahdr">Description</th> <th cl***="datahdr">Replaces</th> <th cl***="datahdr">CA</th> <th cl***="datahdr">CCA</th> <th cl***="datahdr">V</th> <th cl***="datahdr">AH</th> <th cl***="datahdr">L</th> <th cl***="datahdr">W</th> <th cl***="datahdr">H</th> <th cl***="datahdr">Lbs</th> <th cl***="datahdr">Price</th> </tr> <tr align="center" valign="top"> <td cl***="data" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">PC680</td> <td cl***="data" align="left">M6 Female</td> <td cl***="data">Y50N18L-A</td> <td cl***="data">680</td> <td cl***="data">220</td> <td cl***="data">12</td> <td cl***="data">16</td> <td cl***="data">7.27</td> <td cl***="data">3.11</td> <td cl***="data">6.67</td> <td cl***="data">15</td> <td cl***="data">$102.97</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
<table><tbody><tr><td> </td> <td colspan="2">
</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

Wildfire beat me to it...but like him, I haven't tried one yet. I'm going to run it in my vintage racer when I finish.

 

i used a battery from a honda civic not as small as those racing batteries but it fit under the cowl of my 27 roadster. Plus it has warranty from any o'reily.

 

Dynabatt

 

I use a Genesis G26ep www.portablepower.com in my 32 5w and have no problems. It is 6.5"x6.75" and 5" tall and fits perfect in a amo box. You can mount on its side with no problems. We race two in our Nextel Cup Car every week with no problems.

 

I'll second Dynabatt.....Just need to keep it on the trickle charger if your'e not using it for a week.
Pat

 

I use the Odyssey brand and at half the size of a regular battery has the same cranking amps. No problems with storing the car for a month.

 

I have a Dynabatt in my A pickup. When I blew the motor it sat for several
months, then started right back up.

Mine is almost 5years old and still ticking with no maintenance.

 

we use civic batteries also.they are small and you can find them anywhere if you have to.here is one in the quarter pannel of a 32 roadster.

-danny

 

Dynabatt, had one in my roadster for two years laying on it's
side. Not cheap.

 

I haven't herad of them in a while, but there was a battery called a 'Bad Dog' a while back. It wasn't especially cheap, but it came with it's own mounting bracket and was similar to the Odyssey in consrtuction (plates instead of spiral cells) but was more square. Other than that, Dyna Batt and the Odyssey or any other gel or dry cell, I just don't like the thought of a box of battery acid over my knees (or right behind me either).

 

I've used two of those smally Odyssey batteries and they have worked great. The only problem I ever ran into was in the t-bucket it didn't charge at idle. But I think that was more of a wiring problem since it only happened once.
They are pretty tough too. On the '37 truck I mounted one upside down and surrounded it with expandable foam and have had no problems with it.

 

I've ran an Odyssey in my bike for a few years now, and have never had a problem with starting. Bike will sit for 2-3 weeks at a time.

 

In my honest opinion, if you don't have room for a normal size battery, like a group 24, you need to make room. Especially if you plan to drive this car often.
A little extra effort now will save you lots of headaches later.

What about under the seat, even if sunken into the floor, or partially sunken? Frame mounted neatly opposite the tank? In the bed hidden in a hollowed out toolbox?

 

I had a Dynabatt in my coupe for 8 years before it finally died. I'll be putting one in my roadster next spring. All I ever did was remove it in the winter and keep it on a trickle charger until spring.

 

The Dynabatt sounds pretty nice, I've never had any experience with it, I'll look into it. I've used a few PC680's, but NEVER thought they'd crank an SBC, that's good to know, I may just get another one of those...

I want to put the battery under the dash so I can keep all my wiring in a limited space and be able to access everything at once, I COULD put it on a framerail in the bed, but I'd like to keep it small, gel cell and light weight anyways... Thanks a TON guys!

 

I'm using a Honda battery. Cheap, small, powerful enough.

 

I wouldn't discount a small battery in a regular driver. The one in the '37 truck has been good for all 7-9,000 miles on the truck and has started from long storage periods multiple times without a jump pack or any ***istance. The one in the bucket (RIP 8.6.2006) had 5,000 miles on it with only the one previous mentioned hiccup.

I think they are pretty much as good as sliced bread. I am all for keeping wiring and mess neat and hidden!

 

just so you know if you go looking for the honda batt, it's a group 51. there's also a 51r with reversed polarity if you need it for the place you wanna stick it.

 

I'm not discounting a small battery in a regularly driven ride. Just that my personal thoughts when designing/building a vehicle centers around a cross country trip with Murphy's Law in full force.
You're talking about starting a warmed over small Chevy V8 with a battery smaller than GM uses to start a 2.4 4 cylinder. It'll work, but if there's ever a need for extended cranking (hard start), he's done.

 

I have over 40,000 miles during 4 years and several cross country trips on my DynaBatt. Typically I'm not that lucky so I like to think the Battery is holding it's own

Cold weather in Denver, Hot weather in Texas, and sitting in my garage.

 

And that's why God invented jumper cables...or the emergency jumper battery.

 

Did I mention the '37 has a Flathead? A 21 stud Flathead at that! Cranks over like a charm.
And I'm with Flt-blk, I am Murphy's law!

 

Is the Honda Civic battery you are talking about a sealed battery or does it need to be in a case vented outside of the p***enger compartment/trunk? What years civic?

 

run 2 6v's

 

Civic batteries are wet cell, they'd need to be vented, that's why I like the gel cell.

I have heard of people running 2 6Vs linked side by side, I'll stick to the Dynabatt or PC680 I think.

 

it's not sealed so it will need to be vented and you don't need the year, i gave you the part number


if you really wanna know, look up a 90 civic...