Restoration Battery Failure

[Richard G.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

My restoration Delco acid battery cost me almost $700.00 because they thought I had to have it yesterday and sent it air mail to Australia. It lasted almost 4 years on a maintenance charger but it developed a leak in the 'tar' top by the positive terminal. It caused a fair bit of trouble with acid damage to the tray, heat shield, retaining bolts and the surface of the frame before I even noticed it. I still believe the GM designers forgot about needing a battery in a '61 til after design was complete and then noticed the space under the fender. Fancy having to remove bits and pieces of the car in order to get a battery out- and then it is still a challenge to get it out with out droping it or damaging something- one of the joys of a C-1.

[Ronald L.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

Richard, where did you get the Delco restoration battery? From the same supplier?

With all these failures of a basic commodity - very disappointing. There is no excuse for this - these batteries should last 4 years minimum.

Are they buying junk from Excide or JCI and charging with premium pricing for cosmetic 'near correctness'???

[Terry M.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

My restoration Delco acid battery cost me almost $700.00 because they thought I had to have it yesterday and sent it air mail to Australia. It lasted almost 4 years on a maintenance charger but it developed a leak in the 'tar' top by the positive terminal. It caused a fair bit of trouble with acid damage to the tray, heat shield, retaining bolts and the surface of the frame before I even noticed it. I still believe the GM designers forgot about needing a battery in a '61 til after design was complete and then noticed the space under the fender. Fancy having to remove bits and pieces of the car in order to get a battery out- and then it is still a challenge to get it out with out droping it or damaging something- one of the joys of a C-1.

C1s and some C2s may be difficult to change the battery, but some Chrysler cars of a decade ago required removal of the driver's side front wheel and inner fender panel before one can even see the battery. Makes the C1 and C2 look easy by comparison.

[Dennis O.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

I'm sorry to hear that they're still selling crap batteries. I bought two of them about 10 years ago for my El Camino and my '68 convertible. Both died within two years. ( At his same time I had a $59.99 Autozone special in my '67 Coupe because it wasn't done yet; that battery lasted over 8 years.) I'll never buy another battery from Restoration Battery.

[Richard G.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

Ronald, I purchased my Delco from Restoration Battery in Cincinnati, Oh. It was still working while it was leaking. I broke one of the yellow Delco caps putting the battery in the car the first time. Restoration Battery sent me a replacement cap upon request- I think they charged me 3 or 4 bucks for the cap and sent it to me in an envelope. I gutted the restoration battery when I discovered the mess the leaking caused and put a battery inside the Delco case so it looks like a tar top. The non spill battery I put inside was very expensive. I hope I get a few years service out of it. Richard

[Dan D.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

I had a 95 Chrysler Circus with the fender battery. You had to remove the left front wheel, but then the battery came out easily. I found it much easier change than a C1. FYI, that car was one of the best cars I ever owned. Not comparing it to a Corvette as the two have different missions in life, but for a family sedan it held up very well. -Dan-

[Terry M.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

I had a 95 Chrysler Circus with the fender battery. You had to remove the left front wheel, but then the battery came out easily. I found it much easier change than a C1. FYI, that car was one of the best cars I ever owned. Not comparing it to a Corvette as the two have different missions in life, but for a family sedan it held up very well. -Dan-

Well maybe out point of view at school is a little different than yours. We use one of those cars (I think ours is a couple of years newer than yours was) to test the thinking skills of our students. We send them out to the car for a no start condition and see what they do and how they do it. I can tell you watching them find the battery and try to jump start it is a hoot, and it is all downhill from there.

[Jack H.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

I had a Delco battery fail within 2-months of purchase, so it's not a matter of Restoration alone having occassional quality/workmanship hiccups...

Also, we need to cut Restoration some slack. They're NOT tooled like the big boys to churn out product in the millions of units per annum volume. It doesn't surprise me that a 'boutique' supplier may have more 'opps' issues!

[Patrick H.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

I had a Delco battery fail within 2-months of purchase, so it's not a matter of Restoration alone having occassional quality/workmanship hiccups...

Also, we need to cut Restoration some slack. They're NOT tooled like the big boys to churn out product in the millions of units per annum volume. It doesn't surprise me that a 'boutique' supplier may have more 'opps' issues!

And, they're just a middleman. They resell batteries made by someone else. So, much of it isn't their fault at all. In fact, if your battery goes bad they give you the manufacturer's phone number and you deal with them!

[Jack H.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

With all these failures of a basic commodity - very disappointing. There is no excuse for this - these batteries should last 4 years minimum.

Bear two factors in mind:

(1) If the battery really is an exact or close copy of the factory original, we're dealing with battery technology that's 50 years old!

(2) In our applications ('show' car or weekend warrior) we're essentially 'abusing' the battery.

On #2, factory originals were typically used on a daily basis and 'exercised' (discharge/charge) routinely. We tend to push the envelope by letting the car sit, unused, for LONG periods of time. That's the equivalent of a 'marine' application where the battery is designed/built with a 'deep discharge' silhouette.

Even with a 'smart' battery charger to maintain the battery during disuse, that's NOT the same situation as daily use where the battery sees a major discharge during cold start followed by a crisp/high current re-charge during initial drive-away use.

[Ronald L.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

The battery in my car under these infrequent use conditions just happens to have a 2004 date on it. And it did not get the assistance of a battery minder. It is only now showing that it is tired, on test, at the edge.

As far as RB and their botique product? I suggest the premium we pay is for just that, verify each personally which becomes very hard to accomplish if they are not the manufacturer. I hear these are nice guys, friends of many NCRS, so the problems experienced do not compute.

Battery technology like many basic automotive technologies has not materially change in the last 50 years. Advances have occured in electronics, restrain control, traction and braking, stability control, audio and driver info-tainment systems - the battery?

No more tar - 1968?
Sealed - 197?
Gel - sometimes

This product like so many has a design and if made to print function reliably for years to come. If the design is not understood, thus poorly copied or short cuts taken, failure modes not understood and prevented in the design - we have what we have here.

I have one question - who is 'really' making these batteries for RB???

[Kenneth B.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

C1s and some C2s may be difficult to change the battery, but some Chrysler cars of a decade ago required removal of the driver's side front wheel and inner fender panel before one can even see the battery. Makes the C1 and C2 look easy by comparison.

Sounds like the same thing I have to do to change the battery on my 67 air Corvettes & also my 85. Did GM hire the same Chrysler engineers or the other way around.
KEN

[John H.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

Battery technology like many basic automotive technologies has not materially change in the last 50 years. Advances have occured in electronics, restrain control, traction and braking, stability control, audio and driver info-tainment systems - the battery?

That's probably why Tesla uses SIX THOUSAND laptop batteries in their battery pack.

[Troy P.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

Put the battery in a plastic bag with handles. May need to double bag it. Hold it up with one hand and swing it into position under the fender with the other. Once it is sitting in the battery tray rip the plastic bag away and bolt it down. This is the easiest method I've found to install batteries in my 63.

[Jaime G.]

Re: Restoration Battery Failure

Restoration Battery uses Antique Auto Battery Co. to make their batteries. I had a cell battery fail and I sent it to AABC at the instruction of RB. They told me that if the battery was defective, they would replace it and pay the shipping both ways. They did just as they said and the replacement battery has been in one of my cars for over a year trouble free. I keep all my batteries hooked to a Battery Tender made by Deltran when not in use.