"How To Choose The Right Battery
There are many different types of batteries, and there are different ways in which they are rated. Probably the most familiar measurement is its cranking amp or cold cranking amp rating. A cranking amp rating is the amount of amperage a battery will produce at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A cold cranking amp rating is the amount of amperage a battery will produce at zero degrees Fahrenheit. You may also have heard of "deep cycle" batteries. They feature thicker plates than a high cranking battery, and will therefore dis-charge slower and recharge more readily. "We try to combine the best of both worlds. A hybrid, if you will." says Steve. "We want high cranking characteristics because of high-compression, big-block engines used in musclecars. But we also want deep cycle characteristics because of seasonal storage requirements. A true high-cranking battery will have several plates approximately .040-inch thick. A true deep cycle battery has fewer plates, but they are .120-inch thick. We use more plates than a deep cycle, but less than a high-cranking battery, and our plates are .080 thick. No one drives their musclecar in zero degree weather, so we concentrate more on thicker plates for longer life during seasonal storage rather than ultimate cold-cranking power." In an earlier paragraph, we talked about how the lead used in the battery is bonded to a "grid" made of either lead antimony or lead calcium. According to Steve, most standard and deep cycle batteries use lead antimony grids, while maintenance-free batteries use lead calcium grids because they reduce water consumption. This is another area where Steve says New Castle's batteries are "hybrids." They use both lead antimony plates and lead calcium plates for a battery that holds a charge and requires as little maintenance as possible. Currently, New Castle's reproduction batteries come with a four-year pro-rated guarantee, and are available in anything from 400 cranking amps to 875 cranking amps in the new "High Crank Line." The High Crank Line batteries are designed specifically for those musclecar engines with very high compression ratios. And for those who've been clamoring for a reproduction of the original equipment side-term-inal Deico R-89 battery, take heart. This battery will be available from New Castle by the time you read this.

How To Care For Your Battery
How long your battery lasts greatly depends on how it is treated. Under perfect conditions, the average lead-acid battery can provide you with years of trouble free service. If mistreated, however, the life of a battery can be cut down to months, even days. The following are the top three ways to kill a battery.

Sutfation: Because musclecars are often put away for the winter, owners will often neglect to charge their batteries, causing them to sulfate after months of neglect. As detailed earlier, once a battery becomes sulfated, it will no longer hold a charge and should be disposed of properly. To help your battery survive the winter months, Steve recommends that you charge the battery for not more than eight hours at less than ten amps. Then, to maintain the battery, repeat this process once a month until the car comes out of storage. If you think you might forget to do this, or it's just too cold to dash outside and turn the charger on, Steve says that battery maintainers are a good idea. A battery maintainer will begin charging with its full rated amperage. But as the battery builds voltage, the amperage will taper and eventually shut off when the battery reaches full charge. Then, when the battery begins to lose its charge again, the battery maintainer will click back on.

Overcharge: Yes, you can kill a battery by overcharging it. The most common way this happens however, is with a runaway alternator or a faulty voltage regulator. As the battery charges, it produces hydrogen from the negative plates, and oxygen from the positive plates. As you know from your high school physics class, hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water. So when you overcharge the battery, you charge off the hydrogen and oxygen—-electrolyzing the water and burning up the battery. To prevent overcharging, follow the aforementioned charging techniques, and have your charging system checked to make sure the alternator and voltage regulator are working properly—-particularly after purchasing a new battery.

Vibration: If a battery is not property constructed. the plates can actually break under vibration, or the active material can shake off. Again, this usually only happens when a battery is poorly constructed, but if you seem to go through an unusual amount of batteries (and you've checked the charging system), it could be the vibration from that monster motor that is killing them. Try a higher quality battery, and try mounting it on any one of the "battery pads" (see sidebar). Now that you know a little more about your battery, try to treat it with a little more respect. After all, Rodney would want it that way."

MUSCLECAR REVIEW February/March 1996