[DeTomaso] Best Battery for a Pantera

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/30/11 9:50:04 AM, rspink2012 at yahoo.com writes:

> I wanted to get the groups thoughts on the best battery for a Pantera. 
> 
Best for what purpose, Rob? The best for starting and running the car with 
the least dead weight will be a far different unit than the best for 
grinding a stock starter interminably due to some minor ignition problem. Best for 
long life will be one that is best-built since 100% of the available 
batteries are lead-acid and the life of that battery type is 5 years +-2. Best to 
fit in a dropped battery compartment will be one that fits the rather 
restrictive hole in the trunk floor, and best for running a fully electronic 
Pantera at low speeds may mean an oversized battery AND alternator to cope with 
the power draw for all the extras at low revs. If you need a battery that fits 
mounted in some other orientation than normal, an AGM (absorbent glass mat) 
type allows mounting sideways but may be quite heavy. Charging such 
batteries might call for a different trickle charger, too.
As a compromise for all the above, I use a 650-amp conventional battery 
originally meant for a Toyota MR-2 from Costco. It's small, weighs 26 lbs, 
cheap, starts the car fine, pairs up with a 75-amp alternator (stock is 52 amp) 
and has a good guarantee at any Costco in the U.S. It starts a modified 
10-1/2:1 compression 351-C when smoking hot without a problem & is now 4 yrs 
old, so I should be looking around for its replacement. In the May '08 POCA 
News I wrote an article on 'racing' batteries for the street and how to sort 
thru the 15 or 20 different ones being sold. Good luck- J Deryke.