New member needing battery advice

L

Loiner240

Club Member
Earlier this year I bought a 240Z - my first Datsun. Car is an ex-California import restored a few years ago, and I'm very pleased with it. It is in A1 condition, which is just as well as I have limited mechanical experience. The battery is now kaput. This is a LHD car and the current battery is a Hankook MF80D26R with the positive terminal on the left & at the front i.e. away from the engine and away from the windscreen. I think that makes it a group 24 rather than 24f – is that correct and is that what I should be looking for in the replacement? I can’t find an identical Hankook replacement in the UK and the websites I’ve looked at don’t seem to recognise a 240Z! I’d be grateful if anyone can recommend a suitable replacement. The Hankook is 70AH/600A.
 
Jake RAH

Jake RAH

Well-Known Forum User
Someone on here may correct me but I far as I understand things any decent 12volt car battery will do just fine. You may find buying a UK battery you have to turn the battery around 180 degrees so the terminals face towards the back of the car rather than the front, this is because on UK batteries the terminals are located the other way around (LHD vs RHD) and so cables don't reach but it's not a problem. If your current battery states it's 'A h' or 'amp-hour' pick a battery that is close or above that figure. I don't think you can really go far wrong.
Hope that helps.
 
SeanDezart

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
One can normally choose with batteries which way around you want the + and - terminals - like a 'BA1' one way and 'BA1a' the other way around.
Look around and also boat batteries.
 
bluejon

bluejon

Club Member
Advice above is correct - you just rotate the battery depending on whether you want +ve towards the engine or not, and whether you are OK with having the terminals forward in the car (easier to access) or towards the bulkhead (harder to access without moving the battery or sliding the tray to give you room). Key things really are:
- dimensions width and depth so it fits in your battery tray
- height if you are wanting the battery clamp to fix to the provided hole in the bulkhead, or not
- CCA - get a high CCA rating to deal with cold/repeated starts without the battery weakening
- Ah - geta a higher capacity for a longer lasting battery

I replaced my LHD battery in the spring .. I can let you know this evening what I put in. Varta I think from battery megastore
 
R

RIDDLER

Well-Known Forum User
How about some pictures of your car then? Sure we would all like to see it! Also, you are only about an hour away from me so maybe we should get together with our cars at some point? Fridays are good for me as it is my day off.
 
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