I was thinking of ordering an old style R-59 delco reproduction battery. It comes without the acid and I was wondering if it is a pain in the neck to drop the correct amount of acid in and charge it. Anyone have any luck with these batteries? I don't want to end up with an 11.5 volt battery.

Another option is a "battery topper". That way, you have the convenience/power of a new battery, but the looks of the R-59! It is what we use on our '69 Yenko Camaro (and soon to be on our '69 Yenko Nova), and 99% of the people don't know. The only real way to know it is a topper is with your hand, but we don't let too many people handle our Yenko! Here is a link to more info:
http://www.yenko.net/ads.htm

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Rob Clary
'70 LS-6 Chevelle
Numerous Yenkos
Interested in COPOs, Yenkos or other dealer built muscle cars then go here: www.yenko.net (http://www.yenko.net)

That's the way all the batteries used to come. I'd go in and the battery guy would add the acid, and away I'd go. It's easy, just fill to the mark.
Where are you going to get the sulfuric acid from?
David

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The older I get, the faster I was!

I have a small stack of these R59's - the first one lasted about 3 years, then the others barely made a year. I'm really not thrilled with the performance of them.


Rob, any pictures of that topper? That sounds like a good plan to me. Then I can haul the battery out in the fall and use it in something else.

The battery topper does sound like a neat idea. But my car is very far away from being a original show car. I just thought it would be pretty cool to have one of those "old" style batteries. I just wanted feedback of how reliable they were. Looking at Al's comments it doesn't look like they are the best. I'll probably stay away from them.

Well, I don't have any pictures, but if you have saw an R-59 then you have saw what a battery topper looks like. The only way to tell, is to run your hand along the side of the battery, and you can feel the slight "lip" of the topper hanging over the battery. I will have to say I was sceptical when I heard about them at first, but now I swear by them! Plus, no one knows (unless you tell them)!

The acid for the battery is easy to get, but I hated our R-59...what a pain. Plus, if it ever leaks (which it will more than likely) it will eat up EVRYTHING! Our's leaked, and now anything near the battery has a white "crust" on it. You clean it, and it comes back. I would HIGHLY recommend the topper.

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Rob Clary
'70 LS-6 Chevelle
Numerous Yenkos
Interested in COPOs, Yenkos or other dealer built muscle cars then go here: www.yenko.net (http://www.yenko.net)