Battery for Mark 2

I am interested in returning my 1962 Mark 2 3.8 to original spec. The original battery was Lucs BV11a. Are these even available anymore?

Welcome to forum Craig.
I could not find BV11a but maybe you could install another Lucas battery:

Köpi

I wouldn’t install a new Lucas battery… that would also look out of place. Either a tar top battery which I assume the BV11a was (you can probably find pictures of what it was like, on the internet) or what I like is a new unintrusive battery without stickers, handles etc.
These are cheap and maintenance free so they don’t cause corrosion.

I’m not sure what the status of this company is now. It might have reopened under a different name. This is where i got my battery in 2008, which is still in the car. It looks like a 60 year old Lucas battery.

ANTIQUE AUTO BATTERY - 602 W Rayen Ave, Youngstown, OH - Yelp

Micah

Craig Beale Might be good to update your forum information as to your location on the globe as not all varieties of batteries are available in all markets.

Yes. Thanks. Have done so.

If originality is important to you, bear in mind that MK2’s were originally fitted with a molded cover that clipped onto the Lucas battery at the end flanges. When installed, the top of the battery is no longer visible so a conventional battery may be used. Another value add of going with a cover is that you may convert your car to Negative Ground and observers will not be able to discern the polarity change because the posts and terminals are covered.

Relative to Jaguar Club of North America (JCNA) concours judging, the battery cover is not removed during evaluation as it is clipped into position. Consequently, the top surface of the battery needn’t have the old style water filling caps to avoid an originality deduction.

The following photo of our MK2 shows how the cover is fitted atop the battery with the spring clips.

I hope this helps! good luck with your project.

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Gosh what a gorgeous engine! I am redoing the engine compartment with a view to possibly competing in Champion Division, so yes originality is important. And this would be a good approach as the car had already been converted to negative ground. What battery do you have that works with cover? You still used the helmet style terminals? Thanks1

Thank you.

I installed a BCI Group 24 battery. Specifically, a Napa Legend 7524. The Group 24 fits within the retaining strap but the length and width dimensions at the top of the battery are smaller than those of the original battery cover. I purchased square rubber stock from McMaster-Carr, cut sections to length and glued the stock around the periphery of the battery to create a perfect fit with the cover. I machined small detents on the underside of the end stock sections for the clips to clamp onto. I don’t recall the dimension of the rubber stock. You’ll want to purchase the appropriate size rubber stock after you have located a cover and have purchased the battery. This will enable you to close the dimensional differences between the two. I have helmet terminals fitted to both cables per original.

Thanks Brian. One last question. I haven’t done exhaustive search but I see on SNG Barratt and Moss that they have the cover but I don’t see the clips. Did you get those separately?

To my knowledge, the clips are not reproduced. The cover on our car is an original that I located a number of years ago. They are surprisingly difficult to locate considering that every MK2 that was manufactured came with one. I suspect that they were disposed of once the original Lucas battery was at the end of its life as replacement batteries had no provision for the clips to clamp onto.

The design of the spring clip is VERY similar to those that retain the distributor cap to the distributor body. The clips on the battery cover are shorter than what you will find on your MK2 distributor. The following distributor clips are similar to the originals and may work for this application.

The reproduction battery covers that I’ve seen have no provision for attaching the clips. Prior to locating the original cover on our car, I purchased a reproduction and created the mounting webs using multiple applications of J.B. Weld followed grinding/sanding and then drilling through holes for the clip retaining pins. I then sprayed the entire cover with a satin black finish to produce a uniform appearance. Before thinking about the distributor clips above, I fabricated two clips by hand using spring steel and then had them heat-treated (Don’t ask how much this silly step cost)…This was/is the end result that I achieved. It would still be on the car had I not found an original.

Probably more than you ever wanted to know about MK2 battery covers! Such is the pursuit of originality…The Devil is in the details :+1:

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