TradeUniqueCars.com.au 99a disposable item in the
States, so folks just figured
they’d put up with this until
they traded-in in a few
months.
As an aside, I’m currently
on the trail of an ex-taxi
that has apparently clocked
up a million kliks. I’ve been
in touch with the owner,
who’s agreed to let me
drive it and see for myself
what a million kays does to
a Ford Fairlane. Stay tuned.
Not convinced
I’ve been following with
interest the ongoing musings
about the storage method
of batteries impacting their
performance. The theory
about storage on concrete
has been around for years
and will probably be argued
for time immemorial.
My question relates to
the feedback from Mac
Carter in issue 424 where he
explores the idea that storing
batteries on an uninsulated
metal f loor (such as in
a battery box) is also
detrimental to the battery.
Every car I’ve owned has had
the battery clamped down
onto a metal battery shelf
“EATING
BRUSSELS
SPROUTS
PROBABLY
WON’T KILL
ME, BUT WHY
TAKE THE
CHANCE”
ABOVE Must have been
a coup – the military has
taken over taken over the
local servo.OPPOSITE PAGE Modern
high-performance engines
produce impressive power
without compromising
durability.the metal itself. However, it
could be that a rubber pad
is more about protecting a
battery from the worst of
the vibration and impacts
that driving along a typical
Aussie road will introduce,
rather than the voltage-
draining consequences of a
cold, hard surface.
I’m drawn to the theory
that the battery-on-
concrete thing is a bit of
a throwback to the days
when battery casings were
made from timber and
garages were not the nice,
snug watertight places they
tend to be now. Which is
why a cold, damp concrete
floor could cause moisture
to wick up the side of the
timber battery box and
send the battery to an early
grave.
And yes, you’d expect
a bare metal tray to be
an even better conductor
of wayward volts than a
concrete floor, wouldn’t
you? Even so, I’m, still
happy to report that
batteries stored at the
Melbourne Bloke Centre
are, indeed, stored on a
piece of wood or a rubber
pad rather than straight on(except for the VE V8 where
it was located in the boot).
If metal was such a battery
destroyer why do 99 per cent
of vehicle manufacturers
mount them on the metal
battery shelf? I don’t know
the answer. Just saying...Darren Moss,
Adelaide SAYEAH, THIS one doesn’t
look like quitting for a while
yet, does it? And for every
person that has contacted
me to support the theory,
there’s been another that
reckons it’s all superstition
and witchcraft and should
be ignored in 2019.
You’re right about a lot
of car-makers being happy
to place the OE battery
on its backside on a bare
metal tray in the engine
bay, but a lot of cars I’ve
owned over the years have
also featured a little rubber
or plastic pad to separate
the battery’s case from