I’m having problems with my battery and think it probably needs changing. It’s had a Panasonic and a Westco in the past but this time I’d like to put in a bigger battery. MX5 Parts sell a Bigger Battery Conversion Kit for a MK1whose tray measures 200mm x 170mm and will supposedly accommodate a lead acid 063 battery, however most of the 063 batteries I’ve looked at are 207mmx175mm.
My question is therefore are there any 063 batteries that will fit the tray and if so what ones do people recommend who have done this conversion?
I just used the big battery kit from MX5 Parts to fit one of these:
I think the tray may have deformed slightly to fit but not notably.
I don’t have the floor brace fitted at the moment as the nuts under the tap had rotted away sadly but it appears to fit when presented to it
The clamp isn’t 200mm x 170mm, the plastic tray is hence the flexing/deformation when I placed the battery in it.
I have actually run out of thread on the extended “J” bolt and the larger top clamp is too big for the shape of the battery!
063 batteries are the standard small/medium car battery. There’s an infinity of them that will
do the job…, Bosch, Varta, Yuasa are the names that come easily to mind.
I don’t actually have an 063 to hand to examine, but isn’t there usually a ridge round the top edges of most batteries that makes the battery dimensions larger at the top than it is at the base.
Hi and thanks. Having looked at a number of these batteries, including the makes you mentioned, their length, width measurements all seem to exceed the the size of the clamp MX5 Parts sells, however from a previous reply their measurements may be of the tray they provide and not the clamp. In terms of where battery manufacturers take their measurements I do not know and maybe that’s something a person with an 063 battery can answer if they read this post.
Bumping this old thread to ask: can anyone recommend an 063 sized battery with vent fittings to suit use in a Mk.1’s boot?
My Mk.1 needs a new battery and I could just get a Panasonic AGM one except my car has the fittings for a “big battery”. In fact it has the tray and clamp salvaged from my first Mk.1, which a Mazda dealer fitted along with a new battery twenty+ years ago when they didn’t supply replacement Panasonics.
The tray appears to be pretty well exactly 207mm x 175mm which matches what osta wrote in the OP regarding the size of 063 batteries. The battery that’s in there now is a Westco with blocks of polyurethane to make the oversize clamp hold the slimmer battery. If there’s a suitable 063 type and that size is cheaper as people seem to suggest then I’ll use that. If not I guess it’s Panasonic plus a new smaller tray.
I use a Lion 063 bought from whoever offers the best discount, usual cost £35-40.
Looked at a Panasonic recently but decided that for the cost I could replace the Lion 3 times. Last Lion battery lasted 5 years, not sure if with my usage I would get 15 years with the Panasonic as sometime it stand weeks without use.
Don’t use a tray have a 1/2" thick rubber mat and I made a larger battery clamp to hold it in place.
Just my take on the situation.
Dave
