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<p>There's several variables to consider:</p>
<p>- Later 6-cyl cars have the battery in the boot. That's a long
cable run to the starter solenoid; the cables and terminals need
to be in good nick. <br>
</p>
<p>- Ditto the starter. The field coils in starters build up
resistance over time and, eventually, the starter won't crank as
well, putting even more load on the battery. After a couple
cranks, the field coils get warm and the resistance builds up and,
of course, the battery's reserve gets depleted.<br>
</p>
<p>- The higher the compression in your engine, the harder it is to
turn over.</p>
<p>- Thicker oil, like 20W-50 can bog an engine down a bit.</p>
<p>The more CCA you have, the more margin to start an engine, esp.
on a cold day (that's why CCA is the nominal stat for batteries).
My Healeys are harder to start after they've been sitting for more
than a few days. The 500CCA number I gave was a SWAG; I haven't
seen any full-size auto battery with less than that anyway. We
got a battery for my dad's '65 Mustang 289 with 550CCA from
Autozone; Costco didn't sell the size we needed. It cranks the V8
OK.<br>
</p>
<p>FWIW, when I rebuilt my BJ8's engine the (previously)
satisfactory wet cell battery I had wouldn't even turn the engine
over (later compression checks showed 180PSI +/- in all 6). I had
the starter rebuilt and installed an 800CCA AGM battery. The
starter actually startled me the first time I cranked it; it's
nearly as fast as the geared starter in my Mustang.</p>
<p>TLDR; The more the better.</p>
<p>Bob<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 5/14/2018 10:12 PM, John Spaur
wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">So... wise ones (and I mean that sincerely)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My current battery is an Intimidator rated
at 775. Bob S. mentioned in a post about a minimum of 500.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How many CCA’s should a battery have for a
Healey engine?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">TIA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John Spaur<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">San Jose<o:p></o:p></p>
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