I bought an Optima battery for my 62. It's the best (and most expensive)
battery I have ever owned. However it looked very ackward under the hood after
all of the trouble I took painting things and placing decals on things for
authenticity.
So I too looked around for a cover, and I found one through Eckler Corvette. At
the time, they were the only ones to provide a vintage looking cover designed
to fit over the Optima. To make the long story short, it beats nothing, but
it's not the best in fit or finish. It's a cheesy vacuum formed ABS molding
with a separate piece that has only three sides to it to cover the sides of the
battery. Not the best solution since the battery in the Imperial is pretty
exposed and visible on all sides. On a Vette, it probably looks good since the
battery lies out of sight at the bottom of the engine compartment. So I wound
up getting some black plastic panels from the local hobby shop and made my own
"sides" of the battery. The other goof is that the little molded screw on lids
have Delco stamped on them. I'm fairly satisfied with it since it still gives
the engine compartment a vintage look. I bought this piece about a year ago,
and I have noticed that now someone else offers a similar cover for vintage
Fords.
At a local car show a fellow I know took things a step further. He actually
took an old tar top battery and gutted it. Then he stuck the Optima inside it.
It was a fair butcher job, but after all the trouble he probably went through,
the look wasn't any more convincing. You see, the posts on the Optima are
located differently from a traditional battery, so that's where the problem
lies with any solution you choose.
Chris Middlebrook
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