'55 takes is a 6 volt, positive ground system. It isn't as easy to find a nice big battery for that car as it is for the 12 volt cars. It can be done, it just takes a little more looking around. Again, the largest most powerful is probably a great rule of thumb.
One of my non-Imperial's with a similar system takes an 8 volt marine dry cell very nicely. I needed it to give me a boost when cranking the extra four cylinders on that car's old L head motor, especially when cold. It gave everything a little more life, including the hydraulic windows, and has had no apparent ill effects. Everything works as it should including the charging system, which leads me to wonder if voltage regulator adjustments were made in the past to accomodate this for another owner. I am certain that others may have experienced shorter life on light bulbs and radio tubes with these batteries, but nothing like that has happened on this car. Again, it isn't an Imperial, and my '55 Imperial cranks and functions just great with a fresh, huge, 6 volt battery.
Paul W.
-----Original Message-----
From: wbinegar@xxxxxxx
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:10:04 -0500
Subject: Re: IML: Battery for a '55
What kind of battery goes into a 1955 Imperial sedan? Where do you get the battery?
W Binegar
1955 Imperial Newport
1955 Imperial Sedan
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