Hi all Never really like the look of the fake Delco Eye on my battery topper, so I modified it to more closely resemble the real thing. I turned down the handle of a clear yellow green screwdriver to come to the same size, or close to the same size as the fake eye on the cap. I polished the part, applied a little transparent line green paint on the backside and inserted it into the drilled out cap. Mine is a real tight press fit, so no adhesive was required. To give it a bit more of a luminescence look, I backed the cap with a scrap piece of furnace duct tape. While it is not perfect, it looks pretty good for a first effort. I think if I were to do it again, I would check with my local plastic supply hous to see if they have any tinted, clear acrylic rod of the right diameter. Sure would save a lot of time.
Good job, Randy and I'm not criticizing your work. The truth is, I was one of the first to use these things about 20 years ago, and I detest them on concours cars. I was going to write about these after I saw GSjo was so upset about me pointing it out on the car he restored. Anyhoo...20 years ago I bought one. Here's my tips. I didn't like the way it looked. Here are the problems. First, is the "eye", it's goofy looking and you fixed it. 20 years ago, I bought an NOS eye and cut it. Then I painted it with fingernail polish to match. I still have eyes if anybody wants to buy one. Second, is from my memory the eyes were not green. The early eyes were black when the battery was ok. When the battery was low, they kind of lit up, but not green. The later eyes were green when good. I'm really old, maybe Bruno and I are the only guys that might know that. At least that's my memory. But anything looks better than an eye with a red center. The eye was always placed in the second hole from the positive terminal...always. I assume that's because that cell would need water first. Use a black battery, these things don't cut it with a red Optima. Finally, I really wish somebody would make a sticker that says R69. Our batteries were not R59 (top post). I run real repro batteries (AGM). There are other minor issues with the toppers like fitment of the cables. If the toppers are set up right, they would be ok. My point is, if you're selling a car for over 100K then the battery should at least look right!
Hi Frank I take all your points/observations in the spirit in which they were intended. Regarding the R69 sticker. This is something I was thinking of doing, but I would need a good image and dimensions if I were to duplicate it. Is it identical to the R59 sticker, but reads R69, or are there other differences. And can an R59 topper be used correctly if I produce an R69 sticker? Cheers
Randy, I believe the sticker is the same, but says R69. The R69 was taller by like an inch, it was the HD version of the R59. That's why it is really hard to get our batteries out now, they are shorter in height and you can't grip them. I'll post some pics now and later. Another thing of interest is the red lettering. It was not on them from the factory. Only over the counter batteries had the red lettering and warranty sticker. I'll get back on this. I did a lot of research on this a few years ago. Notice the position of the eye. They did have a sticker on the top, it's not in the pic. When the electrolyte was low, the eye would like glow. I'll post pics of an eye.Look at the link + pic. http://www.corvairkid.com/batteries.htm
There's a guy on a '70 Chevelle Facebook page who buys the original Delco eyes on eBay and fabricates them similar to this, except he uses green tape to simulate the eye. I grabbed one from him a couple years ago.
Now that I'm looking at Brett's pic, I'll point out some of the other shortcomings of the toppers. The toppers stain easily. The toppers don't allow the cables to sit flush. There are post extenders available, but they are kind of "mickey mouse". They are still a good product, but can be made to look better. What you and Randy did makes them look better.
Hi Frank If the stickers are the same physically, aside from the number being different, I am sure I can do a run of a bunch. I can do what I did for the hood tach decal that I made and is being sold by Todd. Here is a shot of my Delco Eye in place. ...and here is the hood tach decal I made.
It looks great, Randy! The tach decal looks good, also. For more realism you could even drill out the vent holes on the caps. If you looked at that Corvair link above you can see the R69 sticker. It looks the same as the topper sticker, maybe the corners are rounded and maybe there was a thin white border...it's hard to say. Probably just do it like the topper one, maybe a hair bigger to cover, I don't know. I know you can't get any chemicals near these toppers, they stain. It's doubtful you could get the old sticker off. Sometimes you can put the rad cap on them and they will stain depending what's in your coolant. I'm sure Todd would be interested in them. They were used on a lot of the HiPo Chevys, like the Z Camaros and stuff. I always thought they were a good product when modded a bit. I still don't think they should be on 100k+ cars, but you can make them look pretty good with a little effort.
Hey Frank. I am pretty sure I can come up with an R69 sticker. I will report back when I do. Thanks for the tip about drilling out the caps. Funny enough, I had thought about it, but then just as quick, I forgot. Cheers
Why couldn't a person print this texture, whether in a wrap or a 3d plastic cover? For a more authentic look.
If they wanted to do it, somebody could make a whole case to house the battery. I have more pics. I hate to steal Randy's thread, But it's good to have everything in one place. The eye, late in the 60's I pumped gas as a teen. I remember looking at the battery to check and if the eye glowed, then it needed water. I honestly don't remember any green color. I know for a fact later when Delco had sealed and semi-sealed batteries they had a built in eye that was green if it was good. So...I took an NOS eye and stuck it in a dark cup half filled with water. When the clear stem of the eye is immersed in the water the eye is dark. when you lift the eye out but keep it in the dark cup it like lights...but not really green, definitely not like the newer batteries. That's what I remember, too. First pic is immersed.
