Battery size?

dammstrate

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The sveral places I looked indicated a group 24 battery for my 65 Newport. Took the old one out, and the battery try certainly is long enough
for a group 27. Was the 27 and option with an upgraded alternator or some such thing, and the tray has to be long enough for both?
 
The sveral places I looked indicated a group 24 battery for my 65 Newport. Took the old one out, and the battery try certainly is long enough
for a group 27. Was the 27 and option with an upgraded alternator or some such thing, and the tray has to be long enough for both?

The standard battery size for the 1965 Chrysler models, including Newport, was the BCI Group 27. It was optional in the Dodge and Plymouth C-bodies and B-bodies. The tray is long enough to accommodate either battery, except in A-bodies.

Group 24 can be used in place of Group 27 with less potential reserve power, depending on the brand, etc. Modern sources may list the Group 24 for the application as the use and availability of the Group 27 battery has diminished.

Battery listing from the 1965 Chrysler Parts Catalog is shown in the following image:

Screenshot 2026-01-18 12.59.31 PM.png
 
The group 24, 27 and 34 batteries have practically identical widths (6.75 - 6.9 inches).

The 24 and 34 have identical length (10.75) but the 24 is an inch taller (8.15 vs 7.15). Interestingly the 24 is only 2 lbs heavier than the 34 (38 vs 40 lbs).

The 27 is the same height as the 24 (8.15 inches) but is 1.25 inches longer (12 inches). The 27 is also 9 lbs heavier than the 24.

I buy the 34 battery because I can put it in my other cars when I need to scrounge a battery and locally I can buy a budget version of the 34 whereas the 27 and 24 only come in a single more expensive version.
 
IF you want a completely "black" battery, Interstate Battery has them. Three different warranty levels and prices, usually.

ANY battery, Grp 24 or 27, will have a good bit more power than the OEM batteries of 1965. So that "small" grp 24 battery will have more power (CCA) than the grp 27 battery of old, by observation.

Interstate supplies OEM-level batteries to our local Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai dealerships. ALL are black batteries, only the stickers applied to them identify the various carline dealerships they are sold to. You can check their website for local walk-in stores.

I'm NOT promoting Interstate, just advising of their "black" batteries.

Personally, I always liked the look of a Grp 27 battery under the hood. Fills out the battery tray nicely, as a Grp 24 looks like "corner cutting" sometimes. Which, as an observer, makes me wonder "What else did the owner cut corners on?" IF that might be a consideration.

Enjoy!
CBODY67
 
Am looking to replace the Interstate battery with a period correct looking one. Agree 27 looks WAY better than the 24
in the battery tray. Thanks for the inputs!
 
A 27 is the correct battery. May look better to some, but the heavier weight can be an issue if the owner moves batteries around. I don't enjoy lifting group 27 batteries anymore. You take care of the battery and don't drain it a 24 will function just fine and easily start a big block.

Corner cutting, that's funny right there.
 
nOT BLACK but Walmart has 4 year warranty I use the AGP grp 24 mostly sometimes 34
SUBURU batteries are JUNK 34 fits with just a little work also in Honda CRV- a drop (with wiggle) in Me in 69 polara 73 New yorker and Dakota (and shhh Chevy PU with the full size bed- forgive me) oh yes 65 and 66 Imperials
 
Battery warranties have been changing. Be sure to inquire. I liked getting my batteries ay COSTCO because they had a full replacement for 36 months, prorated after that for 84 months. A few years ago, it went to 42 months full replacement with no prorate after. The it dropped to 36 months full replacement. Last month I bought a battery and now it is 36 months prorated from first month. I have had good luck with the batteries over the years.
 
On pro-rated replacement batterie . . . some used to perceive that each warranty replacement battery had its own "warranty clock". In reality, there was only ONE "warranty clock", which starts wiht the purchase of the original battery. Any batteries warrantied on that original "clock", do NOT get the full stated warranty of the new battery that replaces the original battery. Hence, if a 5yr warranty battery is replaced with another at the 4yr mark, under warranty and/or pro-rate, only the remainder or the original warranty is all that the purchaser gets. The message is, at that 4 out of 5yr period . . . "Just buy a new battery and be done with it."

Read and understand "the fine print". It might not be what it used to be.

Enjoy!
CBODY67
 
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