[Norwood]

Now you screwed

[Formulabruce]

Yup, one of the left Steve...
When I was at the dealership we had a "NEW EMPTY" version at the parts counter. Even though we had the Freedom II batteries, people always looked at the empty plastic box "Freedom" from AC Delco marketing.. Would be a great candidate to "build a battery"...

[Bentwheelbob]

Here you go from the Gold Car...

Also, I'll trade you a slightly used Die Hard tractor battery for that incorrect repop battery. I bet it would fit in the Black Car perfectly. The Die Hard is on the Battery Tender now and I guarantee it for at least three starts.

[eaglesan13]

On another note, what year did they change from a top terminal to a side terminal battery?

[Norwood]

I believe 1971 was the first side post in Firebirds

[RamAir]

Oops

[njsteve]

Am I missing something?

[burd]

Your PM said your car came with a Freedom Battery? We have put a lot into the cap kits I make, including days of sifting through commercials and info on these battery's, even GM Heritage center doesn't have a lot of info, I'd like to see where it said on the build sheet, I'd definitely wouldn't be a Freedom II, they started in 79 or 80. The Fredom warranty cards I found had a date code of 1976 on them, very interesting info here. I've only found 3 warranty cards in all my searching. PS, I sent you a PM.

[njsteve]

The car has a $26 charge in the window sticker for the "Delco X Maintenance Free" battery. The original owner remembered it being a Delco Freedom battery. Do you know when the Freedom came into production, given that the Freedom II was late 1970's?

[njsteve]

My original warranty brochure for the car lists just the standard Delco Enegergizer warranty information but doesn't mention anything about the optional maintenance free battery warranty.

[RicksGTO]

here is a good article that Rocky and Jon Sawruk contributed on:
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hppp-...c-tech-part-2/
The C89 Delco X Maintenance Free battery is mentioned at the bottom

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by njsteve

The car has a $26 charge in the window sticker for the "Delco X Maintenance Free" battery. The original owner remembered it being a Delco Freedom battery. Do you know when the Freedom came into production, given that the Freedom II was late 1970's?

UA1 was only 10 bucks , ( HD Battery R89W??) so its not that, AC cars came STD with AU1 or T60 option included.
Based on the article, its Probably a C89 , I cant even find a pic of one

[njsteve]

If you go back to the first page of this thread you can see the window sticker - it's the 20th option on the first page of the sticker, right after Honeycomb wheels.

Here's the original order sheet. Maintenance Free Battery - Option TP1 in box 48. It's different than the UA1 HD Battery option below it.

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by njsteve

If you go back to the first page of this thread you can see the window sticker - it's the 20th option on the first page of the sticker, right after Honeycomb wheels.

Here's the original order sheet. Maintenance Free Battery - Option TP1 in box 48. It's different than the UA1 HD Battery option below it.

Correct, your car could NOT be ordered with a UA1 , because it came std with the AC, so the only thing available was the C89 texture battery , the maint. free version of the UA1

[njsteve]

So is the "Delco X Maintenance Free" C89 battery also known as the Delco Freedom battery? No one seems to have a photo of this elusive contraption.

We should call this thread the X-Files...the Delco X files, that is. :-)

[njsteve]

Originally Posted by RicksGTO

here is a good article that Rocky and Jon Sawruk contributed on:
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hppp-...c-tech-part-2/
The C89 Delco X Maintenance Free battery is mentioned at the bottom

I see they discuss the Delco Freedom battery and it seems to imply that he 1971 maintenance free battery was more of a traditional looking black case different than the later (1973????) white and blue battery.

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by njsteve

So is the "Delco X Maintenance Free" C89 battery also known as the Delco Freedom battery? No one seems to have a photo of this elusive contraption.

We should call this thread the X-Files...the Delco X files, that is. :-)

Earliest I have seen of the first Freedom battery was Late 1975 (Bonneville) after looking through stuff, and it could be that GM changed the C89 to this new name to correspond with the countries Bicentennial in the 1967 year. ( IE: Freedom Train..)

[njsteve]

Have you seen this 1975 brochure? It talks about the C89 being standard on the Pontiac Gran Prix and shows a strange looking, black, flat top battery:

[Formulabruce]

That brochure could have been from 1974 for the 1975 model year, and the Freedom came out after that printing. I know I saw one first in a 75 Bonney, and was original, only 2 years old., later I saw one in a 76 GP, both were 455 loaded cars. Many times we got stuff in at the dealership, from cars to parts, Before the marketing arrived .
So I feel you may be looking for some Formula Steering wheel Collar paint !!
ps. The RWB Batteries were REALLY an eyecatcher when you popped the hood if you were not used to seeing anything special in the battery box.

[Held for Ransom]

Here is a few pictures of the Freedom Battery. But, I agree, I don't think this was the '73 battery (1980137, TP1 option).

1976 commercial...
http://adland.tv/commercials/delco-f...y-1976-030-usa