Redbird

Group 24 in my 64.

426 Hemi

I still have to fight a little part of me that has a hard time putting a black cable on a positive terminal.

Redbird

Slip a short piece of red hose over it!

Railroadman

At least you didn't have to go sit on the Group W bench!

sidepipe seeker

WOW!!!...Great OEM battery post connector!....Add that to the list! ...Mark

emccomas

Just went through the battery cable debate on my 64.

The black positive cable had a cut in the insulation. I have a new red cable laying around so it is now on the car.

What I don't need is someone (probably me) mistaking the black cable for the negative cable some time in the future.

I got rid of the spring clip cable ends for bolt on cable ends. I cannot stand those spring clip ends.

I also added a battery disconnect to the negative terminal.

Railroadman

Unless someone is into NCRS or similar efforts of exact originality, the red/black as is usually used seems safer. While I *usually* look at the symbol on the battery before applying jumpers, there have been occasions when for whatever reason I just went with the color of the cables to tell me where to clip. And even on my own car, after decades of "black is ground" thinking, it would be easy to have a brain fart and mess it up.

MikeM

I don't recall GM cars in the '60's era using a red battery cable for the positive cable. FWIW.

R66

Couple of things that I have encountered with batteries that seem kind of 'DUMB'.

1. A friend calls up and said he put a new battery in his truck and it was dead so he took it back and got a second new battery and it was also dead. I ran into his house and started doing some troubleshooting - no lights, no starter, no click at all. Went to check the cable ends and noticed the positive post of the battery was red and the negative was black rather than the normal lead gray - He had left the plastic protectors on the posts and spread the cable clamps to get them on. DUH? Scary part is he is a supervisor at a Nuke Plant.

2. I tried to help a friend tune up his old grain truck. 327 with points. Went to check the timing and my timing light wouldn't work. Went and got a new timing light and it wouldn't work either. Close inspection found the red cable going to the negative post and the black going to the positive. He put new (used) cables on and didn't care about the color, just function. I PAID FOR MY DUH!!! Now I have two timing lights in case I loose one.

3. My grandson jumped a buddy with his fox body Stang. They crossed the cables and didn't notice because his buddy's battery was flat and a little sparking didn't make him ask why. He fired up his Stang and melted the insulation from the cables that were laying across his fender. - He needs a new paint job now.

65hihp

No one should have a fox body stang anyway.

Factoid

Given the strange conventions and that most of us own multiple old cars from different OEMs, the best approach is to always follow the cables. In a negative ground, the positive cable almost always goes to the starter solenoid and the negative to the engine block or frame. Hard to miss which is which.

To the OP, glad you sorted it out!

sidepipe seeker

I LAUGHED!!!.... ..Mark

schecter7

deleted - wrong thread.