Nos y 59
 

Hi , what are NOS Y 59 Batteries selling for ? Are these correct for 69 Camaro’s & What else

Does the battery say Delco Energizer on top or just Delco. If it is an Energizer it is worth more.

- Warren

Thanks for the reply... The box has E-3,000 “Y” series Y59 on it ... The box is white with red & blue lettering/ Delco graphic ... as far as the top I’ll have to go check on that ...

Correct me if I have this backwards, Isn't the Y59 only correct for the later 69's and the Y55 is for the early 69's with reverse polarity?

With that said, to answer your question would require a build date of the car.

I have never heard of reverse polarity on a 69 ? As in positive ground ?

Reverse polarity is what the stores call them. It's simply just the + and - terminals switched from side to side.

Early 69 Z's such as mine have them reversed, so the negative is closest to the radiator which is the Y55 battery. From what I understand, maybe sometime in Jan or Feb GM switched to the positive closest to the radiator which is the Y59 battery.

So to answer Ban's question of Y59's being correct for 69 Camaro, a build date makes a difference. However I can't recall if this is a Z/28 thing or all Camaros in 69.

One interesting way to tell (if the car is largely original), the ground wire off the ground cable went to the core support on the Y55's, and on the Y59's I believe it went to the fender.

No, the positions of the battery terminals are reversed. As you're facing the engine bay, 6 cylinders and SBs have the + terminal at the left. BBs have the + terminal at the right; the conventional GM position. The AIM shows all 8 cylinders with the conventional battery but vintage Z/28 magazine road test pics show the reverse positioning.

Thanks William,

So it is a small block thing, I knew there was some stipulation in there somewhere, lol.

Interesting the AIM shows all 8 cylinders with the conventional battery. Even our local Napa has it right in their book and still lists my 69 Z as having the polarities reversed, they charge more for it too.

I also found no one makes a correct tar topper for this application either.

Thanks for the bundle of info on the cable locations .... I’ll have to pull one out of the box & find out the other details.... Thanks for all the help Rob

Ok , I just looked at a pic of my 03D VanNuys Z/28 & the negative cable on it is on the upper alternator bracket....

'

Looks like this Y55 Heartbeat has on eBay would be correct other than it's missing the Energizer word also note the Delco isn't Yellow so it's not a service part or may be from a different year than noted?:hmmm:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/67-68-69-Ca...sAAOSw96ZcEuvl
Cheap solution even interim may be use a Y59 Topper and modify the +/- symbols to the opposite positions...easy to alter the - into a + w/ a hot screwdriver tip but you'd have to get more creative w/ the other one.
:beers:
~ Pete

.

I have a Y55 which I pulled a fiberglass mold from so I could make some correct toppers for 69 Z28's...

I've thought about doing that. Only thing holding me back is whether Y59 is molded into it or not. Would be tough to remove the 9 and replace with a 5. If it were a decal that makes things easier.

When you get some made put me on the list, I'd like to buy one.

What color are the caps on a Y55? I thought yellow?

'

Y55's were yellow and less cranking amps than red R59's but more than green which was the lowest...Y= Yellow and R= Red?:hmmm:
Looks like decals only on top of the Y55 also R59 topper as pics below...ask for extra Y59 decals when you order the topper to cut a second 5 from and stick over the 9?
Ok for a pseudo Y55 topper but are the case dimensions actually slightly different also ctr. to ctr. of the posts?
:beers:
~ Pete

.

Thanks Pete,

I didn't think a Y-59 topper was available so I was thinking of using an R-59 you have pictured, and doctor it up like a Y-55.

I sensed you meant a Y-59 is available since you mentioned getting another set of Y-59 decals?

'

Sorry, I meant R59 also in the previous post and don't think anything Y59 is available?
And the second 5 decal won't help w/o the Y anyway so best peel it off.
Best of luck and please post the result if you do it.
:beers:
~ Pete

.

Okay understood, thanks Pete. I thought that's what you meant but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something somewhere.

I'll grab an R59 and play with it and see how it comes out.

Even without a decal, at least with the proper colors and reverse the +/- it at least will look the part.

:biggthumpup:

Edit: I think with a good picture of the original decal of the Y55, being the computer genius my wife is, I could enlist my wife to print something off that would be close and maybe complete the look.

Y59 was never used in a Camaro. It was R59.
All the info is here: http://www.camaros.org/underhood.shtml#Batteries

Finished. Made a correct Y55 topper and turned out really well.

Started with an R59 battery topper. Ended up being the correct size that works with the current modern offering of the reverse polarity battery. I switched the polarity designations with careful sanding and some JB weld. Repainted it and added the yellow accents. My wife is currently making a correct sticker for it based off a picture I have of an NOS Y55 battery.

Pretty happy with the results.

Just another update,

While my wife was working on making a Y55 decal, she stumbled upon a place that actually sells reproduction Y55 decals complete with warranty sticker, tag, and I guess what looks like yellow stickers for the caps and Delco script (I already painted mine) $9 I figure how easy is that? Saved her the trouble, so I ordered a set. See what that looks like when it gets here.