Yes, when I got my halftrack it was running fine with a regular car battery. Then I got an 8D battery and ran it for several years with that. Just a month ago I needed to get another new battery and I went back to a regular battery. Since it is enclosed in the battery box, unless you are making it 100% correct, you don't need an 8D battery if you don't want to get it. I think of my self as a rather strong guy and that 8D battery is pretty heavy, 120 lbs.
A friend told me about a trick he has done for in the cases where his batteries are exposed. He has emptied out the guts for the 8D battery and hid the regular car battery inside it. He also made up some leads to the terminals to make it all work right.
