Thread: Battery Placement

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Anyone have any "trick" ideas on mounting my battery ? I plan to mount it on the passenger side, between the trunk and the interior compartment. You know hidden behind a wall there.
However I guess I'm going to have to have the mount fabricated by my welder. Due to the slant in the floor and all. Any good ideas or know of any companies that already do that ?
I mean nice ones that accomidate the slant as well.

Thanks

Originally posted by rocknrod
Anyone have any "trick" ideas on mounting my battery ? I plan to mount it on the passenger side, between the trunk and the interior compartment. You know hidden behind a wall there.
However I guess I'm going to have to have the mount fabricated by my welder. Due to the slant in the floor and all. Any good ideas or know of any companies that already do that ?
I mean nice ones that accomidate the slant as well.

Thanks

If your mounting it anywhere other than under the hood, make sure it is in a sealed box that is vented to the outside of the vehicle so you don't get acid fumes in the "person" compartment.

The fuel tank on my 'benz is in the placement you want for your battery, Get an Optima cause there spill proof. Get a Battery box, weld or bolt it in then, stick your battery in and run vent lines if need be.

A few things.

Below is a pick of a battery "box" I did for the '36 roadster. I took a readily available aftermarket base that comes with the "J" hooks and band that goes across the top of the batt. Because of the small size of the batt I use (info later) I cut down the length and then welded on a couple pieces of angle at either end that then is drilled for mounting bolts to secure it to the floor. This is mounted in an area that will be "boxed" off and lidded (hinged) and vented, then covered with carpet.

The battery is an Odyssey, dry cell. I prefer them to the Optima because they are smaller, and, in my and friend's experience, they last longer than the Optima. Being a dry cell they have all of the supposed advantages of the Optima. Size is the other advantage. The footprint is 7" X 6.5", and, depending on what style of cable/clamp you use, they will fit under 6" heigth. I use the PC 925, here are specs; http://www.odysseyfactory.com/specs.htm

As for your car. There are several things to consider. One is having a flat floor. It looks better, and is easier to upholster. I'm not familiar with your body, but there must be some support pieces at the sides to reinforce the upper quarter panels, and the wheel house areas. They are either wood or steel tubing, perhaps a mixture of the two. What I usually do is use thin angle material (typically aluminum has good strenght for thickness), mount it to the side braces as low as practical to make a flat floor and not sacrifice too much space. Leave room for insulation of choice. As you get toward the passenger compartment (going toward the front) you can build in a "step down". This can either be done with the side braces, or you can bond a "brace" to the floor (2x2 or 2x4 lumber, depending on floor contour) For the flooring I use 1/2", high density fibre board (glues and screws together nicely). You can form a pocket for the battery, but still have some form of hold down, and leave enough room to get your hands around the battery for removal.

For my 32 roadster I made up a box with a lid on it and bolted it to the floor right in the center of the trunk behind the seat. My bulkhead behind the seat has a notch cut out of it for the box and the box is set into this notch so it takes up less usable space. Works fine and that's how I'm going to do it in my coupe as well.

Bob ; The Odyssey Battery you mentioned sounds interesting, I was also going to the Optima, what did this Battery cost you , and are they reddily available, or do you have to go thru the Mfg. ? Can it be mounted in any position like the Optima ?
Thanks Ski

I was using the Optima battery for a while. After it quit on me, ie drained and wouldnt hold a charge, I purchased a NAPA dry cell unit. WOW am I sold on that product. Sold, case closed ! closed minded. finished, don't try and change my mind. la - la - la - la - la -la, nobodies listening

Tim, been gone for several days so just getting caught up.

Take the link above to their site, then click the "Where to buy" internal link........they list 30+ dealers in Florida. Also, it wouldn't surprise me if they made the ones for NAPA that rocknrod referenced, so a check with your local NAPA store might be in order. As for your mounting question, I wouldn't want to guarantee anything on that. I always mount them in the "normal" position. I don't see any reference on their site as to this question. Since it's a drycell, it would seem that you would have some options, but there may be other factors than just leakage to consider. Considering that they're almost equal in dimension in all directions I'm not sure there'd much much benefit there. I would suggest you write them directly for an answer, or contact one of the local dealers to see if they know. It's been a while since I bought my last one, but if I recall it was somewhere around $139.00.