Relocated the battery

Today I relocated the battery to the front. It's now under the hood on the passenger side, very close to the starter... since I removed my AC there's a lot of room on the passenger side... all I had to do was come up with some sort of support structure for the tray and the battery. I am not proud of these welds. It's really difficult to weld down there when you can't see what you're doing.



.
.
This is one of those $6 trays from Auto Zone... had to cut a few inches to make it fit but I think it looks pretty good for $6....



.
.
Tomorrow AM I'll fab the battery hold-down bracket and secure the battery with two 5/16 threaded rods and a solid brace across the top. More pics to come.... stay tuned....

Okay. I'll ask it first. Why?

I'll be 2nd WHY? Would have been better for weight distribution if you moved it from the dr. to the pass side storage box.

Twin_Turbo said:

I'll be 2nd WHY? Would have been better for weight distribution if you moved it from the dr. to the pass side storage box.

Click to expand...

I agree, have been tempted to do that myself, but there is so much tools and shit in there, the weight is about equal now....

:crap:

Why ? Several reasons...
The cable from the battery to the starter needed to be replaced and once I had that cable removed I decided I did not want to run the new cable in the tunnel (PITA).
From the new location it's easy to run the + cable thru the firewall to a kill switch under the dash.
I have better use for the storage compartment: I'll compensate for some of the weight with my amplifier and two 10" subs

With all the weight removed from the front (aluminum heads/intake/AC delete/no tranny cooler/lighter hood) I believe the additional weight of the battery is ok.

Ok I am confused.

I agree with you 100% on moving the battery upfront, it is a pain in the ass when you have to do anything to the battery and it is behind the driver seat.

And as far as the weight distrubition goes, who cares. Unless you are racing on the street, drag or a course, its not a big deal.


Just think of when you pick up a fat chick in your car. Do you tell her Baby, you are messing with the weight distribution of my car........slide over closer to me!!!


Ok now to my question. I am looking at the pics you posted. How do you get heat or cool air in your car when you have no blower motor???? I dont even see heater core hoses??
And what did you do with the wires from the heater resistor that were in the old airduct plenum that you obviously eliminated?:suspicious::suspicious:

jsssgrl1209 said:

Just think of when you pick up a fat chick in your car.

Click to expand...

Why would you do this?

Lol

HA HA HA it was to get a point across with a ~~~~TWIST~~~~

besides Fat is where its AT, Thin is where its Been!!

jsssgrl1209 said:

How do you get heat or cool air in your car when you have no blower motor???? I dont even see heater core hoses??
And what did you do with the wires from the heater resistor that were in the old airduct plenum that you obviously eliminated?:suspicious::suspicious:

Click to expand...

Well... in Florida we don't really need a heater

I removed everything heater and AC related because it did not work anyways...the heater core was leaking, all AC components were shot, compressor was missing ... it's very clean under the dash now

Done....



.
.


.

jsssgrl1209 said:

...............................


Just think of when you pick up a fat chick in your car. Do you tell her Baby, you are messing with the weight distribution of my car........slide over closer to me!!!


...............................

Click to expand...

At the risk of being mistaken for one of VM's beloved characters, may I take this thread in a completely different direction and relate a story that happend to me in my early twenties? I was living in Alaska at the time, and one winter day a buddy and I were driving around in my winter car, a '67 Nova 4door (the Corvette was in storage). Being pretty poor at the time, I couldn't afford to buy new (14") snow tires, so I borrowed a set 15" snow tires and wheels. Due to the significant difference in tire diameter, there was reduced clearances in the rear wheelwells. This was so far not a problem, until we ran into a (very heavy female) former classmate who asked for a ride across town. She got in through the right rear door, and we proceeded on our way. Lo and behold, soon the right rear tire starts rubbing on the top of the wheel well. I was picturing the studded tire chewing up the body metal, and had to do something about it. In my most diplomatic voice, I asked her if she would slide over to the center of the seat. While not telling her the exact reason for this request, she apparently figured it out anyway, and I got a look that matched the outside temperature that winter day. We proceeded down the street, but now with two rear tires rubbing occasionally. Thankfully the noise was less, and I figured the sheetmetal was thick enough to last the duration at this trip, so I decided to just keep my mouth shut and drive. Thankfully it was a small town, and the remainder of the trip went quickly, although with a minimum of conversation I recall. :amused:

Gene is rubbing off on you LOL

Nice work Karsten, I hate the battery behind the damn seat. I have an old guitar strap underneath the battery so I can lift it out if/when I need to - PITA to lift the damn thing out from where it is now...

Two's In!

I LIKE the move!
My a/c is out too and have been eyeing the same space.

For all the other folks -- if you want to run a bigger alternator for all those HUNGRY loads, eg fans, pumps, etc, they all take heavier gauge wires -- to the battery.
Longer runs to the cockpit (either side) are weight you'll wish you didn't have. Plus a shorter run to the starter is an added bennie. AND, if you gotta get -- or give a jump -- guess what -- the battery is under the hood -- no more windows down in the pouring rain!

Oh yeah -- I recall a fire in the back seat of my VW in college - battery in the old Big was under that one too. --

Shorter cable runs (less weight) pay off a lot -- been down that track more than once on boats -- and the weights can be very significant.

Cheers - Jim

Twin_Turbo said:

Gene is rubbing off on you LOL

Click to expand...

I missed that shot, thanks a LOT, first time round, that is....

:3rd::nuts: