We decided to put the battery in the trunk of our roadster of course. I got a fresh 1" x 12" pine board and built up a simple slab sided box with a simple lid. Put togeather with counter sunk sheet rock screws. Drilled a few 1.5" "air holes in the sides" for looks and hung a regular barn door handle on the end. Ya can grab that handle and pull the box & battery out of the trunk corner to pick it up or peek at the battery. Put a couple of lunch box latches on the lid. The box is about 2-2.5" larger than the dimensions of the battery - wish I had made it smaller. Maby just 1" larger than the battery. Drilled two holes in the back of the box and routed the cables through. I think it looks the part - not "street roddy". Might not finish the box but let it weather or maby rub some K-Y jelly on it - oops! I mean motor oil...
Used a Taylor aluminum box in my '57. Not "billity", and came with hardware, grommets, cables, etc... I'm running an Optima battery so venting isn't an issue, it is gonna look cool with louvers, pinstripes, or both! Sorry no pix, I'm really inept at posting pix. One day the wife will teach me how.
Made this for my 37. It bolts to the inside of the frame rails and is accessed thru a door in the truck bed floor.
Constructed from 1/2" x 1" rect tubing. Aluminum heat shields on two sides due to the close muffler. Hung in front of the rear axle on the right side. Weight's down low where it can do some good. Easy to remove by pulling four bolts.
i was thinking about putting my battery in the trunk. my gas tank filler is in the trunk also. i've been reluctant to do so because i'm worried about gas fumes and the battery in a small confined space. is there any reason to be concerned about that? i wanted to strap the battery down in a tray i made, but should it go in a box?
If you are anal about using parts that are old like me, search out a 49-51 Ford battery box. Probably cheaper than a modern box and kind of cool looking with the louvers on the end.
Anybody have pics of the Original '35-36 Ford setup??? My appears to be missing and I would like to contruct another in the original location which is under the floor on the drivers side.
Let's see some more pics. I'm getting ready to mount mine under my pickup bed. Not sure where yet, since I'm gonna be moving my gas tank back there soon, I gotta make sure I allow for that also.
The '49-'51 Ford tray is a cool idea, I picked up one at a swap meet even though I don't have a '49-'51 Ford... I have a related question - on '33 and later Fords (or similar cars) without flat firewalls, I have seen lots of pictures of cars hot rodded in the 50's and 60's with the firewalls modified to hold the battery. Like this: (apologies, I don't remember where I collected this picture) You do not seem to see this in (m)any "show rods" of the day but I have seen it a few times in my collection of magazines from the period and on a fair number of survivors and old bodies (I have a directory full of pictures like this for ideas) My theory is that more everyday (low buck, non-magazine) hot rods from the period might have done that or circle track cars but not the high-end cars of the day. I'm (slowly) building a '34 coupe in a '60's style and thinking seriously about using a vintage battery (one of the repros with an AGM inside the old case) and mounting it like that. --steve
I went low tec and used a "Playmate" plastic cooler. Paid $12 at Target, drilled two holes for the cables, bolted it to the floor behind the seat in my 35 coupe,added breather grommets for the cable pass throughs the steel floor. Since I use Optima batteries, no need to vent. Just looks like my beer cooler is sitting behind the seat.
Maybe, if it's a non-Ford (I admit I can't identify that body shell) Here are some '34 Fords like I am describing (In the Fords, the stock battery location was under the driver below the floor): The second one definately looks like an old racer. I wonder what the rules were back then? They might have required battery relocation out from under the chassis. The kind of repro battery I am thinking about is something like this: http://www.restorationbattery.com/27fpowerpunch.html I think putting that kind of battery there in the engine compartment would be cool-functional and period correct. --steve
Back in the 70's, I made a neat looking box out of SS, complete with top & mounted it under passenger side seat, running the ground lead right to the SS box. One day while attemting to remove fully charged diehard battery from the box, my gold wedding ring came in contact with the positive lead & instantly turned RED HOT, exploding the skin underneath the ring!!----OUCH!!!--- A lesson learned the hard way! Now, after 58 years of marriage I have never worn another ring BUT I still have the white scarred "RING" on my finger! In 1995, they came out with the sealed batteries, this time I put one in the trunk inside a marine plastic box & ran the cables from that point. You never have to worry about acid spillage or refilling the cells, so it makes for a great improvement!!---Don
Steal away Mike..I'm sure I probably saw it somewhere before myself. I like to use things that have a meaning for me. I did have to brace the hell out of that toolbox to keep it in place. Don't forget to vent it.
The Jalopy Journal
