Boot Mounted Battery

[Duk]

I'm moving the battery from the engine bay to (more than likely) the boot. Has anybody else done this with their TA cars (apart from GTV6 owners  )  .
Then there is the size of cable required and where I can route it through the cabin and out of the fire wall  
I thought I saw somewhere that the 164 uses a boot mounted battery as well, with a proper battery restraint/mount  .

The other place I thought of was under the rear seat on the left hand side, but I'm not entirely sure I want to cut that big a hole in my car  .

[JOHN G]

Have you seen these?

Relocation kit.

John

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Some advice on cable thickness, and some other tips....  http://autospeed.com/cms/title_Relocating-the-Battery/A_110776/article.html

I'll be doing the same thing in the near future, but for the track slag so I'll run it through the interior, under the car may be easier for a road car though?

[JOHN G]

Here one to look at Jess over on the BB.com

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/milano-75-1987-1989/27358-roxanne-budget-milano-75-track-car-3.html

John

[Storm_X]

Im putting the battery in the boot of my giulietta and i just bought 4m of battery cable @ $20 a meter.

I was going to use the thick earth cable of a mig welder,witch i wish i did now with the price i payed at the shop.

[david sammartino]

From  memory, chowder boy is correct about the gtv cable location, but in the past, and esp in a 75, ive managed to run it under  the passenger side carpet along the doors. Its easy, fits nicely, out of the way if done correctly fast to do.

Just pull the glove box out, carefully drill a hole in the firewall and size it to a gromet and run the cable throught there as per a factory jobbie.
Storm, in your giulli ive done the same job and mounted the battery in the boot, just dont do the tyre well thing as ive seen before as then where would you put your spare tyre lol

Either cut a hole in the floor and make a recessed box as per gtv6, or just mount it floor level in a nice corner of the boot, we are not formula 1 here, and if anyone can feel the difference in handling with an extra 10 kilos high up, ill give them a drive of my race car lmao

[Duk]

Cheers guys 

[john m]

If the batt is in the car it will need to be a dry-cell so you are aware.


Mick,

I am interested in this issue, can you give me a reference for further information.

Thanks in advance
John

[shiny_car]

Sorry to dig up an old thread.  

In Victoria, can someone advise whether an 'engineering certificate' or similar is required if the battery is relocated to the boot (for a road-registered vehicle)?

I will be using an Optima Yellow Top battery, 0awg wire, fused appropriately.

TIA

[Anthony Miller]

I didn't need one when I registered my twin spark giulli with boot mounted batt

[colcol]

I was talking to an airconditioner installer about this about 25 years ago, and he said the battery's were relocated to the boot by him, because the under bonnet temperatures cook the battery and get in the way of the airconditioner installation, the racers put the battery in the boot for better weight distribution, i was talking to a GM engineer when the VE Commodore came out, and he said the battery in the Commodore is in the boot for better crash ability, and it was a big engineering decision, as it added about $25 to every car sold, so there, Colin.

[shiny_car]

Thanks guys. I was wanting to do it for reasons of weight distribution. Shifting a 20kg battery from front to rear is of course the equivalent to a 40kg shift, which is a fair whack.

But I also don't wish to bin the AC or PS.  I like my 'luxuries' too.

[john m]

Shiny,
I know you always do good work, so I trust you wil use a battery box with a steel tray bolted through the floor with body washers and a clamp on the top of the cell. The box will protect the terminals from those long forgotten metal shaft golf clubs lying on the boot floor. BTW I've just fitted one of those green knob battery "dis-car-nect" isolators on my 2.5, a five minute job and useful on infrequently driven cars. 

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Good question Shiny, and one I hadn't considered.  Insurance companies might have an interesting view on the matter too, considering what could go wrong.  And, if it was in a box would it need to be vented, or is that just a track requirement?

[shiny_car]

I trust you wil use a battery box with a steel tray bolted through the floor with body washers and a clamp on the top of the cell.

Cheers. Yeah, I'm looking into Optima battery specific clamps, and a battery box suitably large to fit the clamp inside. The baseplate will be bolted through the box and through the floor. All wires will pass through grommets fitted into holes suitably drilled into the side of the box. Groundwire(s) bolted to the chassis nearby; 0awg powerwire passed up the passenger side inside the cabin (rather than externally) with new hole/grommet in the firewall.

Good question Shiny, and one I hadn't considered.  Insurance companies might have an interesting view on the matter too, considering what could go wrong.  And, if it was in a box would it need to be vented, or is that just a track requirement?

I believe there is a blanket rule that the 'sealed' battery box needs to be vented to the outside (via a tube). I don't think there's sub-regulations for sealed batteries or gel cells that don't vent gas; no big deal to add a ventilation tube.