battery relocation

H

harryc

Senior Member
I am not an authenticity person. Having said that I am looking for some ideas on relocating my battery from under the floorboards to possibly the firewall, trunk, runningboards or even in front of the radiator like in a toolbox etc. Any ideas are appreciated --anyone have a picture of a bracket to mount it on the firewall--this used to be fairly common among " daily drivers" back in the 40's. thanks for suggestions
 
I will be the second to ask. Its out of the way, not exposed to the elements and relatively easy to service. It is away from metal parts that may be eaten away with acid.
When I first got my A two years ago, I used to ask I wonder why they designed it like that. After a short period of time i started to say "was this ever well designed " its logical and easy to work on.
Just my opinion

Gerry. Birch Bay WA
 
Last edited:
I've seen a few A's with the battery located in the engine compartment...but that looks really, really tacky.
 
Don’t put it in the trunk or far away from starter. Way too much voltage drop unless you use a one inch diameter cable.
 
I ran one years ago in the trunk with regular cables. No problems except for the rumble seat passengers foot space. However I am thinking seriously about the toolbox in front of the radiator. That just might do it
 
If you mount it on the firewall, after a year or so unless you weld up some bracing behind the holder the weight of the battery will crack & split the wall and then its a big mess..
 
Like post # 2 wrote, whats wrong with the location. Am I missing something, it seems to be a relatively simple task to pull the floor board off and replace or do what ever you have to do with the battery.
 
How often do you need to get to the battery anyway? IMO, moving it is not worth the effort. The original position is about as ideal as you can get - very close to the starter, on the side opposite the hot exhaust, where a good earth (ground) is available and out of the way.
Henry did a lot of things wrong with the Model A but this isn't one of them.
 
Snyder's among others makes a plate that allows you to just remove the battery side of the floorboard, a lot easier than doing the whole thing. Makes working on the battery an easy job without having to remove the trans plate and risking tearing the rubber mat.


FLOORBOARD REMOVAL PLATE
A-35149
28-31
 
49313967972_75e1932e6b_z.jpg
 
I would suggest leaving it right where it is.


You may want to consider an Optima Battery. They work better and last a lot longer than a lead acid wet cell battery.


You may also want to consider one of the kits for better access to the battery.


The last place I would put it is on the firewall.


My opinion,


Chris W.
 
Last edited:
CWPASADENA said:
I would suggest leaving it right where it is.


You may want to consider an Optima Battery. They work better and last a lot longer than a lead acid wet cell battery.


You may also want to consider one of the kits for better access to the battery.


The last place I would put it is on the firewall.


My opinion,


Chris W.
Click to expand...

Agree with the last place and leave it where it is but from what I have heard, Optima batteries are not what they used to be. It was only last week, I gave one of my cars a good service including checking the battery, which I hadn't done for several years. I looked for a date on the battery but found none so I got to thinking. It is physically a much smaller than usual and was in the car when I bought it 9 years ago. I have no idea how old it is but even at 9 years and not looked at for probably 5 years, IMO either I have an exceptionally good battery or we fuss too much over things like this. I might add that when I got the car delivered, someone had treid to start it and had no idea. Th elights were left turned on so the battery was dead flat and had been for months. Leaving a battery in that state does them no good at all but this one bounced back leaving me to guess that it wasn't very old so my best guess is that it is about 10 years old now.
Bottom line - leave it alone.
 
I moved my battery to the right side because my starter is on the right. It was a VERY simple project and it fit better then original. I made a snap in metal cover plate to service it without removing the floorboard.
 
Synchro909 said:
The lights were left turned on so the battery was dead flat and had been for months. Leaving a battery in that state does them no good at all but this one bounced back leaving me to guess that it wasn't very old so my best guess is that it is about 10 years old now.
Bottom line - leave it alone.
Click to expand...

Synchro, Is your battery an Optima or a lead/acid battery. Either way that is an excellent life span for a battery.
 
Last edited:
I would leave the battery where it is and either get a kit or neatly enlarge the access opening. I enlarged the access area and screwed in a metal plate over the hole and secured it with four screws... simple and effective allowing easy access.
 
The Master Cylinder said:
Synchro, Is your battery an Optima or a lead/acid battery. Either way that is an excellent life span for a battery.
Click to expand...


It is not uncommon for Optima batteries to last 10 years or more.


I have them in several of my cars and have had great success with them.


There was a period of time several years ago when Optima relocated their manufacturing facility that they had some quality control problems. They got that problem corrected and now once again, the batteries seem to be as good as ever.


My opinion,


Chris W.
 
I vote for leaving it under the floorboards. A pain to pull out but I got a battery picker-upper and other than the weight, the picker-upper makes it a lot easier.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top