47-55.1 Firewall battery tray passenger side.

[suburban99]

Looking at mounting the battery on the firewall passenger side. Can I still use the stock heater holes for the hoses etc? What battery tray works best from your experience..thanks.

[Tempest67]

I picked up a full size battery tray at a swap meet and cut it into my inner fender so I could use the firewall for my heater hoses.

[leegreen]

I'd sort out your heater before you decide. The standard and deluxe heaters use different holes for hoses and the deluxe heater motor protrudes through that big round hole.

I found a 12V heater fan that was an easy replacement for the deluxe heater motor and does not need to protrude (TYC 700085 for Nissan Maxima was $14 from amazon when I bought it ) and a Jeep CJ heater core which required major rework to heater box but also moved the hose connections outside the firewall.

Then I bent up a battery tray to mount on firewall. Here is what mine looks like. Looks like you would need to go higher and more to pass side to clear the LS truck intake and coils.

[mr48chev]

NO NO NO along with being ugly as a bit zit on a redhead's nose that just adds clutter to the engine compartment. Ok if it is a work truck that you never open the hood on for show and tell but who wants that ugliness hanging there over your engine.

I thought I had to have that on my 48 way back in the 70's and first thing that happened is that crud from the battery got on my Weiand finned aluminum valve cover and messed it up. Never again.

[_Ogre]

Mr48 has spoken :-)

The 55-59 crowd hides them and the 47-55 crowd exposes them ;-)

[leegreen]

So he has

But my truck, my sweat and money, my way. I have purposely made some decisions that lean towards daily driver and away from show car. I know I'll only enjoy this thing if I use it and I'll only use it if it is reliable and it will only stay reliable if I make it easy to work on.

So engine bay mounted battery it is. Then there two choices I see, firewall near heater or inner fender as tempest did. One of the reasons I chose firewall was to leave option for mounting an ECU under the battery box in future if I ditch the carb for EFI.

I don't expect my battery to leak and I'd rather see it if it does. The worst battery messes I have seen were the batteries that are out of sight - under rear seat, under floor or under some plastic covered box.

[mr48chev]

I had my battery there in the early 80's after I subframed the truck. To each his own but I just flat don't like excess clutter in the engine compartment.

My plan right now is to run a group 79 battery like the one my old 2000 Cad DTS had under the back seat back in the area where the Tank goes on 49 and later. 12=1/16 long, 7-3/8 high and 7-1/16 wide. That battery has provisions to vent it under the vehicle it is in. There are a few other similar batteries out there that work the same way that have good amp ratings. I'm going to build a box back there for speakers and storage anyhow so a spot for the battery isn't hard to do.

[dsraven]

if an underhood battery is what you want, and you are afraid of an acid leak, you could try an optima battery, they are sealed and can even mount on their sides if needed. it shouldn't leak.
if firewall mounting ensure you brace the backside of the firewall in order to support the weight and not cause flex.
if fender mounting ensure you have enough wheel clearance at full jounce.

[Tempest67]

I really don't like the look of the battery under the hood either, but access to the battery was more important.

You need to decide between form and function, and I chose function.

[youngrodder]

I mounted a drop down battery box on the passenger side frame rail close to the original location. I then recently mounted some remote battery posts to the inside of the engine bay down low that I can access to charge or jump it easily. I can supply pictures of the remote posts if people are interested.

My last truck had the battery in the same location. No issues.

Marc

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

I mounted a drop down battery box on the passenger side frame rail close to the original location. I then recently mounted some remote battery posts to the inside of the engine bay down low that I can access to charge or jump it easily. I can supply pictures of that remote posts if people are interested.

My last truck had the battery in the same location. No issues.

Marc

Now, that is the best of both worlds!!!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Now, that is the best of both worlds!!!

Thanks. The Suburban is bagged and the battery would be trapped if I was aired out and I had a total loss of power. I always try to plan for what if's.

Marc

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

I really don't like the look of the battery under the hood either, but access to the battery was more important.

You need to decide between form and function, and I chose function.

me too. i like having it close to where its being used, voltage drop and resistance at connections is a real thing. and i like having systems stuff all centrally located too, with careful planning you can get everything you need under the hood, no laying on the floor or pulling up carpet to check various things, and by the way there is nothing wrong with that if thats what you want to do.

[nvrdone]

hey young rodder: how about some pictures and info on the remote battery posts? Thanks

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

hey young rodder: how about some pictures and info on the remote battery posts? Thanks

I started with these posts from Summit
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/qcr-57-703

I then made a simple bracket and attached the bracket to the flange of the passenger side inner fender. just in front of the toe boards. I wanted a clean out of the way solution.

Marc

[nvrdone]

so it look like the cable hooks to the back of the post and the rubber washers insulate the posts from the body. then cables to pos & neg battery posts. do I have that right?

[dsraven]

they are available as singles, red or black, or as a set mounted to a bracket or individually. some have a round terminal for booster cable connection. some have a hex terminal. some different styled ones have threaded ends on both sides of the mount and have a couple of bolts to hold them to a panel. some look like the booster cable pic but have threaded ends on both sides, like a bulkhead connector. most fit into a hole and are held with a star washer and nut on the backside and they are insulated against the mounting panel. here is a link from summit that will show a pic.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g1430
and another style
https://www.painlessperformance.com/wc/40106

[_Ogre]

'star washer' looks like they used a conduit lock nut on the summit QuickCar brand
i need to add them to 58TRUK since i have the batt behind the seat

[MiraclePieCo]

I got a cheap generic battery tray, replaced the stock firewall sheetmetal with heavier 16g, and mounted the battery far enough up and in to accommodate heater hoses - which I never got around to installing. The guy who bought my truck did eventually install a Vintage Air unit.