IcemanZ06

While swapping out the battery in my 72 I noticed the battery was being held in place by a 2x4 and a piece of styrafoam. Since very little of this car hasn't been "bubba'd" I'm looking for a nice picture of the way the battery compartment should appear.

Also, did these cars come with a holddown of some sort? When I remove everything I can see two holes in the bottom of the compartment that I can see the ground through. Should there be some sort of plug?

Any pics would help. I'd like to fix up as much as I can.

Thanks

Brooklinite

Towards the front of the batt compartment there should be a metal bracket that catches the lip on the bottom of the battery. I appears to be rivetted in place(?). To the rear of the compartment (behind the battery) there should be a threaded hole in the middle. There's a hold-down bracket that also catches the lip on the bottom of the battery and gets bolted down via this hole.

Backstop

Mine is like that too (a 73) it does not look right to me either.

hwcoop

Those brackets can be purchase from the vendors and riveted in place.
Back in the old days (60's & 70's) before maintenance free batteries they had 2 vent tubes that ran down and exited underneath the battery
I think there was also a hole with a rubber plug in the center

Paul L

You are correct!

IcemanZ06

thanks so much, that answered everything I was wondering.

One last thing: where does your ground cable attach in your cars? Mine is attached next to the front reinforcement so it's in the way of the battery. Where SHOULD it be grounded?

Paul L

This pic shows the two vent tube holes, the center drain with hollow rubber grommet, the rivetted front reinforcement plate, and the frame ground (complete with di-electric grease).

70Yellowbird

I don't believe I'll use them again in my '70, but here's a pic of the original vented cell caps.

gq82

A pic of my reproduction battery w/vent cap and tubes.

70Yellowbird

I like it ... nice job!

Dream Ride

Great pics. I had totally forgotten about battery drain tubes other than on my HD. Gettin spoiled over the years I guess.