moondoggy200

Hello to all, is there any harm in replacing a side mount battery with a top post battery, thats in a 1974 vette, the little box behind the Driver seat makes it so hard to get the battery out and the side mounts make it crazy to get jumper cables on the side post or charger clamps on the side mounts.You all have been a great source for sound advice thanks in advance.any tips on how to lift the battery up and out of the Little box. Rich outtttt.

MN80Vette

I have a top post Optima battery in my '80. It fits just fine.

oldalaskaman

side post batteries were originally designed cause gm was shipping cars standing on the rear bumper, on train cars, never saw any vettes shipped that way, but the design stayed around. any battery you like will work, with the cable end change of course,hope this helps
they also make a clamp that uses the batteries weight to pull the clamp together and enable lifting the battery with one hand
hope this helps
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&s...,r:7,s:0,i:102

dpw21562

Optima top post here also

Vette5.5

Actually, top terminal batteries are better, as side terminal battteries tend to leak over time, and GM no longer uses them. You can totally convert to top terminal, or just about everybody makes dual top/side batteries. I got mine as the Advance Auto parts house brand. Also, the pictured battery carrier is a Kastar B-600(which I have), and a very handy tool, at about $20 bucks.

L88Plus

The only drawback of top posters is that as the top of the battery gathers dust, debris, moisture, etc., the surface becomes conductive. Do a net seach, I saw a demo once where they showed how much battery drain can be attributed to this. The solution is simple, keep the top of your battery clean. I'm going to go with an Optima top post in my 'vette.

ezobens

Introduction of side posts and shipping cars on end were unrelated.
The only cars I recall that were shipped on end were Vega's and they had a special battery with the fill/vent caps located towards the front end of the battery top to prevent the acid from spilling out when on end. Post location is irrelevant for this exercise.
GM's big idea for the side posts was that they allegedly would never corrode and the 'contact' area for the electrical connection was supposedly larger than with a top post. Years later, they figured out it was a bigger headache than anything else..

Side terminals are just junk on so many levels that I replace every one with a top post if/when I replace the battery cables.

pltmgr

I have had several side posts break/leak. Never had this issue with top post.

Paul L

You can have both. No harm in using the top posts but the cable ends will have to be changed as noted by ezo. The side posts could then be used for accessories such as a stereo amplifier. I have not had any problems with the side posts.

oldalaskaman

vegas were shipped 'nose down' grasshopper, but you're probably right , I was doing things in alaska in those days and didnt pay alot of attention to what went on down here, excellent tech>

ezobens

I knew it was one end or the other.
As much as I hate to admit it, the Vega was my first car (72' GT with the Opel 4-speed) so some of the quirkiness still haunts me after all these years..
I'd probably still have one today if they didn't rust out from under you- They were fun cars when they ran!

my 76 ray

You need to get a '76 Vette. That way you'll have the Vega steering wheel.