For years I’ve fought the side-post battery bolts on my ‘73 BB coupe. Now I think just maybe some PO had cut the cables and put the battery in backwards? Mine is oriented so the terminals face forward with the positive inboard and the negative outboard. Which makes no sense, as there’s barely enough room to get a wrench on the terminals. But if the terminals faced the rear, which would obviously require longer cables than what is in there, removing and replacing the cables on the terminals would be easy.

So has my battery been in backwards all these years? If so, would the long-enough cables wrap around the front of the battery or travel down each side and cross in the back? Or is this just the way GM decided it should be?

Thanks.

 

Battery terminals face the rear of the car. I had a 73 that i bought new & sold it a couple of years ago

 

Thank You! That sure explains a lot. Now I just have to figure out if changing the positive cable is in the cards with the TH400 in place. If you can remember, was the positive terminal on the inboard or outboard side? I’m guessing outboard since I’ve replaced this battery a few times over the years and have always received the same one. Do the cables run down each side of the battery then cross over behind it?

 

Don't remember all i remember is they faced to the rear.

 

Okay. Thank you. I guess if I buy a set of reproduction cables the routing may be obvious once I see the length. I’m just happy to finally have the car back in a condition where these small things are what I can worry about.

 

The terminals face the back with the positive closer to the wheel. The + cable comes up from the lower left of the well and runs behind the battery to the terminal from left to right.

 

Perfect. Thank you.

 

So sounds like someone put the wrong battery in the car at some point.
You can purchase a new battery with the terminals on the opposite sides - FAR easier and likely less expensive than modifying the cables to fit your current battery.

 

Right battery in there. Just too
short on the cables. I’ve got about 20’ of heavy cable so I’ll probably just make myself some new ones.

 

All batteries can be purchased with the +/- terminals at either end of the battery. You just need to specify which way you need them on the battery you are buying. If you go to some yay-hoo at a car parts store and they don't know what you are asking, turn around and go to Wal-Mart. They have them in stock, whichever way you need them, are the best price with the best warranty AND you can get warranty coverage anywhere in the US if you are away from home.

 

Yeah: but after checking various charts I can say with certainty that I do have the correct battery. If whomever cut the cables short had left just a bit more there it might be worth buying a battery with the terminals on the other sides. But sadly, the cables are short enough that they won’t even reach the back side of the battery box. So if I’m going to do it I figure that I’ll do it right so some future owner doesn’t have to wonder why the “correct” battery isn’t right. Or worse yet, hook up the correct battery backwards. Luckily I found my old stash of bulk cable so making new ones will be the easy part.

 

You could always splice-in the proper length and type of cable you need to the 'stubs' you were given...........

 

I COULD, but my OCD would never allow it.

 

Sounds more like a case of CDO {That's what you call it for an OCD person who MUST have acronyms in alphabetic order.....]

 

Well the original cables are plenty long.
So you must have some aftermarket connectors on them now.
I'd suggest that the negative cable is pretty easy to replace.
Have you checked below the car to see if there's any remaining slack in the cables that you could pull into the battery box?
Wonder why anyone would cut them down.

 

Correct. Aftermarket screw-on terminals on both cables. The positive is black and of a really heavy gauge. Definitely not original. And definitely no slack under the car. The engine has been rebuilt to be quite a bit more powerful than the anemic 454 Chevrolet provided (was forced by the government to provide) in 1973 and the transmission shifts firmer than stock. If I had to guess, I’d say that when the engine and transmission were out someone built a new cable set but ended up saving a few $$$ by going on the short side.

Again; luckily I have about 20’ of nice heavy gauge red cable that has been taking up room in a drawer for way too many years. I can make myself the proper positive cable out of that then use what’s in there to make a new negative cable. The fun part will be getting the car in the air and trying to properly route and secure the new positive cable. My back is already on fire from spending yesterday pulling a cheap stereo, an amplifier, and subwoofer box out of the back of this car. The guy I sold it to back in 2011 put that all in. Nice addition, but I lost all of my rear storage space and I’d rather have a place to put my T-tops than have huge speakers. Ever since buying this car the first time I’ve never had the urge to listen to the radio in it.

 

Wow I never knew the battery in my 73 was in backwards as well. Always wondered by the cables were kind of wonky, ha!