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Do you have any pics of the alternator wire connection point? I'm pretty much copied your set up, very easy so far. I purchased a battery bracket that fits in the same compartment but used a D51 optima instead.
First picture shows the engine compartment side of the bulkhead pass through in the firewall. Cable runs directly from the alternator to the pass through.
First picture shows the engine compartment side of the bulkhead pass through in the firewall. Cable runs directly from the alternator to the pass through.
How much smaller is the D51 battery?
D35 Red Top Length, 9.38 IN ; Width, 6.75 IN ; Height, 7.69 IN 31.9 lbs Thats what you used, right?
D51 Yellow Top Length, 9.31 IN ; Width, 5.06 IN ; Height, 8.94 IN 26 lbs
It's a bit taller than the D35 but I'm putting it in a C5Z so I don't have a Lid on my compartment.
Using a Ballistic Fabrications battery box, it just Fits in the compartment. I'm goin to have to shim it up to fit over the unlevel floor. Haven't figured out how its going to mount up exactly let. I'll post pics once I get there.
Last edited by Frankie_Fingaz; Mar 29, 2023 at 06:22 PM.
Couple of questions as I was thinking of relocating my battery as well...my reasons were pretty much the same as yours. I added a SC which adds like another 100 pounds or so to the front, plus my traction is now worse because of the SC....Is there a reason you went with a side compartment and not the center one? I figure it would keep things more equal in the back and more weight above both wheels, even though the amount of weight is no too much....second question, if there is a concern about the mounting to the fiberglass, did you consider going with a braille battery at 17 to 21 pounds depending on type or even a lithium? Or do you prefer the 39 pounds optima? I know the 75/25 is 33 pounds but that would be splitting hairs...either way, I think it was a very good job you did..
Is there a reason you went with a side compartment and not the center one?
2 reasons:
- When I did the relocation, I used the center compartment for storage (ie: groceries/shopping/trips/etc.) so I really didn't want to lose the center.
- Eventually I plan to convert to a C6 style straight through exhaust, which means deleting the center storage.
Originally Posted by tabbruzz
I figure it would keep things more equal in the back and more weight above both wheels, even though the amount of weight is no too much
Yes, it would be more centered in weight, but arguably most of the time I'm driving solo so I could also make an argument that having the battery on the right rear offsets the driver's weight on the left side. Does it matter? Probably not either way. In drag racing, everyone always put the battery in the right rear for traction (I'm not drag racing but just another point of where my perspective comes from).
Originally Posted by tabbruzz
second question, if there is a concern about the mounting to the fiberglass, did you consider going with a braille battery at 17 to 21 pounds depending on type or even a lithium? Or do you prefer the 39 pounds optima? I know the 75/25 is 33 pounds but that would be splitting hairs...either way, I think it was a very good job you did..
- I've had it this way for several years now without any issues. Ultimately I'd still like to reinforce under the fiberglass with a metal tray, but I have yet to find time where life will allow me to invest into that project. Keep in mind, the C2 and C3 corvettes had their battery behind the driver's seat in a fiberglass well without any reinforcement and they are still out there working fine. *shrug*
- I wanted the full size battery because I didn't want to deal with the issues of limited cranking and storage capacity. I've had light weight/motorcycle batteries in vehicles before and it isn't worth the trouble to me.
- I was not interested in paying the price for a lithium battery. An Optima is expensive enough. I'm not racing, so I don't care about the added weight.
Originally Posted by tabbruzz
..either way, I think it was a very good job you did..
Thanks. I posted it because everyone talks about doing this mod, but either nobody ever does it or they don't bother to post anything on how they did it. I had to 100% wing it so this was my way.
2 reasons:
- When I did the relocation, I used the center compartment for storage (ie: groceries/shopping/trips/etc.) so I really didn't want to lose the center.
- Eventually I plan to convert to a C6 style straight through exhaust, which means deleting the center storage.
Yes, it would be more centered in weight, but arguably most of the time I'm driving solo so I could also make an argument that having the battery on the right rear offsets the driver's weight on the left side. Does it matter? Probably not either way. In drag racing, everyone always put the battery in the right rear for traction (I'm not drag racing but just another point of where my perspective comes from).
- I've had it this way for several years now without any issues. Ultimately I'd still like to reinforce under the fiberglass with a metal tray, but I have yet to find time where life will allow me to invest into that project. Keep in mind, the C2 and C3 corvettes had their battery behind the driver's seat in a fiberglass well without any reinforcement and they are still out there working fine. *shrug*
- I wanted the full size battery because I didn't want to deal with the issues of limited cranking and storage capacity. I've had light weight/motorcycle batteries in vehicles before and it isn't worth the trouble to me.
- I was not interested in paying the price for a lithium battery. An Optima is expensive enough. I'm not racing, so I don't care about the added weight.
Thanks. I posted it because everyone talks about doing this mod, but either nobody ever does it or they don't bother to post anything on how they did it. I had to 100% wing it so this was my way.
Thanks for all the answers...Makes perfect sense....
You would be MUCH BETTER off just replacing the battery with a Lithium battery. 1/3 the weight and size, twice the power, and you'd not have to "relocate" anything.
You would be MUCH BETTER off just replacing the battery with a Lithium battery. 1/3 the weight and size, twice the power, and you'd not have to "relocate" anything.
That’s your opinion and you know what they say about opinions…
I chose to keep the battery up front but went with a power sports battery for simplicity and a weight reduction.
I'm also not a fan of weight behind the axle (if you're not on a race track though, it really doesn't matter), but I am curious from a fab standpoint if you ever dropped that battery and added that aluminum you mentioned in the first post?
You would be MUCH BETTER off just replacing the battery with a Lithium battery. 1/3 the weight and size, twice the power, and you'd not have to "relocate" anything.
In the process of pulling all necessary parts together to do this to a friends car. Has anyone put a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery? If so, what current rating did you use?
I don't want to do this install without using some kind of inline fuse at the battery.
