Technical 1932 ford roadster/coupe where is your battery?

Right now mine is under the floor on the drivers side. I like it mounted there but it is in the way of the exhaust that I have going around it on the outside. Not too big a deal with fenders on but as a hiboy it looks bad. Not enough room under the seat and I hate to put it in the trunk but that looks like the only place for it. Anyone using the new sealed batteries that can mount in any position?

 

Mine's in the trunk, right behind the seat. Still plenty of room back there for the cooler!!

 

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A 49-51 Ford Shoe box battery box bolted to the back of the K member on the pass side. The exhaust runs back near the torque tube between the K member drop and this box. The long distance picture shows that it does not stick down too far. The box and location came on a 2dr sedan that I once had that was built in the 50s. It took me a while to figure out what the box came on. I keep one in stock now. You can't order one with a credit card. I dig the louvers too.

 

On My '32, an Optima battery is mounted behind the seat, in a vented box, along side a custom 18 gal. gas tank. This provides shelf space for the Rod Top, car cover, etc, and allows for a nice sized trunk area that can hold the top irons, cooler (important!), cleaning stuff, hood tops, 2 bag chairs, and more.

 

Ditto. I have a rumble seat there now, but plan to take that out and sell the cushions. I need the space.

Murph

 

I never thought of squeezing the top irons in there...I guess they fit...Hmmmm

 

Mine is in the open area behind the seat - here is a pic ....

 

Mine is under the drivers side floor right where Henry thought best.

Frank

 

That's where mine is now. What did you do with the exhaust on that side?

 

Heres mine!

 

Mines in the cab behind the bench on the passenger side, wiring harness is behind me. Made life easy. All the tools and other shit fits in between..

 

In the trunk. Not a Ford,but is a 32.

 

I have a real small dynabat next to the right rear taillight, starts my high compression engine and is out of sight and easy to unhook. That's on my 32 roadster

 

Trunk. Like Tommy, I also used a 49 - 51 battery box (Drake). I cut the feet off of a stock flathead mounted oil filter, welded that to the bottom left side of the box and attached the feet with carrige bolts to the crossmember. I welded a tab on the right side of the box and bolted it to the frame rail. Sorry I dont have a picture.

 

That is exactly how im doing my 32' Hi boy - Mayor

 

I have one in a box that hangs from the floorboard on the pass side. I have to pull back the carpet to get to it. I also have one in another car installed in a welded in box under the seat on the pass side. All the batteries are the old VW style that is short.

 

i build a mount and install a group 51 battery behind the trunk panel. keeps from having a big box in the trunk.

-Danny

 

Lots of cool ideas! Thanks! Any More?

 

After 28 years of battery under pass. side seat, I moved my battery box to right side in trunk & used a sealed battery inside of plastic marine box. This insures a no spill/acid on carpeted surfaces, & worry free operation.
When battery was under pass. seat, hot exhaust pipes would cause heat problems against battery holder.

 

I used an Odyssey PC680 small sealed battery and it's mounted in the trunk just inside the opening. That way it's easy to get to if you have a problem and it's easy to lift in and out. Note that my trunk is not trimmed so I get "maximum" luggage volume!
My son has his behind the seat in the trunk in his 32 roadster and he pointed out to me that it's a bitch to work on there and to get it in and out especially if you have a trunk full of stuff which he does cos he's running a flathead and carries a full tool kit plus lots of spares LOL

 

What size is that battery? It looks like it's going in the trunk.

 

Here’s an alternative that’s not been mentioned.

In my roadster the battery is under the dash, high up under the cowl. The body is glass and sadly doesn’t have a cowl vent. The battery is an Optima and sits upright. The bottom of it can only just be seen when sitting in the car – from outside the dash covers it. It’s sitting on a round tube frame that follows the cowl, fore and aft (at the firewall and the front of the door aperture / under the screen). That framework is tied together with cross braces and also picks up the door hinge mounts and the screen mounts. Nothing shakes or rattles. The battery tray also forms part of a luggage shelf that’s really handy for the bits and pieces that are useful to have to hand when out of the road. The shelf is high up also so the contents are not visible to passers by.
<O</O
I’d prefer to have a cowl vent though but I think I could work around that if I were to redo the car (it could be moved to the side or just lower it and disguise the lower part with a vintage heater or something). The trunk is not trimmed and the absence of a battery in there allows for even more capacity. My good lady doesn’t travel particularly light. The most we’ve ever done at any one time is 17 days out on the road.
<O</O
If I had to take the battery out I could do it in less than ½ hour. Thankfully it’s been totally reliable (fingers crossed) for almost 10 years.


Chris

 

I just checked out the Odyssey PC680 battery and it is only 3" Wide 7-1/16" Long and 6-9/16" High and can be mounted flat. I can put that under my stock seat.

 

Chris, keep in mind the Optima is not totally sealed, meaning it can/will gas if overcharged. I would think twice about keeping it under the dash for safety reasons. JMO

 

As I was reading this I thought to myself, "I'm gonna post that picture I saved of the one that is hidden by that kick ass bag!" And well you beat me to it! thats my favorite. I have a ammo case I am gonna use when I finally find a car!

 

I did consider that beforehand and figured it's a roadster, so isn't an enclosed space and that in OEM applications any vent goes through the floor, indicating that any gasses are heavier than air - accordingly any gases aren't trapped under the cowl but fall to the floor, and as the doors don't fit particularly well.........

And besides, if the battery is charging then the car is charging along too, and there's plenty of airflow!

I thought about rollover situations too, and then quickly stopped thinking about them................

Chris

Chris

 

My Optima is in the trunk next to the fuel tank, The battery mounts to a machined base that holds the battery by the webs on the lower edge of the battery case. Above the battery you can barely see a Ford starter solenoid. From there a 2/0 welding cable runs through the chassis rail up to the Buick nailhead starter solenoid on the driver's side of the car. The 2/0 cable is only hot only when the starter button is depressed.

 

Check TPI batt web site. Small and can be mounted in any position. A little spendy but a good guarantee. I am mounting one under the pass seat in my 34 Ford. Am changing out the Roadster and the coupe to get more space.

 

I checked the TPI Battery website, their "horsepower" rating has me a bit skeptical. I could not find any type of explanation or conversion on the site anywhere, just "we rate our batteries on horsepower not amps".

 

Anyone using the Odyssey PC680 on it's side??