Anyone mount a battery under their Model A?

Got the Model A coupe at the interior shop and the battery was positioned behind the passenger seat. John Miller is doing such a great job that I decided to move the battery under the car. I bought a red top Optima battery and a summit mounting bracket to position it under the car. Anyone else that has done this? Any regrets?

 

My pickup is in the factory spot in the floor.If you put it under the car add some lugs in an easy to get to spot so you can jump start it if necessary.

 

UH, yea.

 

The original location or similar is actually very convenient if you have a full-size opening above it...the original just had a little door to check fluid, so whole damn board had to be removed.
Simple plate over the hole, held in place by the floormat, readily accessible for jumping and battery is easy to remove, just use one that has the lifting strap.

 

I made a battery box to put mine in and mounted it under the floor behind the passenger seat.
It would be a pain in the ass to jump start.
Would probably be easier to jump using the starter lug maybe.
Theres just no room in an A and I have a sedan to boot.

 

I put mine upside down under the floor of the passenger seat. No problem to jump off.

 

I mounted mine (on a car I built and sold a few yrs ago, that is) under the car upside down, never gave me a problem.

 

That is what I am leaning to do. The car is very nice and I will find a spot under the car to put it. I will also attach the battery tender leads so it is easy to attach charger. Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

I hope all of these are full fendered A's because otherwise they're gonna show and be pretty unsightly........

 

optima's BTW are junk batteries. they really went downhill when they went to mexico to start building them.

in the 90's and early 2000's, they were bad ass. now, they suck. i have personally changed out over 10 in the last 5 years on different customers cars.

personally, an AGM battery is the toughest- and available at vatozone or oriellies without an issue.

if i wanted a mount-anywhere battery i would look at braille or odyssey batteries. they are VERY tough robust batteries with high quality components.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/batteries.html


http://www.braille.asia/

 

Lots of other threads bashing Optima Batteries, personally mine works great but the question wasn't about what kind, just where.

 

Still good pertinent info. Related, too...as the subject of 'upside down' was mentioned...

 

The one in my '30 pickup is under the passenger's floor. It works very well and is in the way of nothing. Sucks when it goes dead and you have to try to jump start it tho...

 

I am using an Oddessy...I love it...use a "high-torque" starter and off ya go!

 

I've been thinking the same "where" to mount the battery in my 30 P/U. Thinking of an Optima Battery but under the seat, maybe cutting the floor panel and building a new box that would hang down enough to clear the seat springs? any thoughts?

 

I think Oddessy will be my next battery purchase, maybe even 2 6 volt ones so I can tuck them up to the body better.
I don't think Optima recomends there batteries hang upside down, it might be ok for awhile but most batteries are not meant to be mounted upside down.
The Oddesseys might be able to hang upside down, I think they are a dry cell type battery but I could be wrong on that.

 

Yup..behind the passenger seat under the floor infront of the rear seat, lift the floor and there she is.
Lead acid normal everyday get em at any part store battery across the USA, no waiting



If you do the optima, you might want it where you can get to it,.. a lot..because your going to need to

 

Tons of regrets on my 32 5 window. It has been a pain in the neck I will move it to somewhere more axccessible this summer.

BC

 

I am running a Braille behind the dash/under the cowl in my A. I used an Odyssey before under the seat of my old roadster and that was just fine as well.

I stopped using Optima due to their quality decline years back but I would be concerned about any battery below the floor and especially if its close to the scrub line. I became battery obsessed years ago and have tried nearly everything out there. In my cars right now I have a Braille, Exide Orbital, Optima and an Odyssey. The most problems I have had with a battery yet is any Optima made within the last decade.

My new Braille is only 11 lbs and fits very nicely behind the dash. I can remove my cowl so that makes changes easier in the future.

 

i used a battery box from speedway and mounted under the car behind the passenger seat. it took up too much room on the floor in the rumble seat.

 

Think I can use an Odyssey Extreme 20 Battery under the seat. It shows a height of 5 1/4" and if my seat riser is 3" I can build a "tub" that would sit below the floor panel by 3" which should address the scrub line issue.

 

Oddesseys will NOT mount inverted! All positions but upside down.
When running these small batteries get them as close to the starter as you can...longer cables...bigger loss in cranking amps.

 

Most AGM batteries are recommended to run anything BUT upside down

 

Mu tudor is under they pass seat. Its fendered. Its a pain in the ass to change (no strap) ir charge so I go off the starter lug which works well.

My coupe is fenderless I am in the build stage and I have the battery in the stock location. But that looks uncool. I have a rumble seat that will get used and I am using the stock tank.

That leaves me under the seat. My whole seatcoupe hinges up to provide access easily.
As others above said, I am going to use a pan that recesses about three inches below the floor and use a normal group 58 battery. Some of it will stick up, but it should clear well. I am also going to put my fuse box, etc, under the seat.

 

Under the passenger seat..

 

Yup, that is where mine was. Now got to get under the car this weekend and see what is best.....

 

I called and asked this question to Optima directly on their tech service hot line. The answer I got back was that any battery that is vented will vent better any place but upside down.

If you bought a battery from them that isn't vented, then they don't have a problem with orientation.

Until I get under the car and see what can fit where, I am envisioning this hanging upside down in one the the billet mounts made for Optima Batteries from Summit Racing. First choice will be sideways, but not worried about upside down.

 

My 31 coupe has the Optima mounted on firewall behind dash, on its side. Works great. I've had an Optima in the OT 66 Mustang trunk for over 5 years. Its never been taken out and never had to be recharged. Very happy with it. I will reconsider another brand if I ever need another battery after reading the Optima complaints in this thread.

 

Run the right gauge wire and this wont be a problem
I own an O/T 68 charger with the battery in the trunk..and running a hi-torque starter on a 440..Never had a problem with turning it over..that Dodge is almost 18' long.
Most drag cars run the battery in the trunk for weight distribution..Just run the right size cable and make sure its copper there wont be any amp drop, or at least not enough to make a difference.

Think it through..dont make your battery placement an after thought..pre plan it and engineer the system to work with it

 

With the Optima, you are correct there is enough "juice" with correct gauge wire. The small Oddessey battery (PC-680),however only has fixtures for a 10mm bolt, and subsequent hardware, and only a 5 second burst of the initial power. After that it drains quickly compared to a full size battery.