Thinking of undoing my battery relocation

[DmnStr8]

Yeah, after thinking it over I have come to the conclusion that trying to fix the previous owners half-assed battery relocation might be more of a hassle than it is worth.

Its not track legal for one thing. Its on the driver's side, not in a box and held down by j hooks. There is no cut off switch installed either and the ground is just grounded to the cars sheet metal.

I started to collect the parts, I have a cut off switch and a moroso box and a camaro flip down license plate holder. But I just lost my garage to work in and I'm thinking that it just might not be worth all the effort for the little gain I would get anyway. Especially in a nearly stock car. Also the trunk lock has been shaved so if the battery dies its a real pain to get to it for even a simple jump start. All in all I'm beinging to think its not worth my time or effort to try and get it right.

So I'm thinking of just putting the battery back under the hood for the moment. Problem is I don't have any of the original hardware left. What do I need? I assume I will need a battery tray. I'm thinking I should get a nice looking one and maybe upgrade to an optima battery while I'm at it.

Now I need to know what I should do for the cables. Can I just wire the positive to the starter relay like it is now and just attach a good ground cable to a good location (I'm thinking the sway bar mounts) Any better locations? I believe the original ground cable is still attached to the harness, its just tucked away but I'm not positive.

Anyway photos of nicer looking setups would be nice. Thats kinda my only con is I think the engine bay looks nice w/o the bat. So I want it too look nice if I move it back.

 

[MyBad70]

we done the relocation on my 85 gt and had trouble with it charging. not sure what the problem was, but we used 2 guage Amp wire. think the alt was goin bad. lol im gonna do the 89 next. under my hood looks like ass, im ashamed

 

[Strype]

Advance Auto has battery boxes. Just use self tapping screws. I'm quite proud of the job MyBad70 and I did on his 89GT. It looks really spiffy with the two carwash sponges that the battery is sitting on

 

[MyBad70]

lmao shhhhhhhh

 

[mackey]

If it is a track legal battery box and you are interested in switching back. I will buy it off you with the switch and other parts if the price is right. I'm located in MA. Not too far from you. PM me if interested.

 

[jrichker]

1.) The battery ground goes directly to the engine block down below the P/S pump. It is
the power ground for the starter & alternator.

2.) The secondary power ground is between the back of the
intake manifold and the driver's side firewall. It is often missing or
loose. It supplies ground for the alternator, A/C compressor
clutch and other electrical accessories such as the gauges.
Any car that has a 3G or high output current alternator needs
a 4 gauge ground wire running from the block to the chassis
ground where the battery pigtail ground connects.
The 3G has a 130 amp capacity, so you wire the power side
with 4 gauge wire. It stands to reason that the ground side
handles just a much current, so it needs to be 4 gauge too.

Picture courtesy timewarped1972

3.) The computer has its own dedicated power ground that
comes off the ground pigtail on the battery ground wire. Due to
it's proximity to the battery, it may become corroded by acid
fumes from the battery. It is a black cylinder about 2 1/2" long
by 1" diameter with a black/lt green wire.You'll find it up next to
the starter solenoid where the wire goes into the wiring harness

 

[kevin2m4]

you could put some remote battery posts under the hood like on bmw's (their batts are under the rear seats)

 

[DmnStr8]

you could put some remote battery posts under the hood like on bmw's (their batts are under the rear seats)

I thought of doing this but honestly thats increasing the workload I have to do to "fix" this half assed relocation. I'm kinda up in the air about doing it. The big thing is just that the battery in the stock location is hassle free. And I can make it look ok. Mansonozz's car has an optima in the stock location and I don't think any sane person would say his engine bay looks half assed.

Problem is I just priced stock battery trays and they are pricey. I'm gonna have to really think about this.

Also it looks like if I ever get a roll bar (which I want) I won't have room in the trunk for a batt.

 

[kevin2m4]

optima batterys arent cheap either

 

[DmnStr8]

yeah it looks like it will cost me the same monetarly either way. Under the hood is still less hassle in that there is no measuring or drilling (I hate drilling into my stang) and no placement issues (I'm OCD about certian things and I can see placement issues driving me bonkers).

Anyway I'm seriously thinking it over.