My under warranty battery died a while back when my car sat for a couple months, and I couldn't find the reciept, so I bought a new one. Well, I found my reciept recently and I got another brand new replacement for free (the one that died was only 15 months old). The new one was just sitting in my room, and I figured I'd see if I could mount it in the hatch.

I already have 4 guage power wire running to the hatch for my an amplifier.. can that wire be used for my + power cable? Do I need a thicker guage? What about my ground.. do I have to run a ground cable all the way from the engine compartment? I am assuming I can't just ground it somewhere to the body of the car.

I was able to fit the battery in the lock box in the trunk. It seemed like a good fit, and looks clean. Has anyone done this? Do I really need a box and to vent the battery outside? I know it's not NHRA legal to not use a approved box, so I figured if I went to the track, I would put my old battery back under the hood, or if its not too tough to make it legal, just do what I need to make it pass regulations.

I don't want to put the battery in the spare tire compartment, as I was planning on mounting my NOS bottle there, and I would like to not have the battery showing.. so I figured that lock box would be pretty good.. is there any reason I can't use that area?

Does anyone have any pictures of their re-located batteries or any suggestions? Thanks.

 

The lock box area on the side is just cardboard. It won't hold a battery for long.

To be legal, you need an approved sealed and vented box with 2 3/8in bolts. You will also need a cutoff switch mounted on the outside of the car. I converted mine to a push/pull style. 4ga is too small. I run 1/0, but you could probably get away with 1 size smaller. The best way to ground the battery is to the engine as that's where the starter is grounded. Then run a chassis ground in the front and the rear of the car. There are a few pics of mine on my page.

Miles

------------------
88 427 Camaro
12.18 @ 113mph 1.75 60ft

www.koolmeister.com

 

think i could use the polyethylene summit battery relocator box? its only $11 for the box and i can get all the cables for under $20 at work. i figure i'll mount it where the spare was, and figure a way to vent it. last thing i might need a cut-off switch and i should be good to go.

------------------
89 Trans Am
jet black w/ silver flake
suncoast ram-air hood
ASAI aerowing
centerline trigons
SLP headers, flowmaster.
Viper 550esp w/ rem start
Grant GT, all Kenwood.
BMR adj.phr, lca's, lca brackets, sfc's, jamex springs, PSC front end

 

That box isn't an approved sealed box. It's only a marine style box. Since third gens don't have a "trunk" that kind of box won't pass tech. You need a sealed box that's vented to the outside or fabricate some sort of firewall to isolate the battery from the inside of the car.

------------------
Follow my racing progress on Stephen's racing page
and check out the race car

87 IROC-Z Pro ET Bracket Race Car
383 stroker (carbed) with double hump cast iron heads and pump gas
461 Big Block installed and ready for the 2001 racing season

Best results before the 383 blew up
Best ET on a time slip: 11.857 altitude corrected to 11.163
Best MPH on a time slip: 117.87 altitude corrected to 126.10
Altitude corrected rear wheel HP based on power to weight ratio: 476.5
Best 60 foot: 1.662

Racing at 3500 feet elevation but most race days it's over 5000 feet density altitude!
Member of the Calgary Drag Racing Association

87 IROC bracket car, 91 454SS daily driver, 95 Homebuilt Harley

 

i got the moroso sealed/vented box and found no way to make it fit behind the plastic panels. the passenger side has the most room but the box was about an inch too wide. maybe the cheap box will fit, it is a bit smaller and could easily be vented and proper latching made.

 

i think the moroso box is the only one NHRA accepts. i mounted mine in the rear sump and the master kill switch in the black panel of the right tail light.

------------------
ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd

 

One of the parts stores here (Mopac) also sells NHRA approved aluminum sealed boxes. They're much smaller than the Moroso box and still hold a series 24 battery. I don't know what brand they are.

 

hmmmm, I mounted my Moroso box (or was it Mr. Gasket) in the spare tire compartment without any problems. I also mounted the cutoff switch exactly where Ede did.

After a suggestion from a kid at Napa also running a battery in the back I got a non-spillable, deep cell battery for just over $100. He said it will prevent me from getting light-headed from fumes with the battery in the car, but will I still need to have the box vented for NHRA legality?

------------------
1982 Camaro Z28

should be running 11's this spring...we'll see
Check the website for progress http://members.fbody.com/Pro82Z/

 

I just located my battery to the trunk, It is a large battery but it is one of those totally sealed batteries, I can tip it upside down and it does not leak. It is in a marine battery box, I have 2 guage running to the starter and 2 guage to the body(I have good power readings on the ground at the front of the car so i think it is ok. Does anyone know if having a battery like this is NHRA legal or does it have to be in one of those box's. Please help, I want to run my car down the track a few times this summer.

------------------
82 Z28 had LG4-305"
now has 350 carb
edelbrock performer, headman headers,chevy 1.6:1 roller rockers,rebuilt heads-3 angle valve job-prof.bowl blend-new valves,seats,3"flowmaster, Mac high flow cat
MSD6AL,700-R4--B&M shift kit, B&M tranny cooler. Sub-frame connectors, boxed lower control arms and torque arm. 1.5" front sway bar, rebuilt carb, 4" K&N, no emissions equipment, new BFgoodrich radial T/A's--215/65 front 255/60 rear
RADIO-- premier Deh-p300
2-10"kicker SPLs,ZR240,premier 434x(4 way), custom built fiberglass box for subs. pioneer 6X9 & 4X6, grant GT steering wheel

 

Racers have been fighting the rules for a while now. Even sealed batteries like Optima that can be mounted in any position still must be mounted in a sealed and vented box if installed in the drivers compartment such as a third gen.

Until the NHRA starts allowing a sealed battery to be mounted inside the drivers compartment it must still be mounted in a sealed and vented box. The marine box will not pass a tech inspection in a third gen.

 

Thanks for the heads-up Stephen.

 

Preferably it should also be mounted as far toward the pass side

[This message has been edited by JoelOl75 (edited February 26, 2001).]

 

The added weight over the passenger rear wheel only helps if your suspension is too soft allowing that wheel to lift (stock type suspension). If you have better suspension or even air bags in the springs or at least on the passenger side then a central rear location is fine.

 

It's funny how I've done everything from remove the heater/ac to convert to manual steering and just now did the swap relocation. The damn thing is so heavy, I probably will benefit just as much if not more by moving it for weight transfer. And since I don't have any money for a new rear suspension, being over the pass. tire will help.

 

figure I should post this since I took some pictures the other day...2 problems with this I see, though.

Probably illegal since it's mounted to plastic instead of the frame and the black piece covering it snapped off so now I need to make another one...I think this time I'm gonna make a hinge for it though instead of just bending it out of the way.

What I did was take off the **** to turn off the switch, drilled a hole in it and put it on my keychain. Easy way to prevent theft unless they know about the disconnect and have a pair of plyers to turn it. At the track, I'll just screw the **** back on and take off the plastic cover so it's visible at all times.