Bad idea to mount battery in back???

[jeff1216]

I had some rust issues under the battery tray...Cant find a replacement battery tray....Sooooo

I picked up a VERY nice and pricey SS battery box to mount in the back of my 1970 240Z.

My brother flipped out and said that I should never mount a battery inside the car. Could explode and kill ya.

I see his point but the battery box I purchased is NHRA approved for cars that do not have a firewall.

Do I have anything to worry about?

[gema]

People do it all the time to help with weight distribution, though most of the time I see them in trunks, not hatches. How often do batteries blow up, really? I plan on doing it with mine.

[e_racer1999]

People do it all the time to help with weight distribution, though most of the time I see them in trunks, not hatches. How often do batteries blow up, really? I plan on doing it with mine.

correct me if i'm wrong, but mounting the battery in the rear will screw up the weight ratio in a Z.... isn't the weight distribution 55/45 (r/f)? unless you are going for drag, that's gonna make the car handle even MORE like an MR

[hls30.com]

I am putting the battery in the pass. side tool box (Fabbing a box and using a battery made for a Volvo S80-vents through a hose). Those of you with long term Z ownership have probably noticed that if you aren't religious about rotating your tires the pass. side rear wears the fastest. The reason for the accellerated wear is that tire has the least weight on it(unless you carry a passenger), and tends to spin first. Putting the battery(30-40 lbs+ the box) right in front of the rear wheel will add to its traction.

Will

[av240z]

from what ive read the average places ive seen say that the weight distribution is 52/48 (F/R)

[240Zdragon72]

I was planning the same thing. I was going to go with the Summit Racing battery box and vent it out the side....wait, I have a Optima Red Cap....Do I still need to vent? It is a sealed battery. I don't see why. Running the cabels will be a pain though. Also, has anyone exsperamented with the Ground Earth wire set by Apex-i? They say you will gain some horsepower by having everything grounded to it. Any opinions?

[hls30.com]

Right on V240-just check the data plate on your drivers side door pillar! It is there in plain english!

On the optimas-no vent needed.

On the Apex-i, If you want to waste that much money send it to me! Otherwise find a local welding supply shop and buy wire and terminals from them, it will be cheeper, better qualtiy, and much more flexable than any of the ricer stuf Apex-i markets (expensive/pretty/made for those who don't know better!) You need a wire to go from the Negative terminal of the battery to the chassis, a wire from the negative battery to the engine, and a wire from the engine to the chassis. The whole nine yards will cost you less than $20-counting gas! If you move the battery, the wire to the chassis should be about 18" long to go to the seatbelt reciever retaining bolt, about 6' long to go to the starter mounting bolt, and about 18" to go from the engine block to a convenient bolt on the chassis under the hood.

Use a piece of rope or twine to actually lay out the path of the wires for correct measurements.

Tell the guy behind the counter what you are going to use the wire for, and he will get you the right stuff!

Will

[Murph]

The reason you need to vent a non-sealed battery is hydrogen is produced in the process of charging the battery. Particularly in the case your alternators regulartor fails and the battery is over charged, quite large amounts of hydrogen will be produced. I've heard some rather interesting stories of peoples boots blowing up. It's not worth the risk of not venting it IMO.

[hls30.com]

I'm using a battery designed for a Volvo S80 because it is vented to a hose nipple, much cheeper than an Optima, and I can run that hose out under the car, and not have to worry about such things. I believe the Optima is sealed, but I would double check just to be certian.

Will