Odd Place for the Battery

[37 Caddy]

Here I am asking for some advice again, this time it is about where to mount my battery. I thought the easy answer was to mount it in the trunk and I already purchased a basic relocation kit from Summit. However, as I look at the box sitting in the trunk I hate the way it looks. Despite the car being about 16 1/2 feet long it has a small trunk and I would like to keep the trunk useful. My new idea is to mount it under the front fender on the passenger side. The car is endowed with big, fat, long fenders and there is plenty of room. Has anyone ever heard of such a plan or seen this done? Am I overlooking some obvious concern? I am pretty confident that if ever needed to jump the car I could access the battery by turning the wheel. Of course I would have to fabricate some kind of panel to keep it from getting covered in road grime.

Is this a good idea or a horribly bad idea?

[Dago Red]

I'm gonna be anxious to see the answer on this one. I hadn't thought about that spot but am pretty sure that we have enough room under the front fender too!

Red

[R Pope]

There was an article in Street Rodder or Custom Rodder about putting the battery in the front fender. It was a fat fender Chevy, '38 or in there with lots of room. If you put it in a box to keep the crud away it should work fine. Put the starter relay somewhere you can get at it and you can hook booster cables up there.

[chevy 37]

I originally put my battery uner my front fender of my 37 chevy truck but even through it was mounted on a bracket inside a box, I never liked it and just didn't seem right so I remounted it behind my seat so all I have to do now is tilt the back of the seat forward and I can get to the battery. Works great.

[37 Caddy]

Chevy 37:

Anything I should know before attempting to put the battery in the fender? I considered recessing the battery in the floor under the backseat but I think it will interfere with the driveshaft or get coked by the exhaust.

How did you brace the box to support the battery's weight? Any pictures?

[chevy 37]

I did that 10 years ago so I don't have any pictures, but all I did was take part of my hood cover off the side so I could get to the frame and mounted 2 small brackets to the frame and then added a S.S. box so I could put the battery inside it. Be sure to vent the box either on the sides or top so when your battery is charging any vapors can escape. Also make the box just a little larger than the battery so I doesn't tip or move when you hit those pot holes and corners. It worked fine but I just didn't like the looks so thats why I moved it.

[Stu Cool]

My friend has his battery mounted there in a 36 Nash. Been on the road for years without a problem. He has his power brake booster mounted in the driver side. Lots of room there, might as well use it :-)

Pat

[SprayTech]

Before I sold my 37 ford hump sedan , I built a drop down battery bracket mounted to the frame , under the right front fender .
I held it in place with pull pins , so if I needed to change it , pull the pins and it dropped to the ground , turn the wheel , un-bolt the cables , and out slid the battery

The farther away the battery is from the motor compartment the more likely the problems with the electric system

[Itoldyouso]

Yep, seen it done, and if fact did it on a '40 Chevy I had. As mentioned, make a shield to keep it as clean and dry as possible, and plan your mount well so it is strong and accessible. Angle iron works well, and you will want some gussets coming down on an angle from the frame to the outside of the box.

Nice thing is, if you mount it on the same side as the starter you can run very short cables. I would also coat the terminals and ends of the cables with something like liquid electrical tape to put a little more protection from the elements, and maybe use something like a gel battery as there is no way water or dirt can get into those as they are totally sealed and don't sulfate.

Don

[Rrumbler]

Consider that most all "big rigs" have their batteries mounted in a box on the frame under the truck. There are boxes on the market that have a screw type lift system in them. I'd find a box that was indirectly vented. That fender well has plenty of room for this sort of thing. Check out four wheeling and off road aftermarket folks, for possibilities; search "Battery Box". Use a couple of heavy duty high amperage terminal blocks mounted in the engine compartment for easy access to the leads, and just run the cables directly to them from the box. Just "brainbustin' " here.

[Matt167]

well, newer chrysler Concorde's and LHS's got them mounted there, passanger fender, and there's a connection box for jump starting under the hood, for the positive side, ground, just goes to ground. perhaps looking for a junked concorde or LHS, could mod it's rear opening box and the connection box..

[bentwings]

The only thing I could see being a problem is if you shed a tire tread it could wipe out the battery. Doesn't happen very often however. Be sure you seal it up tight and add a rock deflector.

[timothale]

37 lasalle. I have a 37 pontiac and need a slope back deck lid ...know of any?

[fitzwilly]

There should be enough room under the rear fender, behind the tire, to mount your battery. That's what I did in my 39 Olds. I made a cut-out in the rear wheel well and constructed a box for the battery accessable from INSIDE the trunk. This utilizes space that is otherwise wasted while getting your battery inside the car and over the right rear tire. It worked for me.

[ratrodchris]

I have a hidden panel inside my engine compartment and the battery is in the fender. Just keep the welds clean so water can't get in from the tire. Clean looking. And the vehicle is a 1952 F1 Ford PU. Installed in front of the passenger front tire.