The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay What battery fits the original battery box set up?

My '51 3100 has had a home made battery tray since i bought it 8 years ago. It came complete with a man's leather belt (Western tooled, even) holding it into the tray. Strapped down by the buckle on top. I can't believe it didn't mess up the battery, let alone losing it altogether. Although it's stainless steel, it has finally succumbed to age and is starting to tear. I bought the top battery hold down years ago, and finally ordered the bottom section, which the battery sits in, and i'm getting ready to change it out. Ironically, my 6 month old Napa battery decided it was through, so I took it back and they gave me a new one. (The one before that lasted 7 1/2 years). Before I put the new battery in the truck, I stuck it in the new rack to check for fit. The top hold down frame nearly slid right over the sides of it, thus making it unusable. I took the battery back to Napa and told them what i needed, carrying the new battery rack in with me to get the right size. My old battery was/is 6 1/2" x 8". The new rack's top frame will hold a 7 1/4" x 9 1/4" (max). I showed the napa guys how the smaller one just lets the top fall down over one edge, and they found the next size up, and it fit, BUT the posts are touching the frame, or close enough to be unsafe. I mentioned that I could trim out some the the frame's metal, but still, the cable clamps would more than likely lay across the frame and ground the battery out, causing a hot circuit on the frame. Either a dead battery or fire would be the case there. So, I'd like to know just what battery anybody else has found that will work with these battery racks? Forgot to mention I got the rack at Classic Parts. Not the 'drop down' style, just the black frame mounted rack with the removable rectangular hold down top frame.

I decided that instead of having a correct size battery for the rack would mean a dead battery or modification of the new part, so i'm instead going to, for now, keep the smaller battery and make some sort of spacer plate or something to make the battery fit the top frame. But right now I'm starting to see visions of an old leather belt strapped around my new battery and rack making it look as bad as it did before. I welcome any opinions, ideas or comments about this. Never thought there would be a fit problem for a rack that's supposedly original. And mine is 12v now. Makes me wonder how they got a 6 volt battery that would fit this thing. Thanks for any ideas. Lee

It's a shade tree fix, but I've used some painter's stir sticks or sections cut from a wooden yardstick to insulate a battery hold down from cable terminals that come too close to the metal framework. There are also plastic hold-downs available that completely protect against shorts at the cable terminals. A battery that completely fills the tray will have somewhat more cold cranking amperage available, so I'd recommend using the biggest battery you can and doing whatever is needed to prevent a short circuit. A thin piece of wood glued or riveted to the top of the hold-down frame under the terminals would be the simplest, least expensive fix.

The original 6 volt battery was a "Group 1" size. It was almost square, and it just barely fit through the hole in the floorboard.
Jerry