The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Moving the battery on 1953 Chevy Truck

Have any of you moved the battery on your truck? On the '53 I would like to mount it under the hood rather than leaving it under the passenger floor. Would like to hear the challenges that others have faced and how they were able to accomplish the task. The most likely space would be on the passenger side firewall next to the heater.

Thanks...

I have seen an inner fender off a 1954 Canadian Chev with a cutout for the battery. Was told some of the bigger trucks had these. The one I saw was on a truck being parted out, might be available and it seemed factory original?
John

55.2 and Later mounted it on the firewall and it worked fine. It was common to move the battery on the older ones using the later battery holder to be able to use a larger battery than the factory box allowed.

Can't figure why you would want to move the battery from where
it's at??? It's out of the way, doesn't take up any real-estate,
easy to access and with todays sealed batteries there isn't a
need to get to it until it's time to change it.

OOps, guess that would be one reason to get it out of
it's normal space Ken, never would have thought of
that being as I'm pretty much a 95% purist.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I agree with Denny. If you want a "connection" up top you can do that easy enough. I like it where it is. I have a new DieHard

I moved mine to the firewall, removed the tray from the frame & mounted it to passenger side for easier access. Just my personal preference.

seems it would be way more work to move it than it would be to deal with it right where it is.

when i bought my '53 1/2ton, there was a cutout in the inner fender, passenger side.. when the PO started the truck, he stuck the battery right there and the wires were already routed to that spot. it wasn't difficult at all to move the battery back to it's original spot, i don't see why it would be any trouble to move it from under the cab to under the hood. the only problem would be making/mounting a tray. in all honesty, with long enough wires you can mount your battery wherever you want it. i mounted my battery from under the hood to in the trunk on a previous vehicle.

Moving the heavy battery under the hood will move the center of gravity of the truck further away from the rear wheels. The last thing you need in a pickup on a slippery road is less weight on the rear wheels. 2 cents, refundable upon request.

I hope you're joking. Moving the battery will have very little effect on the center of gravity. It's only a battery after all, it's not like you're moving the engine around.

I'll take the refund, it would move the "center of gravity" UP, not forward .... but if that would matter, just feed the passenger a bunch of extra doughnuts

Bill

Thanks for the advice guys. I was just trying to figure out if it made sense to move the battery to a more accessible location. I have to agree with the "purists" that it works fine where it is at, but God help me...I like to tinker. Always think I can do a better job then the originators. I guess it is just a state of mind and my wife is quick to remind me that my thinker is not as creative (or clear) as it used to be. As they say " Just because I'm on a diet doesn't mean I can't look at the menu".

Thanks again...The Road Gent

I take mine out every fall when I store it and removing the door seal retainer is a bit of an annoyance but I like it there and for boosting/charging one can clamp directly to the starter switch post. I never found a 12 volt deep cycle or spiral wound battery that would fit the original tray to eliminate seasonal removal. I would have ground off the rivets and made a longer/wider tray had I known better.

classic statement! Is that like being pretty much a 95% vegetarian? lol!

Had my '50 since the spring of 2005 and the first thing I did
was put a new F&F battery in her. Changed that battery out
three years later simply because Farm & Fleet only warrantied
their 6v commercial battery for two years and I dint want to
take a chance on getting stuck out in the boonies with a dead
battery. Once we got to know each other a little better she's
gained my trust and I'm not afraid to leave the battery till
she gives me a sign that something is wrong. That second two
year battery has been in since '08 and here it is, 2013. Five years
now and still goin' strong.
I still use the first one as my 6v power supply on the radio
bench.
I've never removed the battery in the winter, mostly cuz I still
drive the old gal a couple times a week weather permitting.
But I do understand why one would choose to re-engineer their
truck when the need for a non standard size battery is called
for.

No one's perfect Ida, I'm almost a purist and almost
a vegetarian, but not quite 100% of either.

Denny Graham
Charged up in Sandwich, IL

I've often pondered mounting the battery in the fender behind the rear tire. Optima battery with a metal box would more than do the trick. Not for any real reason, just to be different.

Well now. I find it odd no one has mentioned the factory option for under hood battery. In the 1954 sales data book it is listed as CSL#54-395 (standard battery under hood).This consists of a cutout in the right inner fender and a battery tray bolted to the frame. 54John3100 mentioned this in the second post and has seen it on my parts truck. If any one would like pictures of this email me w.beier@shaw.ca

That is not so odd, the only other poster who referred to that is another northerner (Canadian). That part in shown in the General Motors of Canada Ltd. Truck Sales Data Book for 1300-1700 models.

That part is not listed/shown in the USA Chevrolet Truck Data Book.

I wonder if it is an alternative location or an auxiliary location.

I don't know how much your battery weighs, but mine is heavy. As far as weight transfer, think of loading your battery in a wheelbarrow. Does it make a difference whether you put it up front over the wheel, or all the way back by the handles? I have already had one person request a refund for my two cents. Try the battery in the wheelbarrow test and let me know if I need to refund your two cents.
Carl

My passenger ain't getting no doughnuts. Your two cents are in the mail, and you can keep your doctor and your insurance plan. LOL
Carl

18.4 lbs for my battery.

I guess one could argue that the battery helps balance out the fact that normally there is no passenger. When there is, the larger percentage of the time its lighter person (say the right thing when your wife is listening or else!)

I don't think we're really comparing apples to apples here. To make it comparable, try hauling a flashlight battery in your wheelbarrow. That would be more realistic. You'll find it won't really matter which side it's on.

Ata boy Rich, both thumbs up.
DG

Exactly. The wheelbarrow test works because the battery weight is a considerable percentage of what the wheelbarrow weighs. Your battery better not be a considerable percentage of your truck weight... Plus, your wheelbarrow is balance on one wheel, truck is on four. Even for the heaviest of batteries it would not make a noticeable difference in CG or handling on a pickup truck.

OK, I may have to rob the kid's piggy bank for a lot of two cent refunds. My final question is, why do hotrodders put their batteries in the trunk?

Maybe this is the answer? Here is a discussion on the topic.

DITTO!

"hot rodders" put the battery in the trunk so it's out of sight - or maybe so it's closer to the gas tank when they get rear ended racers put the battery in the trunk because that's the standard procedure at the track, and allows for a handy emergency kill switch near the emergency gas shutoff

at most your battery will weigh about 50 lbs, in a vehicle that weighs thousands of pounds, carrying passengers that weigh hundreds, and a payload of a thousand or more, the weight of the battery is a total non-issue regardless of where it is

Bill