Anyone moved they're battery to trunk?

[Kermit 460]

Anyone moved the battery to trunk to save weight in front? I've seen guys do this for traction & weight reduction in front.My Mach 1 was changed from 351 to 460 ,the headers dragged a lot when I got it.I put front coils for a 71 429- helped a bunch.Headers still hit a little on high crowned roads.Wondering if moving the batt. will help a little & what I might be up against,also pros & cons:huh:

 

[marks73]

30 pounds to the rear is a plus. Just be sure to use QUALITY wire from the battery to the solenoid.

 

[c9zx]

This thread my help. Chuck

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-relocating-battery-to-the-trunk?highlight=battery

 

[Kermit 460]

This thread my help. Chuck

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-relocating-battery-to-the-trunk?highlight=battery

Thanks Chuck-brain-cramp left me forgetting to search.Must be the 3 degree weather in maine I found some good stuff...Sounds like preference & ambition v/s traction&front end weight ?

Eric

 

[Blueoval71]

If any of this seems disjointed or out of order I apologize as I am at work and came back to this several times as I typed. I moved my batt to the trunk out of necessity and I have done this on dozens of cars for customers. I would not normally recommend it. If you cheap out you will regret it. To do it correctly You will need 30+ feet (depending on whether you have subframe connectors) of 0 gauge wire at $7.00+ per foot plus ring terminals and assorted hardware. I use high strand count oxygen free wire and solder copper ring terminals. You could use 0 or 1/0 welding cable, but the jacket may not live if you run it under the car and pure copper will oxidize BADLY. Next is the decision of under car or through the firewall. I would not recommend running the power under the car. I drill a 1 1/8" hole in the firewall and use a bulkhead grommet like this http://www.amazon.com/Stinger-Wire-Gauge-Firewall-Grommet/dp/B001JQ6J86. The positive run from solenoid to trunk is usually about 20 ft, but you need to create a solid ground or the car will crank over sloooow and roach the starter cable. Ever try to jump a high compression vehicle with the cheap set of thin jumper cables? Yeah its the same thing. The hard part is getting the smoke back in the wire so you can return them. I cannot stress this enough: GROUND GROUND GROUND dc flows from negative to positive. Sadly we don"t have a solid steel frame to utilize so you need to tie as much of the subframes together as possible. If you have subframe connectors you can drop the 0 ga. ground through the floor and tie it in at the back by the torque box. Then you need to tie the 0 ga. ground between the front subframe and the block and a 4 or 8 ga. wire to the fender well.There is a difference between what you can get away with and what works well. If you do this the car will run and start as if the battery was in the stock location. I prefer to run a full length ground tied into the vehicle at the same points I mentioned. If you have voltage drop between the battery and solenoid the car will suffer. I did this on several fox body mustangs for a few of the guys at Vortech Engineering years ago that had used a generic Summit Racing 2 ga. relocation kit.I redid it my way and got rid of hunting/surging, they stopped burning up alternators, stopped throwing codes and picked up a couple tenths in the 1/4 as a bonus. I realize my post count is low but I do this stuff 6 days a week. Call me at the shop if you have questions. We get bombarded by sales calls so be sure to tell my wife you are from the mustang forum. Devin (818)248-4663 left coast time 9-6 m-f 9-2 sat.

As an aside you might wand to try these first to see if it makes ANY difference: http://www.jegs.com/p/Mr-Gasket/Mr-Gasket-Rubber-Coil-Spring-Spacers/747385/10002/-1

.......or buy different headers.

 

[cazsper]

I've done it on my '68 coupe, my '95 GT, my 96 Cobra and getting ready to do it on my '73. Honestly, if the suspension isn't fixing the problem, I don't think moving the battery will. I personally moved mine to make room for a supercharger. The only drawback to the trunk mounted battery is losing that portion of my trunk space. If I was having issues with headers dragging, I would go with a shorter header.

 

[Kermit 460]

I've done it on my '68 coupe, my '95 GT, my 96 Cobra and getting ready to do it on my '73. Honestly, if the suspension isn't fixing the problem, I don't think moving the battery will. I personally moved mine to make room for a supercharger. The only drawback to the trunk mounted battery is losing that portion of my trunk space. If I was having issues with headers dragging, I would go with a shorter header.

I would love to have different headers,but hav'nt been able to find any shortys for a 460 in our body style.If anyone knows of some I'd love to hear about them.

 

[TommyK]

I've done it on my '68 coupe, my '95 GT, my 96 Cobra and getting ready to do it on my '73. Honestly, if the suspension isn't fixing the problem, I don't think moving the battery will. I personally moved mine to make room for a supercharger. The only drawback to the trunk mounted battery is losing that portion of my trunk space. If I was having issues with headers dragging, I would go with a shorter header.

I would love to have different headers,but hav'nt been able to find any shortys for a 460 in our body style.If anyone knows of some I'd love to hear about them.

http://www.fordpowertrain.com/FPAindex/Mustang1.htm

Ford Powertrain Applications (FPA) makes a "shorty" header. It is actually more of a mid length but they are well made and fit pretty good and the ground clearance is much better than a full length. They are a little pricey though. I didn't get the coated ones. I had to do slight clearancing on 1 tube by the steering box. I would have been upset if I had paid for the coating but it worked out. I will eventually send them out locally to be coated.

 

[Kermit 460]

Thanks again guys,I know...any problem can be solved w/ a big enough wallet & imagination right .