<VV> Battery location

[goofyroo at excite.com]

Lots of folks have done this.

On the plus side, you redistribute weight to the front, which is generally a good thing in the tail-heavy Corvair.  (For those who like to differ, note that I said "generally.")

On the minus side, you'll have to route a heavy cable from the starter to the new battery location.  The battery (and case) will take an awkward bite out of much of the Corvair's already limited trunk space.  Resale value may suffer, as some Corvair people are purists about this sort of thing.

I routed my cable along the speedometer cable path and used the built-in tabs to hold it in place.  I placed a very heavy grommet at the hole I drilled to let the cable into the trunk.  (No foolin': you don't want a short there, with no fuses to protect you.)  And I used a battery box intended for a boat, with a huge patch of velcro to hold it in place atop the gas-tank hump.  The velcro isn't as scary as it sounds.  The impact required to dislodge the battery and case would mean I have bigger problems than a dislocated battery to deal with.  Drilling more holes for a bolt-down mount just didn't appeal to me, especially right over the gas tank.  Likely the cables would pull out of the terminals in a dislocation, anyway.

You'll have to figure out a good ground for the negative cable (I used a master-cylinder mount stud) and the trunk will need good ventilation so the battery fumes don't eat the walls.  I sealed off the top vent holes in the box so fumes wouldn't go directly at the underside of the hood.  The case has side vents, too.

Ideally, mounting the battery low is better for weight distribution.  I'm happy with the installation.  A big, honkin', well-warranteed battery up there meets all the starting needs I'll ever have.

Michael Smith
Dallas

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