SteveF

I completely agree with you on this. On a side note, I would much rather have a functional passenger side bin than a driver side bin. That way you don't have to be a contortionist to reach whatever you have hidden in the bin!

BLKTOPTRVL

Why did you move it? Do you have an oversize IC?

jimlab

I used to. Now I just have an oversize engine. Just kidding.

su_maverick

ok, so I know how to do it but what are the batterys to use? not which is the best, but what can be used? I only use my car on weekends and want one where I dont have to disconnect the neg feed after the weekend

su_maverick

hey jim, what are the battery clamps that you used and what gauge wire?

jimlab

The first one (shown in the picture) was complicated. I cut out a hole in the front of the bin pocket (but not the front of the bins) large enough for the entire battery to fit through from the inside. Next, after sticking the battery through the hole, I marked where it hit the back of the pocket at top and bottom and cut out just the areas needed to get it to sit firmly in place without removing all of the back wall too. It's difficult to explain, I wish I'd taken more pictures.

Basically, you could remove the battery by pushing it forward into the larger opening and then swingint it up and out of the bin. When in place with the rear corners protruding through the back wall, it was supported by the "ledges" created by flat bottoms of the holes in the front and back of the bin pocket.

I used a piece of L-bracket beneath the front lower corner of the battery and a piece of flat strap (hardware store type supplies) behind the bin and ran a 3/8" bolt diagonally up past each side of the battery. When tightened, the bolt held the L-bracket under the front edge of the better and pulled it tight back into holes in the rear of the bin pocket so it couldn't move. Unfortunately, this setup meant that you couldn't remove the battery without removing the bins.

I went completely overboard and used rubber grommets in the bin walls around the bolts, and then covered the bolt on each side with a piece of black plastic wiring loom to hide it. I mounted the circuit breaker on the side of the bin and ran the positive cable out the bottom of the bin. The ground cable also went out the bottom of the bin on the opposite side and bolted to the crossbar beneath the bins that runs from side to side. Basically, it was far more work than it was worth, but it looked nice.

Now I have both bin pockes cut off 1" below the top and it's completely open to the area under the bins, which unfortunately was necessary to get the flexibility to squeeze the panel between the uprights of the main hoop of my roll bar. My Hawker Genesis sits in a battery box that I had welded in when the roll bar was done. The circuit breaker is now outside the bins.

I used 4-gauge cable originally, but now I have 2-gauge cable. It runs alongside the driver's seat in the channel beneath the carpet, behind the driver's kick panel, and out through the lower rubber grommet behind the plastic fender liner. It then runs up and over the fender, and comes out in front, behind the headlight, where it connects to the power distribution/fuse block.

su_maverick

awesome, thanks for the info...I am trying to keep mine almost looking like it was done at a factory so a little extra work isnt that big of an issue, I will have all winter. What are the battery clamps that you used for your connections? Specifically the one with the plastic cover over it?

jimlab

I believe they were Phoenix Gold battery terminals, and the positive terminal came with the cover.

su_maverick

cool, thank you....what batterys would do the job...Im looking for one that wont lose charge after a week or two of not running.

jimlab

My Hawker Genesis held a charge for years after I pulled the engine, as long as I kept the circuit breaker kicked out when I wasn't testing the electrical system. I think I recharged it twice over the course of 4+ years.

However, no battery will indefinitely hold its charge, especially when being steadily drained by accessories like the alarm system and stereo clock/preset memory. I eventually forgot to disconnect the circuit breaker when I was transporting my car to get it painted and killed the battery.

I bought another Hawker and wouldn't use anything else.

amp

iTrader: (50)

whatd yall do with the original negative terminal...

tiger18

iTrader: (1)

i was waiting for someone to do a write up on battery relocation,,, looks easy peasy,,,nice pictures

Julian

iTrader: (14)

I think we can all learn and improve our own cars by sharing constructive information. Some of what we do is right, some is wrong and some is just different that anothers.

Weight distribution is very important for handling, if you are in a race class that allows for coilovers then weight jacking can be done to correct flaws however, the level of competition is some much higher that the competition has also balanced out the car and is using weight jacking for particular track handling.

I don't remember my corner weights off the top of my head but the driver front is heaviest, yes the car is VERY near 50/50 and the cross weights are almost as good, but the car would be improved by moving the battery from lf to rr ... remember this is a jap car it is more balanced with the driver on the RHS. Pulling all the exhaust crap out of the RHS doesnt help us much either.

macdaddy

Back to a previously made point - what about battery hold-downs? I couldn't visualize all of jimlab's description of his mounting, and maybe his did effectively have a hold-down function I couldn't see, but our thread starter sure didn't. Wouldn't pass tech in my neck of the woods, even if I was willing to ride around with it like that on the street.

jayk

I have pretty much the same setup, i just drilled a couple slots in the bottom and threaded a tie-down strap through the bin and around the cross-bar under the bins, then back up. Then pulled it tight around the battery so it can't move. It passed tech at Summit Point, WV last Friday, but I'm not even sure the tech guy looked for it.

rdahm

iTrader: (6)

pass tech? I am assuming that is some certification... I have had no issues with the movement although it is a concern. i want to build a good looking brace... By myself ;-)

widebody2

Jim I saw you statement about the connection at the fiuse box being a fire hazard. I also used your post a while back and pretty much copied your relocation to a T since it was really crisp and neat. The only thing I am a little confused about is the fire hazard at the fuse box statement. How is his connection any more of a hazard than the stock battery having a wide open positive terminal? Fuse location, possibly? Thats the only thing I could come up with.

jimlab

Lack of.

Without a fuse or circuit breaker between the power distribution box in front and a battery mounted in the rear, pinching the positive cable in a wreck could result in an electrical fire. There should be a high amperage fuse or circuit breaker within 12 inches of the positive terminal of the battery.

jimlab

I repeat... having perfect weight distribution isn't as important as a lot of people seem to think.

widebody2

Yeah maybe you misunderstood me or I misunderstood what you had originally posted about it. What I took from your original post in this thread was that his leaving the connection to the fuse box under the hood without covering it, would be a hazard. I did a very similar thing. I actually did what you did, but never bothered to cover the connection with that half of a clear hose you used. I have a fuse near my battery. To me, leaving that connection wide open would be the exact same thing as leaving a positive battery terminal wide open, right?

jimlab

Sure.

widebody2

"I assume you're going to protect the connection of the positive cable at the power distribution/fuse block? That's another potential electrical hazard"
that statement was what I was talking about. How is this any different than having a stock battery in there? They have no cover for the positive terminal connection.

jimlab

I was agreeing with you.

widebody2

yeah I posted that before I got to read your answer

Houdini

iTrader: (3)

Yes, you are correct. The right side is quite a bit lighter then the left, more than even the battery. I'm going to try to install my Optima Yellow Top 51R in the pass. side bin soon. Where's a good place to get quality 2 gauge wire? And any idea how many feet you need to get there? Also, isn't it better to connect the positive cable directly to the alternator and not the distribution block?