I ask this question because a friend of mine had his new, expensive battery stolen out of his 1966 Chevy 2, probably by some junky looking to get $5.00 from the recycling plant. So it got me thinking about my 1972 Cutlass and its brand new expensive battery. Is relocating it into the truck a smart, easy or worthwhile thing to do? If so what is the best means of doing it? The only other options I could come up with is the expensive internal hood locker from some of the repro part stores. Or maybe rig the thing up with a bike lock or something. Any opinions??

 

It'd be a lot easier on you simply building a tougher battery hold down.

What was your friends held down with?

 

You can get kits from Summit and Jegs to move your battery to the turnk. They make it pretty stupid proof.

 

many factory racers did come with trunk mounted batteries, and basically it is some huge AWG cable ( like a stick welders lead cable).
remember that with the increase of wire will increase the resistance of that wire and take more "juice" to both charge and discharge, also if the battery is not sealed you will be venting that battery into the trunk area.
So if there are any issues like a high compression motor, stock starter etc you MAY have slower cranking etc.

that said I have seen this done several times and it is very easy.

 

He just had it bolted in with an aftermarket tray/hold down. Nothing fancy. I would rather go for just a stronger, secure hold down, but I have been looking on the internet and haven't found anything that has a lock or anything on it. No matter how strong the hold down, if they have a wrench, they could still get it off pretty easily. But I guess even if you had something with a couple of padlocks, they could still cut it off. I hate that I even have to be concerned with this, but I guess thats how it is now a days.

 

Go with a hood look setup. Works more better

 

Hey,I've done the battery in trunk project,because i dragrace [wieght off frt end]I've been very disappointed with the results.First the cable you get from summit /jegs is #2 cable,not big enough.Second is installing a solenoid,so said cable doesnt stay ''hot'' all the time.Third...just build a battery hold down with a place for a pad lock,it will be easier,trust me.good luck,later on,BO

 

Truthfully, I've never heard of anyone putting a battery in their trunk for security reasons. I guess it would be more secure there but I've only heard of people moving it for drag racing. Whatever floats your boat I guess.

 

A guy at work told me a story. So here it goes. When he was a kid his dad's car got the battery stolen out of it when he was at work. It was an old battery so he just bought a new one. A weak later he goes to start up his car it doesn't start. He opens up the hood. There sits his old battery not connected but there. Now his new one is stolen.

 

Whatever you do with the battery, get a hood lock, or the thief will find something else under the hood to steal

 

Not enough batteries get stolen to worry about it. The cost would be close to a new battery and a lot of trouble.

 

Your friend is lucky the entire car didn't get stolen.

Dumb question here, maybe, but the first thought that popped into my mind was where does your friend store his car that there would even be an opportunity for anyone to have time to get under the hood and remove the battery without anyone noticing? Most people don't leave their collector cars unattended, and I certainly wouldn't leave mine somewhere where the general public can get at it without me knowing if I've spent any kind of money on it. When I'm not driving it or sitting near it at a car show, it's in a locked garage. Collector car insurance requires this, anyway.

I guess my point is, rather than investing money is moving the battery to the rear of the car, maybe he (and you) should invest money in secure storage.