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this project is not for the timid, and there is no going back - you have to cut your stock wiring harness to make this happen, so if that idea gives you the willies, don't read any farther



i've been talking about this for a long time now, but i finally got a chance to finish this project - the goal was to move the battery to the right rear "cubby", and thereby take nearly 40lbs off the front and put it back to the rear, where i had removed about 100lbs - this would give me back some balance



there were a lot of things to consider in doing this:



i run power pulleys, so loss of current or voltage is a real concern, as i am in deficit mode at idle



fitment in the cubby was going to be tricky - there is a fuel system chamber that gets in the way, and the tank itself protrudes into the space



cable routing was not going to be easy



connecting back all of the myriad of cables was going to be difficult to keep "clean"



grounding was a concern



i started measuring and shopping for components



for cable i used a 3969 x 36 ga braided 1/0 cable - this calculated to show a zero loss at well over the 105 amps the alternator put out - COOL!



for connectors and terminals, i went to phoenix gold - they have a reputation for being at the top of their field in power connections - this allowed me to have a very clean installation, and no kludgey mess of connectors



then i got out the measuring tape and began designing the saddle for the battery to sit in - i wanted to use the factory hanger locations from the old anchor weight



of course, a group 34 optima red top was chosen for the battery - i cold have gone with a smaller one, but i wanted the extra reserve capacity because of the aforementioned power pulleys



i still need to tidy up a couple of cables, but here's what it looks like:



the saddle just before adding the hold down components



[attachment=2169]



the new junction area where the battery used to be - i used the old ground point to connect the bell housing ground connector, and deleted the jumper to the old battery



[attachment=2170]



the battery in it's new home - note the gold connectors



[attachment=2171]



the main ground point and amp location - the ground is at the left - i used the factory ground point they used for the RHD cars



[attachment=2172]



the results were outstanding - i no longer need to calibrate my voltmeter - it turns out that the factory battery connectors sucked - i now have exactly the same voltage at the battery as i do on my dash gauge - it used to be a good half volt higher at the feed points than the reading on the gauge - now everything matches - WOOHOO!

Bitchen!

Nice job. Looks clean.

ok, until now it was just a suspicion... but this is proof that you are certifiable insane <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ( to start this project in the first place.. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> )



but seriously folks... nothing short of amazing !! good on ya ! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/cool.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

thanks - it's been a long time coming, but i'm glad i finally finsihed it



now i can actually finish tweaking the stereo, since i no longer have to keep yanking the battery, thereby losing the settings



can't wait to drive it

Wait a minute - you mean you actually are going to DRIVE the car? I thought all you do is take stuff out, put stuff in, and change stuff that's already there - and then think of more stuff to take out, put in, or change.



Seriously - NICE JOB.



If you think those gold connectors are something, you should see the massive ones (not gold, though) that are on the IceShark battery cable set. Who says "size doesn't matter?"

Great looking install. Hard to do. I am going to look for a lighter battery to go to in mine, probably never will try to send it to the rear. Keeping the weight properly distributed, and low, is the way to go, though. Great job.



You may have covered it else where, but what kind of amp do you run? Do you plan to add a sub to your system? I am still toying with which direction to go on mine.

jim - i missed seeing those when i was there - was something i was wanting to do too - nuts



barth - take a look at the cab subwoofer thread - i just completed the project - i am VERY pleased - no longer need a chiropractor - i can't wait for people to hear it

Flash, today is a day with decent weather, so I'll take a photo of the battery clamps along with the chassis stiffener/wind deflector shots.

Doh! I had already seen that thread - forgot about that. I'll go back and look if you said what amp you had. Sounds like the setup worked well for you, though.



It appears you did not state your amp. Maybe it's top secret.

curious what condition your original battery cables were in when you pulled them out? when i replaced mine last summer, it was a very scary experience to see what was left of the sheathing on them.



great job.



anyone who has not replaced your battery cables, you might want to seriously consider it. like flash says, you'd be surprised how much better things tend to work, i.e. instruments/lights/etc with the intended voltage flowing.

barth - sorry - thought i listed that - profile 400 driving in stereo



brian - my cables are perfect - keep in mind that my car only has 43k on it, and has only seen rain 4 times in its life, spending it all in a heated and air conditioned garage - not much opportunity for wear - hence, i did not remove them - i only cut off the crappy connectors, and added the new components



but yes, for those of you with daily drivers, and who live on the east coast especially, (primarily because you have a lot of crap on the road, and tend not to get in and polish your engine compartments, where you would by default discover such things), look closely at them

[/sarcasm off] Okay, good deal. I read through the whole thread and couldn't find it. That is only for the subs, I assume. Couldn't remember what all you had done to your system, you had most of that in another thread we were in. You may have all of that in your "garage", but for some reason I have never gotten that software to work and I can't go there.



I'll take a look at my cables, too. Thanks for the pointers, guys.

no worries - yes - only for the subs - quite fine with the deck power for the rest - very loud and clean now - i'll put a whole thread together on the entire system fairly soon - just want to test drive it first, but i think i'm done



frankly, i haven't updated my garage in quite a while - too busy doing stuff to the car - may get to that soon though

The issue of deteriorated power (battery) cables should not be taken lightly. When I replaced my cables, the original ones showed drastic shredding of insulation and cables. It was pretty shocking to realize how close I was to some kind of potentially serious - and, possibly, major - incident.



Here's a photo of the battery clamps that were used on the IceShark cable set. (Yes, I have to do some cleaning.)



[attachment=2175]

sure wish i could see that - still waiting for the browser fix

Two solutions. 1 - use Internet Explorer; 2 - I'll send the photo via email.

IE sucks, expecially on a mac - the choice of a 12 times slower browser doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy



i'll take option 2 - thanks

I usually don't use IE, but at least it's a method for viewing photos. And I delivered on option 2. Have you seen the photos (battery clamps and windscreen) that I emailed last evening?

BTW. what options do we have for wiring replacement/upgrade? Does anybody make similar kits to what Iceshark used to sell? Headlight upgrades would be considered, as well.

I was one of the last purchasers of the Iceshark cable sets - I have the battery cable set installed, and will be doing the headlight set shortly, as part of my dashboard replacement project. I'm not aware of anyone picking up the reins on these. Making me think, though...