Battery? what battery? I havent gotten that far yet. I don't really want it on the firewall, theres no way it will fit in the original location with that big Caddy taking up all the room. I've considered the drop down box idea or in the bed.
I saw a 48 at a car show recently that had a tool box molded into the bed. It took up about 14" of the front of the bed and was full width with a nice cover. It was molded in nice and everything was painted to match the truckk. It looked good.

decisions, decisions

Bobby

 

I used the original location on my '56 F-350. The old box was bad, so I replace it with one for a '55, which fits the Optima perfectly!

Johnny

 

I was picking up some parts a while back and the guy showed me his 50. He had installed a newer V8 and needed to find a new place for the battery. He had it mounted in the space between the grill and radiator. It fit real nice and with the 48-50 grill you don't notice it. It might be more visible with the later grill arrangements.

 

dmptrkr,
Sounds interesting. How did he get it in and out? Do you remember? When I start setting my front clip back on (hopefully next month) I'll check into that

Bobby

 

Strangest one I have seen recently is a friends Chrysler Sebring. Had to take the fender well apart for access. Replaced the OE with an Optima because of the access issues. I usually use Interstate batteries.

Russ

 

Well now I feel all "original" by leaving it in the engine compartment of the 51...but I must say even with a small block chevy, midrise intake and all the bells and whistles....I still could get the kitchen sink to fit in there HAHAHA, anyone moved it in the 51, 52s??? i was thinkin about the bed but do I really want to have a diamond deck box sitting on top of my freshly painted bed strips and my cherry wood????

 

I think that the stock location near the upper firewall and passenger side fender on the 51 and 52 trucks is ideal. Access is easy and it doesn't require long cables to get to the starter and solenoid. I don't see any reason to relocate it.

 

good point Steve, I like to relocate them because they are ugly

 

In my 48 F1 I have mounted a gell cell battery in a marine battery box behind the seat (fuel tank is long gone......Propane rules!)

Even though gell cell's don't require venting I have run 2 1" vent tubes (PVC electrical conduit) through the floor for the cables.

Neat, easy to access with the swing forward seat and with the seat back you can't see it

My Gell Cell is the best thing I ever bought. It's an Aussie brand called Odyssey.

I bought it for my 56 F100 after a rebuilt rat trap starter, new solenoide and all new HT leads didn't fix the starting problem

With the new battery it turned over at 1200 RPM and slowed to idle when you released the key.

That was March 1998.

It's been in three cars since then. It's sat in the shed for a year between cars. I lent it to a friend to get his 36 Delivery home and he kept it for 14 months of extremely intermittent use. It's going in the 48 next.

It has NEVER been recharged......still spins over ANYTHING without a worry

I am dreading the day when it finally let's go......the company has changed the design to "improve" them.....word from a friend in the battery industry is they weren't selling enough due to he "excesive" lifespan so they "fixed" them

Everyone I know runs them in their rods. Only thing that worries them is dead shorting them. They recharge OK, but are never the same and overheat and die within months

 

Mines is located in the stock location with a tray-type installation...it works out fine...didn't like those drop-style....they seemed like a pain in the rear-end....thats just my opinion though....

James
54 Ford F100 302/AOD
01 Ford Supercrew 5.4/AOD
03 Mazda Tribute Hers (:-)

 

The Odyssey battery is available here as well as the direct competition to the Optima, but not as widely available. There are some really cool boxes made for the Odyssey.