As in whats the best way to do it.
I have a yellow top Optima batt that I need to move to the trunk. I need to make room in the engine bay for some other stuff . Since my stereo is in the trunk wiring that will not be a problem. Whats the best way to bring the power forward to the starter and the higher powered stuff I have up there (headlights, driving lights, cooling fan, air horns). I'm thinking a big fat cable run under the body on the left hand side up to the starter then a smaller but still beefy cable running from the starter along the firewall then along the right side inner fender to the relays for the above mentioned stuff.
I also need to reconfigure my 'old tech' stereo setup to clear up some space in the trunk.
I mount the battery on the right side of the trunk to put the weight over the drive tire. Run a 2 guage or thicker cable along your frame up to your starter. You can run the ground right to the bumper bolt, just clean the surface first for a good contact.
FWIW, I run a Yuasa battery down in the recess in the rear fender where Alexi is referring to. I have this in a polished stainless box and ran the wiring up the frame rail to the started and grounded to the body to frame bolt on that side of the trunk. The Yuasa battery is AGP-based and safe for in trunk mounting and I picked it up at my local Honda motorcycle dealer. It has the same CCA and AH capacity as the stock battery and is tiny enough to fit in the space in the well. It was originally designed for the heavily-accessorized Honda Goldwing.
Just something that worked for me and saved a ton of trunk space. PM me for pics.
toolsnob wrote:I mount the battery on the right side of the trunk to put the weight over the drive tire. Run a 2 guage or thicker cable along your frame up to your starter. You can run the ground right to the bumper bolt, just clean the surface first for a good contact.
I already have a good ground source in the trunk area as that is where my stereo lives.
Ole Skool: That sounds like a good battery but I don' think it would cut it in my car-300 watts of lights 400 watts of stereo. I really like the CCA and the storage abilities of the optima-plus its newish. I don't carry a spare and that REALLY frees up trunk space.
The previous owner of my '64 1500 ran huge cables to the trunk for the battery along the frame. He protected the wires with electrical conduit. Seems like a good idea to protect the wiring somehow.
The 3 seat 1500s have tabs in the transmission tunnel to support the wiring as the battery was originally under the 3rd seat. As long as all is routed properly and the tabs are not rusted away, it would be fine as is. If I were to run the wires to the back and wanted to protect them, I would probably use plastic conduit - no chance of shorting that out!
You say you have a good ground in the trunk, I am guessing to the body? I would take the ground to the frame and make a solid connection. Then you can connect a second wire to the body connection. I would also stay away from using the body to frame bolt as the connection is through a clip that doesn't provide the best electrical connection to the frame.
I ran my positive lead up the driveshaft tunnel and protected it with auto heater hose. I'm thinking that using conduit seems a bit overkill and may provide another area to short against...
I was thinking that the bolts that mount the body to the frame all have those insulated clips, but now that you mention it, the ones in the trunk go directly to nuts in the frame, don't they? That's obviously better, although the horsehair padding keeps the body from the frame.
What you have is probably fine, although I prefer clamping the lug directly to what I want connected.
TR wrote:I was thinking that the bolts that mount the body to the frame all have those insulated clips, but now that you mention it, the ones in the trunk go directly to nuts in the frame, don't they? That's obviously better, although the horsehair padding keeps the body from the frame.
What you have is probably fine, although I prefer clamping the lug directly to what I want connected.
Yep that's the bolt I am using I think...honestly its been a while and my memory is a bit rusty and so is the bolt I am sure. I will make sure that the ground I am using is nice clean shiny metal and a direct connection.
Thanks all for the info on the 1500's that will surely help me with my 69 2000
Hey TR
If the dang car was running I would love to go on one of Steve's runs.
I need to get motivated again to get the car back on the road. I have to CC the heads so I can figure out how thick of a copper head gasket I am going to need to get the CR down to 8.0 to 1. The head has been shaved a lot unfortunately.
Don't worry about getting the compression ratio down, just get high octane gas and enjoy the power till it burns up - JK! Let us know when you get it on the road...
You can still come for a ride, even in a non-datsun!
[quote="TR"]Don't worry about getting the compression ratio down, just get high octane gas and enjoy the power till it burns up - JK! Let us know when you get it on the road...
Guess you didn't see my post to plasma boy....guess he didn't either
I am in the process of super chargering my U-20 almost exactly like Plasma boy did so I need to reduce my compression ratio to a more sensible 8-1 or so.
. Since my stereo is in the trunk wiring that will not be a problem. Whats the best way to bring the power forward to the starter and the higher powered stuff I have up there (headlights, driving lights, cooling fan, air horns). I'm thinking a big fat cable run under the body on the left hand side up to the starter then a smaller but still beefy cable running from the starter along the firewall then along the right side inner fender to the relays for the above mentioned stuff.
