Battery Set-up for 427 Comp

[601HP]

I can use some advice and photos on how to properly set up the full comp car batteries behind the passenger seat. At this point I know what the battery tray looks like and where to find one. After that I'm kinda out of the loop! My battery is now in the boot, but its being DELETED and replaced with the behind the seat set.

I welcome all help and opinions.
David

[MOTORHEAD]

Why ? In the cockpit is a terrible place for something thats full of acid, easy to short out, ( thats another story!!) and could dump its contents on you in a crash, and last but not least, could explode !!!
All that said, mine are behind the pass seat. Was going to move them into the trunk, just haven't got around toit !!

[Mongoose930]

Hi David,

I have just started working on this project myself. I think it comes down to how much risk / inconvenience are you willing to live with for the sake of authenticity – kind of like the Goodyear Billboard discussion…

I will also be mounting my batteries behind the rear seat so I certainly didn’t want to have a standard or even sealed lead acid battery. I looked at the Odyssey and Optima AGM style batteries which are a safer alternative but they don’t have the right shape.
As you probably know, the original Rebat batteries used in the Cobra were G-35 style aircraft batteries. You can get a battery today from Gill that looks almost exactly like the original Rebat battery:

GILL G-35 BATTERY from Aircraft Spruce

With a little paint, some Tiltite leak-proof battery caps and a reproduction label (there are a few people on Club Cobra who sell these) you have a great clone. The only downside is that you have to add electrolyte to these batteries which can leak and splash acid inside of your car and from what I have read, these types of batteries don’t seem to last that long.

The Gill G-35S looked like a decent choice that with a little work could be made to look like an old Rebat. This battery is sealed but it is still a lead acid battery and if it ever broke open, it would leak acid. Also, I could not find anyone who was carrying this battery so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t buy one.

I ended up going with a Concord G-35A battery:

CONCORDE RG-35A SEALED LEAD ACID AIRCRAFT BATTERY from Aircraft Spruce

This is a sealed and AGM type battery with the correct G-35 footprint. I swapped the terminal bolts to terminal studs and went to a local airport to get the original style wingnuts from the depleted Gil batteries they have out back. I had to re-tap the standard threads on the wingnuts to mount to the metric studs. The center section of this battery has a small removable plastic strip. I am going to make this a little bit thicker so that I can attach my Tiltite battery caps. Once I paint this battery, add the rope carrying strap, decals, caps, wingnuts, etc., it will look close enough for me and I will feel a little better knowing that I have AGM batteries in the car. I plan on posting pictures of this project as it progresses this fall.

I hope this helps on the battery part as I spent a lot of time researching this and drove myself crazy trying to choose a direction.

[Al G]

How authentic do you want it to be? Two Optima red top 6 volt batteries work well if you're ok with that look.

[1985 CCX]

For originality behind the passenger seat was correct. Comp and S/C
Had it in my S/C, Kevin will no doubt pull it off perfectly


Pics Kevin

[gthompson]

My batteries are set up the same way as the red car in your picture. Lol

[mickmate]

There's so many red ones out there they all look the same George ;-)
Lets see what the consensus is on black or white casings of originals??

[gthompson]

Originally Posted by mickmate

There's so many red ones out there they all look the same George ;-)
Lets see what the consensus is on black or white casings of originals??

Yes
There are tons of red ones!

Black case

[601HP]

I appreciate your input, fellas.

Motorhead, amen, yet I'll still make the swap with an AGM type battery.

Kevin, your post was very informative. It has helped steer me! Posts of that caliber help make Club Cobra the best site of its type.

Jeff, there is a black battery cover in the photo you posted. Was a cover used on most of the installations of this type?

Al G, I'm leaning toward an Optima setup.

David

[Mongoose930]

Hi David,

Before I decided on the Concorde G-35 style battery, I was going to purchase either the Odyssey PC950 or PC1100. Odyssey makes an awesome battery and these are less obvious than the Optima battery as they are rectangular versus looking like a 6 pack of pounders. The Odyssey batteries mentioned above are pretty close in size to the G-35.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[601HP]

Originally Posted by Mongoose930

Hi David,

Before I decided on the Concorde G-35 style battery, I was going to purchase either the Odyssey PC950 or PC1100. Odyssey makes an awesome battery and these are less obvious than the Optima battery as they are rectangular versus looking like a 6 pack of pounders. The Odyssey batteries mentioned above are pretty close in size to the G-35.

Keep us posted on your progress.

I like the appearance of the PC 950. Thanks.
David

[FatBoy]

Here are my batteries installed behind the passenger seat. I used a pair of dry cell batteries to avoid the risks associated with acid. These are a pair from an electric invalid scooter that I've mocked up to look like Rebats.



This is the label I made up in MS Publisher and anyone is welcome to a copy of the file if they want it. It isn't perfect, but it's pretty damn close. I just printed them onto some Avery vinyl self-adhesive labels and stuck them on the batteries.



The tops are from Fanta soda bottles, but I could only fit five on each battery:





Paul

[gthompson]

Your batteries look great!

[601HP]

Nice work Paul!!

David

[Rick Parker]

Paul:

Are those Diet or Regular

[FatBoy]

Originally Posted by Rick Parker

Paul:

Are those Diet or Regular

Full-fat.

I assume your soda bottles are a very similar design to our over here. There is a flange just below the threads and if you cut the neck off the bottle immediately below the flange, it provide a flat surface to glue the necks onto the battery top. If you file two flat on the flange on opposite sides of the neck, you can just squeeze six caps onto the battery. I like the 5-cell 10V battery look because it raises some interesting questions from the more observant onlookers. I heard one guy telling his mate that the original Cobras had 10V batteries fitted.

[gthompson]

I have the GILL G-35 BATTERY from Aircraft Spruce that I had to fill with acid. I bought the sealed batteries a few years ago, but they only lasted about 18 months. The tech guy said that if I bought the batteries that I filled with acid, that they would last longer. This is how my batteries are set up

[601HP]

I appreciate those photos Gary.

David

[601HP]

Originally Posted by Mongoose930

Hi David,

Before I decided on the Concorde G-35 style battery, I was going to purchase either the Odyssey PC950 or PC1100. Odyssey makes an awesome battery and these are less obvious than the Optima battery as they are rectangular versus looking like a 6 pack of pounders. The Odyssey batteries mentioned above are pretty close in size to the G-35.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Mongoose,
I purchased the Odyssey PC950P batteries. The use of them and cobrakiwi's cobbling skills are producing a great-looking behind-the-seat set up. Thank you for the suggestion.

I lucked out and scored two sets of NOS Tiltite battery caps for topping off the faux Rebat look.

David

[TimG427]

Nice job, those look great.