Battery relocation
Discussion
Nonsense, it is actually pretty straightforward and you can comfortably do it in a day with several beer breaks. Process goes something like this:
- Remove old battery box, trace back big earth and remove it; Chuck it in zee bin.
- Get under car and remove big battery red wire, pull this back over the gearbox (cutting a couple of cable ties) and back through the firewall. Chuck it in zee bin as well.
- Take new battery (in my case an Odyssey PC925) to local machine shop and have them knock up a battery holder out of some bent sheet ally with a nice removable ally strap at the front for easy access. Make sure it has a couple of bolt eyes at each side. While you're there, have them weld a penny washer to the back of an M8 nut (x4). While you're out, pick up some new battery cable + terminals.
- Take nice new battery holder home and remove carpet covered fiberglass cover from above fuel tank in boot. Place new battery holder on top of fuel tank (in the middle of the boot).
- Gently pull carpet away from bulkhead on the inside of the car so you don't drill through it.
- Drill 4 holes lining up to the bolt eyes on the new battery box (big enough to drop an M8 nut into.
- Reach up under the carpet in the cabin and from the other side, put the 4 nut/penny washer combos into the 4 holes you just drilled, and secure battery box into these nuts from the other side with 4 carefully chosen length M8 bolts so they do not petrude beyone the end of the nuts (use washers on the other side to get this right).
- Re-glue carpet in the cabin with some spray glue to reveal no bumps in the carpet at all!
- Run the new battery cables across top of fuel tank and through hole above the offside rear wheel arch so they come into the cabin. In my case I then drilled two holes in the floor behind the drivers seat, and with a couple of grommits + silicone, sealed them in place behind the carpet. Run the earth to the big earth point on the back of the gearbox, and the live to its original location, cable tie everything up nice and secure.
- Replace cover thing above fuel tank (mine needed cutting in half so the battery now sticks through it by a couple of mm). Job done.
- I also moved my fusebox behind the passenger seat at the same time and ran some new live cable to this new location via the nearside rear wheel arch hole, if leaving the fusebox in place you could do the same but with a bit longer cable (fairly small gauge so you can easily hide it under the carpet, or alternatively run it under the transmission tunnel to keep it out of the way!
- Remove old battery box, trace back big earth and remove it; Chuck it in zee bin.
- Get under car and remove big battery red wire, pull this back over the gearbox (cutting a couple of cable ties) and back through the firewall. Chuck it in zee bin as well.
- Take new battery (in my case an Odyssey PC925) to local machine shop and have them knock up a battery holder out of some bent sheet ally with a nice removable ally strap at the front for easy access. Make sure it has a couple of bolt eyes at each side. While you're there, have them weld a penny washer to the back of an M8 nut (x4). While you're out, pick up some new battery cable + terminals.
- Take nice new battery holder home and remove carpet covered fiberglass cover from above fuel tank in boot. Place new battery holder on top of fuel tank (in the middle of the boot).
- Gently pull carpet away from bulkhead on the inside of the car so you don't drill through it.
- Drill 4 holes lining up to the bolt eyes on the new battery box (big enough to drop an M8 nut into.
- Reach up under the carpet in the cabin and from the other side, put the 4 nut/penny washer combos into the 4 holes you just drilled, and secure battery box into these nuts from the other side with 4 carefully chosen length M8 bolts so they do not petrude beyone the end of the nuts (use washers on the other side to get this right).
- Re-glue carpet in the cabin with some spray glue to reveal no bumps in the carpet at all!
- Run the new battery cables across top of fuel tank and through hole above the offside rear wheel arch so they come into the cabin. In my case I then drilled two holes in the floor behind the drivers seat, and with a couple of grommits + silicone, sealed them in place behind the carpet. Run the earth to the big earth point on the back of the gearbox, and the live to its original location, cable tie everything up nice and secure.
- Replace cover thing above fuel tank (mine needed cutting in half so the battery now sticks through it by a couple of mm). Job done.
- I also moved my fusebox behind the passenger seat at the same time and ran some new live cable to this new location via the nearside rear wheel arch hole, if leaving the fusebox in place you could do the same but with a bit longer cable (fairly small gauge so you can easily hide it under the carpet, or alternatively run it under the transmission tunnel to keep it out of the way!
7 TVR said:
Great i knew someone would be able to make my life easier!!
Do you have any pics of your conversion and did it effect placing the targa section in the boot??
No, it sticks out no further really than the original carpet section on top of the fuel tank so it doesn't affect boot space at all. And I have 6x9s in there as well.. Strangely the battery life is pretty good too, I've left it for over a week standing and not had any issues starting despite its small size. Odyssey batteries are supposed to be pretty good at this though so they're better suited to road use than the Varley type race cells...Do you have any pics of your conversion and did it effect placing the targa section in the boot??
I don't have any photos at the moment but I'll try and get some over the weekend. Not of the fuse box though, I haven't tidyed that up yet so it looks a bit DIY! It works fine though, I just ran out of time to neaten it up with a nice new fiberglass enclosure which I will do at some juncture!
For us non-DIY types Dulford now do a battery relocation mod:
http://www.dulfordauto.co.uk/content/latest-tvr-ne...
http://www.dulfordauto.co.uk/content/latest-tvr-ne...
Edited by davep on Thursday 6th May 10:41
Tommy Cooper LIVES!!!!! 
Hi,
Just to clarify a little.450nick is talking of a little battery mounted above the fuel tank in the boot and clivef is talking of lead acid battery mounted in the passenger "buttock" of boot.If you wished to retain a full sized 072 lead acid battery and full sized targa panel,although I have not done it yet, I know at least one PHer has using the original battery box bolted thru the drivers side rear wheel arch.When I last had the battery box out I quickly stuffed it in the boot in the drivers side "buttock" up against the wheel arch with a block of wood wedged under it,and the targa roof panel weny in with no probs.
Belchy.
Just to clarify a little.450nick is talking of a little battery mounted above the fuel tank in the boot and clivef is talking of lead acid battery mounted in the passenger "buttock" of boot.If you wished to retain a full sized 072 lead acid battery and full sized targa panel,although I have not done it yet, I know at least one PHer has using the original battery box bolted thru the drivers side rear wheel arch.When I last had the battery box out I quickly stuffed it in the boot in the drivers side "buttock" up against the wheel arch with a block of wood wedged under it,and the targa roof panel weny in with no probs.
Belchy.
davep said:
For us non-DIY types Dulford now do a battery relocation mod:
http://www.dulfordauto.co.uk/content/latest-tvr-ne...
That picture is of the job they did on my Chimaera.http://www.dulfordauto.co.uk/content/latest-tvr-ne...
Made a HUGE difference to the passengers legroom!
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