I found this thread and figured I could add to it some drawings:
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...090907-2-093154.html

As mentioned in the linked (archived) thread above. A stock battery in this location only fits inside the airo front bumpers.

Back in 2003 I made four or five sets of this type of battery box. I only sold them local to my area at the time, and haven't sold any since 2004...I think. But since I have the drawings and it's no big secret I'll post them here.







The following drawing I used as a scaled 1:1 template but obviously you can't do that with a .jpg but here it is anyway





Pictures of the installation






Where to cut out



Reuse the following battery tie down




Remote battery terminals are a good idea. Ultimately you can put them anywhere you want.




Make sure nothing is sticking up too far as it might interfere with the operation of the headlight. There is more clearance if you choose to use the side terminals instead of the top.





Good luck and have fun,

Aaron

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[This message has been edited by aaron88 (edited 01-30-2013).]

That's cool!

For those looking to do the same but have the non-aero fascias, you just need a smaller battery that can be mounted on its side. For my LS4/F40 swap into a Formula, I am using the Dyna-Batt battery and mounting the battery to the underside of the headlight bucket. Here is the information from my LS4/F40 build thread.

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: I fabbed up these brackets to hold the battery, but ended up unbending one of the bolted flanges. The battery is now mounted under the passenger head light, but the only modification to the sheet metal in that area was to drill seven 1/4" holes and remove the protruding flange from the 1" diameter drain hole on the bottom side. In the first picture you can see that the battery easily clears the bottom of the 88 coupe fascia (notice the 2 bolt air ducting bracket on the other side of the battery). The mounting bracket holds the battery firm in 3 directions and the battery hold down tab secures it in the 4th direction.

Thanks for posting the info - I may never do this, but thanks for the info regards.

Cool idea. I put airhorns there on a Fiero once, but not the battery

This is on my list of things to do...thanks for posting.

Ps - anyone want to make these and sell me one? (or reverse the pattern for the other side and sell me two?)

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 01-30-2013).]

I thought there was some kinda of issue with this from elements getting to it or weight on the side? (not sure just thought I read something)

quote Originally posted by jscott1: This is on my list of things to do...thanks for posting. Ps - anyone want to make these and sell me one? (or reverse the pattern for the other side and sell me two?)

I have one still kicking around in storage. If you want it boxed in, I can tig weld in some sides but there will still be a small opening for both cables and clearance to your cutout.

The reason it's under the passenger and not the driver side headlight is because the Fiero is light on the front passenger side.

quote Originally posted by Phirewire: I thought there was some kinda of issue with this from elements getting to it or weight on the side? (not sure just thought I read something)

The only concern I have heard is having 30 lbs at the far corner of the chassis will increase the Moment of Inertia when trying to make sharp turns. Having it in the trunk area lessens the moment arm of the battery weight, at the expense of storage space in the spare tire tub. You can minimize the impact of the battery weight under the headlight by going with a lighter battery (mine is only 13.5 lbs).

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 01-31-2013).]

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: The only concern I have heard is having 30 lbs at the far corner of the chassis will increase the Moment of Inertia when trying to make sharp turns. Having it in the trunk area lessens the moment arm of the battery weight, at the expense of storage space in the spare tire tub. You can minimize the impact of the battery weight under the headlight by going with a lighter battery (mine is only 13.5 lbs).

Hypothetically you are right... but my car is not a race car and I doubt the effect would be noticed... not to mention the 65 pound wheels I have hanging in each corner, it's not a NASCAR for sure, lol.

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: ... You can minimize the impact of the battery weight under the headlight by going with a lighter battery (mine is only 13.5 lbs).

Please tell us about your battery. CCA, Amp-hour rating, etc. Any other useful info? (I'm guessing it'll be "adequate", since you're using it to turn an LS4.)
I presently have a yellow top Optima. Good battery, but stupidly heavy. Not to mention huge.

quote Originally posted by Raydar: Please tell us about your battery. CCA, Amp-hour rating, etc. Any other useful info? (I'm guessing it'll be "adequate", since you're using it to turn an LS4.) I presently have a yellow top Optima. Good battery, but stupidly heavy. Not to mention huge.

I just changed out a red top and had the same concern with weight regarding a replacement. If you don't mind switching to top post which there are inexpensive bolt on terminals available for, the battery for many of the Honda Civics are about the same size as the one he has posted and are available in the Optima series if ~500 CCA is sufficient for you as that looks like a special app battery in the pic.

I've been thinking about building a tray to mount my battery behind the right quarter panel... basically straight down from the stock tray. That keeps the weight close to the CG, and yet lowers it in the chassis by 12-18 inches. The resulting compartment would be basically sealed, and would require removal of the right rear wheel well liner to access the battery. That's not a big deal once the GM plastic push fasteners are replaced by riv-nuts.

I just put a Braille 2317 in my Saab. Braille make a pretty cool mount for it that seems pretty flexible for these types of projects:

That Braille piece is a lawn tractor battery in size with about a 100 more CCA. I'd be concerned with how long it will last at that size.

That's the risk you *ALWAYS* run when going to a smaller battery.

The Braille is, in theory, a denser battery than typical AGM batteries much less flooded cell types and there shouldn't be much if any penalty in durability for its size/weight. I would be concerned about capacity on a modern car with a lot of electrical gadgets, but on an '80s-mobile with very modest power requirements I don't think it'd be much of a concern. A friend of mine used a Hawker PC680-sized battery (slightly smaller than the B2317) in his Saab for six years without a problem, and the Braille is space-age technology compared to a cY2K Hawker. I ended up with the Braille based on some positive feedback from autox-ers ... only time will tell how it does, though.

Well alright then if it's AGM. Coupled with a late model high torque GM starter that should even or best the conventional arrangement but at that weight and size I don't see the point in moving it to the front anymore with all the room available in the trunk.

I closed in the sides for someone but I forgot something important.




You can just see in this picture that I used tabs on the top of that aluminum strip to hold fascia in place by pinching the battery tray. Can't do that now.


If I weld on tabs now the box won't go in the hole. I don't want to do anything geto-style. So if someone can see though this problem I'm listening.

Thanks,

Aaron

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I like the idea. Aren't you concerned about pushing the polar moment of inertia this far forward and ahead of the front axle?

quote Originally posted by Austrian Import: I like the idea. Aren't you concerned about pushing the polar moment of inertia this far forward and ahead of the front axle?

Its only something you would notice if you were building a professional competition level car. For a modified street car you will never notice the difference.

Okay, then what's the reasoning behind putting all the work into relocating. Do you need the space the battery is in currently?

Hi Aaron,

Why not make another one of those metal strips. Weld one in front of the other in a "step" Sorta like this is you look at it from the side: _--

from the top: ((

And now bolt the extended peice to the bottom of the tray.

Or, the way I was thinking it was intended to work, was just drill through the box, the bumper lip and this strip of metal and bolt all 3 together in 3 or 4 places.

either way, looks awesome!

The Fiero is light on the front right corner. The farther you push the weight out the less weight you need to have the same affect. Also,it's a place that nobody needs the space for something else. I like having the extra space in the engine bay and I use all the space in my front storage area (no spare tire either) from time to time.

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quote Originally posted by Austrian Import: Okay, then what's the reasoning behind putting all the work into relocating. Do you need the space the battery is in currently?

All my fiero engine swaps have a minimalistic approach where all the wires/hoses/clutter is greatly reduced, relocated or otherwise hidden from view. The battery move was one of the easier mods... some of the others were much more involved and didn't have any other benefit than to improve the visual appeal of the engine bay.

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 02-02-2013).]

I hope Aaron figures it out for his customer

I wouldn't mind relocating my battery so I can flip the air intake around and put it on the right side. I have an oil cooler on the left and would rather not be sucking in pre-heated air through the cold air intake.

can you post a pic on how you routed the wires back to the engine?

No pic required really. It runs down the center of the car with the heater core lines, next to the gas tank. Tie wraps to hold it in place. Insulating sheathing over the pos. (+) cable.

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This was my solution by the way. Only one new hole to place and drill.



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Just bought a battery tray from Aaron. (ok, my wife got it for me as a birthday gift.) It is amazing! About 3X as precise and well-made as I would of expected. It came with printed instructions, a CD, every nut bolt you need, the welds are top notch, the bends are all perfect and the edges have all been smoothed out! You could not get a better part if it was OEM!

Aaron, I would recommend you post that you build these in the market section. If anything I would like to give you a positive rating for this sale.

I can’t wait to install it in the spring!

Cheers!

I just bought one of these from Aaron.... I haven't got it yet, but from the pictures, he is a very good welder, he's putting down some nice beads on the tig welder. I have a V8 so I want to free up some space in the engine compartment. This will do that without sacrificing any space in the front.

- Jonathan

Thank you guys. I have many talents, but custom automotive stuff has a soft spot in my heart. I think my ability to weld comes from my steady artistic hand. If I could get more seat time I could probably put them down like a robot.

I drew this in grade 9.


Aaron

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