Battery drop down box

...Yes! A suggestion! Measure THREE times and CUT Only ONCE!!! I used a SabreSaw and a Sawsall. It took me Three Months to get up the Nerve to Cut the Trunk floor. The Battery has to fit right between the Rack and pinion Mounts; and BACK right up against the 'Foot Bulkhead'. The Clutch Master Cylinder must be at Least, LOOSENED, for clearance, in order to install and remove the Battery from then, On. The UP side: The Lowered Weight (30-40 lbs lowered 12 Inches), and Center of gravity in the Nose, will be a Pleasure that You will feel the very first time You 'Dive' into Your favorite Hard Corner; and forever After. Be very sure You Protect the Positive terminal from ever touching the Ground!!! Especially if you have a Battery with Both Top and Side Posts! And Engineer a Good 'Hold down strap'. Would I do 'IT' again? Absolutely! In a HeartBeat! Without Hesitation!! It was THAT Great of an improvement in Cornering Response! Good-Luck with it!...

At some point after the 74 model year they became standard.

They give you more room in the front since the battery goes in the floor.

The aftermarket ones are usually made of stainless steel sheetmetal.

I got this one from Hall Pantera.

I did mine. The Plasma cutter was very handy. I use a full size #24 battery. I also dont have to loosen anything to get the battery in or out. Just drop and go. What I did have to do was to extend the clutch line to make it jog around the box.

Here's the factory version, which is not even a fully enclosed box. I usually have a smaller Optima, but I've been going thru batteries like crazy lately, I think it's a problem in the hazard switch.

I added this feauture to my '72 L. It is well worth doing. I have easy access, but hve not needed to change my Optima in a long while.

For some pics visit my website:

http://www.provamo.com/Members/TechInfo/BatteryBox.asp

There are even some small pics at my old site:

http://www.geocities.com/provamo72/BatteryBox_1.html

I have a "Hall" battery box to sell if you are interested e-mail me directly at editor1(at)provamo.com

Substitute @ for (at) above.

Chuck
Chuck

I would add that I think that an external battery shut off switch should be added for safety and that an external jump terminal for the positive would be a good idea.

The battery is covered and down in the well. It doesn't have easy instant access to it. That's about its biggest drawback.

I would buy your Hall box, but the shipping to Australia will be the killer.
Thanks anyway.
From the pics I have seen, without the battery there, the front trunk looks so much bigger.

All the UK Panteras I've seen have the battery under the floor (as in Joules picture). The box is quite 'open' - you could see quite a lot of the side of the battery from under the car.

I recommend it for two reasons:
1 - You get a lot more space for storage.
2 - All the fumes from charging the battery are outside the car.

The only problem I ever had was when I needed to remove the battery. It was a big AC Delco battery that was a tight squeeze - and this made it very difficult to lift out. Solved that problem by making a couple of straps from a old seat belt and leaving them looped around the battery.

I agree with PanteraDoug on the battery cut-off switch.

I am in the process of doing this on my 71, it is a tight fit, a real tight fit. Also the clutch line and the brake line have to be rerouted, plus the positive battery wire had to have an extension soldered onto it, plus a new hole for the air-conditioner condensate drain. And I still haven't decided how I'm going to cover the cut hole, but I suspect I will mold a fiberglass cover for it.

Would I do it again, I'm not sure. I don't think a lot of space is gained especially since so much space is eaten up by the chassis brace.

Good luck

Nazgul

Yes you are correct on all of those relocations and reroutings.

On the clutch line I put an Earls braided brake hose line in on a banjo fitting. This allowed me to swing the clutch line all of the way and have flexabilaty for the future.

I put in an Optima battery,case size 22. It's smaller then the 24, has a strap already attached and is 950 amps.

The battery box that I bought from Hall was supplied with a nice stainless top.

I carpeted mine and put some nutcerts in the floor and a couple of fancy thumbscrews to hold it in place.

If you are going to put the shims in for the bumpsteer correction, do them now along with the battery box.

One of the bolts for the rack will be right against the side of the box and is a wee bit difficult to get at after the box is in place.

Even so I had to put a 45 degree angle cut on the end of the rack supports and use allen socket bolts for clearance. It can't be any tighter then it is. It's close in there.

If you need pictures of any of the details let me know. I can probably wrestle the digital away from wifey for a couple of minutes.