Large battery change to conventional battery in my 63

[super1hawk]

What is the best way to change to a conventional battery on the inner fender of my 63 avanti. I will be replacing the inner fender on my car due to the wreck it was in. Will a new inner fender from a 65 and newer be the only modification needed? I have good fiberglass skills and fabrication skills and am considering cutout and glass in a new box location. Just dont know what the inner fender looks like where the battery would go. I am wondering if anyone has a broken inner fender that They would sell or donate for the cause?

Any pictures or advice is welcome.

[1963r2]

I replaced the inner fender on my 63 with the later conventional style battery inner fender due to damage and the ease of battery replacement. I either had to fix mine or replace it so I chose to replace it with the later style

Inner fenders aren't that expensive so I completely removed the 63 inner and replaced it with the 64 on inner. It wasn't a hard job to do.

The only issue I found out after I did it was that the lower hood stay now had nowhere to attach to the inner fender due to the larger battery area.

This meant that the hood stay needed to be relocated to the other side of the hood and fender,  so you need to install mounting plates to the fender and inner Hood.

I haven't come across any other issues so far.

pb

 

[studegary]

There are people parting out 1963 Avantis.  Why not just use the 1963 inner fender?  As has been stated, going to a 1964 or later inner fender will require relocating the hood support from the left side to the right side.  I do not think that a desire for a different size battery justifies the change.  The correct size battery is available.  I do not know how much authenticity or the value of your Avanti matter to you.

[Avanti83]

If authenticity isn't a factor you might consider moving the battery to the trunk and using your skills to just modify the inner fender to meet your needs. Trunk battery kits are pretty reasonable or just buy the box and appropriate sized cables. 

Just modifying or installing a different inner fender won't be enough because IIRC, the change to the smaller battery resulted in glass damage from the weight in that area so you will need to add appropriate reinforcement.

1963R2 also mentioned modifying the hood to accept the support on the other side. I did this modification when I added air struts to my 74 and it is straight forward. You just need a steel plate with two holes threaded 5/16" to accept the strut mount bolts and a pop rivet to hold it in place. It's placed into the hood structure by cutting a slot large enough to slide it in from the inside edge of hood structure. Just replace the piece you cutout and glass, finish and paint the small area.

I can't find my pictures of the plate I made or the cut in the hood but this finished shot should provide some information.

[mfg]

Ditto on relocating the battery to the trunk!....Doing that removes about 40 lbs of weight from over the left front wheel, and puts that weight where it's needed, over the left or right rear wheels.

If you have a concern for an authentic look, that "boat anchor" original 3EE battery can be "gutted", which reduces its weight to about two pounds....A pair of "bogus" battery cables can be run down the engine side of the battery to complete the underhood deception!!

[super1hawk]

where would you suggest running the cables? inside side of frame, right side or left? I am starting to like this change to the rear. Wish someone would send me some pictures of this change.

[Avanti83]

As long as you don't mind Chevy powered 74 shots, here you go. Because it's Chevy powered you'll probably want to run everything down the drivers side as the starter is on that side IIRC.

The battery box is installed with a shut off that will have an outside handle  when I'm finished and there's a 200 AMP marine fuse located in the power cable also. The wire go through the trunk to the inside of the frame and run down the entire length of the frame separated by about 1 1/2". Where ever the power (Red) cable come close to anything moving I added fuel line to cover the cable to reduce potential abrasion.

When the cables came close to the starter, I ran the red cable directly to the hot terminal on the starter and the ground cable to the engine block. To help grounding I skinned the ground cable and used a metal clamp to secure it and provide a ground to the frame. 

Any place you see Zip Ties used, they were for original assembly. All were replaced with metal clamps eventually.

This should give you some ideas.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Avanti83

[mfg]

Bob did a nice job installing the battery in the trunk of his '74, however, the install really doesn't need to be quite that complicated!

Basically, you need to purchase a quality 'group 24' battery (available everywhere) and a plastic marine battery box......Since you have a Stude Avanti, you'll probably want to install the box on the left (driver's side) of the trunk.

Before you bolt down the box, drill a 1 1/4" hole in the trunk floor just inside the rear 1/4 panel (this hole will go between the battery box and the inside of the rear 1/4 panel)

Drop both the positive (hot) cable and the ground cable through the hole.....The ground cable needs to be about 24" long, as it will be fastened to the already existing hole in the left rear frame rail...basically directly under the trunk battery.

The positive cable can be snaked along the outside of the left (driver's side) frame rail, on top of the frame 'outriggers'.....I completely encased my positive cable in an equal length of black residential garden hose, which 'seals'  and protects it from weather, debris, etc.

Of course, the positive cable ends up forward at the starter solenoid located on the left inner front fender skirt.

Two more important items....Drill a second 3/4" hole next to the hole in the trunk floor your battery cables passed through....Drill the same size hole in the top cover of the marine battery box and run a length of heater hose between the two holes and out the bottom of the trunk floor.....This will 'vent' any battery fumes from inside the trunk as you drive along.... (Think of a road draft tube on an engine)

Also...run a short battery cable from one of the bellhousing lower bolts to a clean hole on the crossmember under the bell....This gives a better ground-to-frame than just relying on the factory engine ground strap......And be sure to seal both of the drilled holes (and around the cables) with a good auto body caulking sealer .

This is a really easy modification I made to my own '63 Avanti well over ten years ago....and I "never looked back"!

 

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by mfg

[mfg]

And don't forget about "gutting" your original 3EE battery.....as many times as I've shown this '63 Avanti, no one has ever questioned the 'empty' battery. (Other than to ask why Studebaker ever used such an ungainly monster in the first place!!)

[Avanti83]

Complicated, not so much but I won't lose the 74 to a direct short if something gets cross wise underneath. I like the garden hose idea and personally used 1/2' PVC conduit for the same reason under my 54K.