40' Chevy with battery under the seat

[4garages]

I recently purchased a 40' Chevy truck with the battery located under the seat. The truck is a work in progress and it's also my first pre-1960 ride. Any thoughts on leaving the battery in the cab or do I need to move it?

 

[sneakysnake]

If your planning on carpet and nice interior then id move it but otherwise I think its ok.

 

[Stroker McGurk]

I have had the battery in the cab of my 51 F1 for 20 years....no problem. I figure it is vented fine as the cab seals about as well as an sieve anyways....lol

 

[Willowbilly3]

40 foot chevy, lots of room for a battery,lol.

 

[05snopro440]

A guy I know has a 49 Chevy pickup that he did back in the 80's. Battery is behind the passenger seat, and for years he had no issues. About 2 years ago he was wrenching on it in his garage (unrelated to the electrical system) and since the garage door was open and he was under the front of the truck, he didn't realize right away, but smoke started coming out from the cab and was billowing out the garage door. He was able to get the fire out eventually, but the interior was trashed and the paint on the cab was toast.

As near as they could tell when investigating, they think the battery shorted out internally. This is part of the reason I put mine on the firewall. It doesn't look as clean, but it's sure a lot more accessible and there's much less to burn under the hood if something were to happen, and at least it's safer than having something happen inside the passenger compartment when you're driving. I realize this could be a freak thing, but because of this I'm not fond of batteries inside the cab.

 

[Old Iron]

I move all my batteries.
I like the battery located in an inconspicuous place for cosmetic reasons only.
Just my preference.

 

[DJ3100]

Advance design Chevy trucks had the battery under the passenger floor. Old VW's had them under the back seat. Don't know of any venting problems in either, although some VWs had the seat frame short out the battery, especially when the wrong size replacement battery was used.

Mine is going behind the seat - if I can make it fit. If not it will be under the dash like my F2stang.

 

[maverickmk]

40 foot chevy, lots of room for a battery,lol.

I see what you did there

 

[kenny c]

when i was 7 or 8 years old i hooked up jumper cables to the battery of a 46 chevy truck witch was under the passenger floor. i had no sooner turned around when my father tried to start it and the battery exploded. battery acid all over my dad's pant legs. luckily no one was hurt.

 

[zpi28]

My wifes Mercedes has the battery under the backseat, run a gel cell if your to worried about leaks. I will most likely run mine under the bed on my 53.