I'm ready to install a battery relocation box from Norm's Fiberglass. Since a search didn't turn up much, I decided to document the installation for future reference. No offense to Norm, but the included instructions are pretty vague. So before I start with the documentation, I'd like to ask a couple questions.

• I found that the battery box interferes with the brake line in front of the spare tire boot. Is it safe to bend the brake line? Also, should I bend it forward or down?

• Which is the best way to route the positive battery cable? I'd hate to spend time routing the cable, only to find that it doesn't reach.

Thanks. Once these issues are resolved, we can get on with the build thread.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 07-24-2005).]

i'll be doing mine as soon as it goes above freezing again

quote Originally posted by Blacktree: I'm ready to install a battery relocation box from Morm's Fiberglass. Since a search didn't turn up much, I decided to document the installation for future reference. No offense to Norm, but the included instructions are pretty vague. So before I start with the documentation, I'd like to ask a couple questions. I found that the battery box interferes with the brake line in front of the spare tire boot. Is it safe to bend the brake line? Also, should I bend it forward or down? Which is the best way to route the positive battery cable? I'd hate to spend time routing the cable, only to find that it doesn't reach. Thanks. Once these issues are resolved, we can get on with the build thread.

I routed my cables through the drainhole at the bottom of the spare tire well just enlarged it with a porting burr. The I took some plastic electrical conduit of the oppropriate size and routed it along side the gas tank being held in place by the gas tank straps and then ran the cable through that out back to the engine bay. You can bend the brake line just dont bend it so far that it gets crimped. My box sets pretty much right on top of the steering rack. I am pretty sure that I just bent my line foward so that it is on fron of the battery box.

I just installed Norm's battery box im my 86 GT just two weeks ago. It's not the hardest project in the world but it definitely was a lot of work. (in my opinion)

To answer your questions: Yes, I had to bend my brake line quite a ways straight downward. Fortunately, Fiero brake lines are relatively soft so it's not too difficult to do this.
As for the positive cable, run it through the middle like Norm's instructions say. I ran them just above the foam-covered AC lines and used ty-wraps every 6-8 inches. Oh, and dont worry, I had between 1-2 feet left over.

By the way, one item not provided in his kit is a lug ring connector (you need this for the 10 gauge orange wire which goes to the terminal block on the passenger side strut tower). I suggested to Norm that his kit would be more complete if he provided this. Anyways, good luck and dont hesitate to send me a PM if you need more info.
Kit (86 GT)

Thanks for the info. Now the project can commence.

Box fits better the 88 cars. No bending needed. Look mine here; https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/046290.html
Routing is not too bad. Just make sure you get a good ground connection and measure resistance to ensure you are getting a good ground connection.

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Palm Beach Fieros
http://pbfieros.tripod.com

Hello and thanks for the kind words, its takes about a afternoon to do unless youre watching Nascar have fun and thanks again Norm from www.normsfiberglass.com

quote Originally posted by Alex4mula: Just make sure you get a good ground connection and measure resistance to ensure you are getting a good ground connection.

I will add that I ran 2 cables one for the starter and one for a ground to the motor. I know that some dont do this, they just ground to the chassis up front. It has been my experience that if you do not get a very good ground to the motor you can have issues with the electrical such as hard starting , no run and or poor performance.

quote Originally posted by Erik: I will add that I ran 2 cables one for the starter and one for a ground to the motor. I know that some dont do this, they just ground to the chassis up front. It has been my experience that if you do not get a very good ground to the motor you can have issues with the electrical such as hard starting , no run and or poor performance.

with the normal setup I used to run a ground cable straight to one of the starter bolts.. worked like a charm
with this setup thanks to the position of the starter you can easily run a cable down each side of the gas tank. The ground to a starter bolt and the hot to the starter solenoid.

[This message has been edited by Kohburn (edited 03-09-2005).]

quote Originally posted by Kohburn: with the normal setup I used to run a ground cable straight to one of the starter bolts.. worked like a charm with this setup thanks to the position of the starter you can easily run a cable down each side of the gas tank. The ground to a starter bolt and the hot to the starter solenoid.

Good idea ..I recommend running a ground directly from the battery to the block on my wiring conversions

Just one thing. The instructions tell you to remove the steering stablizer. Do not remove it! That is there to dampen the steering if you hit a pothole. Without it, you could twist or break your wrist when the steering wheel turns to fast. Remember, our cars do not have power steering, so GM had to do something to dampen the steering. Think about this- Why do 4X4 trucks have dampeners on there steering.

Hello , Whoa wait a minute I tell customers that " you can remove the steering dampener" its up to you if you want to keep it or not. There is plenty of debate here on the forum about that one way or the other, I dont use them, but if you think youre going off-roading then maybe you need it Have fun, be happy. Thanks Norm

quote Originally posted by 3.8 SC: Without it, you could twist or break your wrist when the steering wheel turns to fast.

That statement might be a bit prone to exaggeration... really, most of us who have driven their 20-year-old car with an original stabilizer know what it feels like not to have one at all. Not much different really.

When I went to replace mine a couple of years ago, I found that the original had a big hole in it - and actually did nothing. So $40 and 2 bolts later I had a brand new stabilizer installed... and I could hardly tell the difference, if any.

quote Originally posted by 3.8 SC: Just one thing. The instructions tell you to remove the steering stablizer. Do not remove it! That is there to dampen the steering if you hit a pothole. Without it, you could twist or break your wrist when the steering wheel turns to fast.

I hope you're joking.

quote Originally posted by 3.8 SC: Without it, you could twist or break your wrist when the steering wheel turns to fast.

well stop sticking your arms through the steering wheel rungs while driving over rough roads

seriously though - every fieor i've ever had has had a hole drilled int he dampner by a previous owner.. i've never had a problem.

to stay on topic thought I installed my battery box last night - good old sawsall to the plastic and man that fiberglass reinforced plastic tub material made me itch like mad - felt like i had little glass shards in my hands (which basicly i did)

I used selftapping screws all around it to pull the plastic tup up into the battery tray and hold it all tight with a bead of RTV around the edge..

ran the wire and realized it was backwards - the crimpe don end goes to the started with the short red lead going up to the terminal block and the long line going up front through the battery box and needing a new battery terminal crimped or clamped on.

battery in.. then realize the spare will not fit.. I didn't bother trying to make it fit since i will have the 11.25" brakes on in about a week and the spare will be useless anyways.. time to make a battery hold down..

[This message has been edited by Kohburn (edited 03-10-2005).]

Who sells the replacements??? I may as well do it while the car is down. Rick B

President Cleveland Fieros
www.clevelandfieros.com

quote Originally posted by Kohburn: battery in.. then realize the spare will not fit..

Has everyone experienced this? Is this typical of other front-mount battery trays available?

AFAIK most front battery mounts can still accept a spare, but you may need a slightly smaller battery - as well as possibly needing to "flip" the spare over so that the dish is up instead of down... but oddly, it seems to vary from car-to-car!

quote Originally posted by Rborecky: Who sells the replacements??? I may as well do it while the car is down. Rick B

Replacement whats?

[This message has been edited by MinnGreenGT (edited 03-10-2005).]

quote Originally posted by 3.8 SC: Just one thing. The instructions tell you to remove the steering stablizer. Do not remove it! That is there to dampen the steering if you hit a pothole. Without it, you could twist or break your wrist when the steering wheel turns to fast.

this is true, tho unlikely. sudden force back thru the steering has the force of the moving car. tho, I dont believe the stabilizer will help a whole lot with a big hit. but it will soften the smaller ones. the bone breaker hits will still get thru. the stabilizer also absorbs some vibrations. to me, it's preferance.

every racer knows to let go of the wheel just before a crash.

quote Originally posted by Kitskaboodle: By the way, one item not provided in his kit is a lug ring connector (you need this for the 10 gauge orange wire which goes to the terminal block on the passenger side strut tower)..

wait wait wait..... ok, heres the story. just got done pulling/putting my motor and trans back in, and i have this wire, about what i beleive to be a 10 guage (my batt is up front) left over. i couldnt for the life of me remember what it is. (i labled everything but stuff that was blatantly obvious to me as to what it was.) BUT, i dont have this wire running to the pass side block. i had thought thats what it was, but... where does it run FROM? if the starter (which is what i was thinking just wasnt sure) WHICH terminal on the starter?

after reading this, im fairly sure thats what this wire is, cause ive got no power to the car. so where does it run from?
(sorry for hijacking)

Kohburn you can still use the spare tire I do and you should as its part of the frontal impact absorbtion. In the instructions there is a drawing of the spare tire well, trim the area that sticks out in front of the A/c dryer and the tire will fit over the battery which holds everything in place. Once installed the tire and everything will look stock as you pick up the hood, you wont even see the battery so it keeps a stock apperance. Any one can call me at 574-255-7843 should they feel too. Thanks Norm

[This message has been edited by normsf (edited 03-10-2005).]

You're right Norm..... I had to trim about a 3" or 4" wide swath of the lip you mentioned. Fits good now and the spare "cups" the battery just right. Be careful as you push the spare down into the wheel well though....the spare tire tends to get hung up on the rubber hose that comes out of the brake booster. I have to bend mine down a little so the tire clears.

Kit (86 GT)

yeah I didn't feel like trimming to fit since the spare won't even fit over my brake upgrade.. i'll just make a hold down for it and carpet the front trunk

ShaddowGT: That orange wire replaces the small red wire that used to go from the positive battery terminal to the power distribution block. Since the battery is no longer there, you run the orange wire from the power distribution block down to the starter (where the positive battery cable connects).

BTW, I haven't finished the install yet... thanks to mother nature. Don't worry. I'll document the whole thing.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 03-10-2005).]

quote Originally posted by Blacktree: ShaddowGT: That orange wire replaces the small red wire that used to go from the positive battery terminal to the power distribution block. Since the battery is no longer there, you run the orange wire from the power distribution block down to the starter (where the positive battery cable connects).

- yeha I ran the cable backwards before I figured that out , was laying under the car scratching my head wondering where that smaller red wire was supposed to go and why it was so short.. heh

quote Originally posted by Kohburn: - yeha I ran the cable backwards before I figured that out , was laying under the car scratching my head wondering where that smaller red wire was supposed to go and why it was so short.. heh

EXACTLY!! i got everything back togeather, all mounted in and wired up, and bam, had that wire left over. im like 'crap, i KNEW this was gonna happen... '

YAY! the first time that ive ever taken anything apart on the car, and NOT had leftover screws/bolts/nuts/peices..

thx fer the info blacktree, big ol + for ya!

I was asking where can I buy the steering stablizer? Thanks,,Rick B

Rborecky, you can get one from The Fiero Store.

Anyone have a picture (or description) of how you routed the battery cables once you got to the large heat shield behind the fuel tank?

i'll snap a few pics next time im under the car, which will be really soon... gotta go re-attatch that cable

Thanks, Rick B

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President of Cleveland Fieros
www.clevelandfieros.com

Alright, I finally started working on the battery box. I'm pretty methodical about things, so this project could take several days.

So far, I have the box installed in the spare tire boot. Instead of working on it in the car, I decided to remove the spare tire boot to make the job a little easier. In the photo below, you can see the dimensions of the hole that needs to be cut. I drilled holes in the corners and cut the rest with the jigsaw.

It's important that you center the hole between the rivets that hold the brackets for the front brake line. The edges of the hole will be literally right next to the edges of the brackets. See photo below.

I had to file the edges a little to get the box to fit. Once I was satisfied with the fit, I taped the box in place and started drilling the holes for the mounting screws. I used SAE #8 x 1/2" machine bolts (with nuts) instead of regular screws. Yeah, it's overkill. But at least I know the box won't be going anywhere.

Notice that I drilled 2 holes for the boot's mounting screws (near the top edge). Those screws will be re-used, to ensure that the boot is mounted securely. With the extra weight of the battery in there, I don't want to take any chances. I'm actually thinking of replacing those two screws (and their body nuts) with 1/4"-20 bolts.

More to follow, as time permits.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 03-19-2005).]

great help, thanks!

Well, my little boot installation party got rained out today. But I have a couple more pics for ya.

After drilling the holes for the screws and verifying the fit, I removed the battery box and had some fun with RTV silicone. I laid down a 1/8" bead, taking care to encircle all the bolt holes.

After letting the silicone cure for a few hours, I hit the frontside of the boot (and the battery box) with some black rubberized undercoating. Obviously, I didn't do this to prevent rust. I didn't want bare fiberglass exposed to the elements. Plus, it looks better all one color/texture.

More to come as time and weather permit.

quote Originally posted by summerjim: Anyone have a picture (or description) of how you routed the battery cables once you got to the large heat shield behind the fuel tank?

I've got the engine out right now.. I'll snap some pics - I planned to run it up around the drivers size cradle mount then behind the heat sheild over to the starter.

but now I'm thinking of pulling it up through where the gas tank vent line runs to make it a bit shorter.

[This message has been edited by Kohburn (edited 03-22-2005).]

While installing the spare tire boot in the car, I learned a few things:

1) The boot has to be installed in the car before you install the battery box. I had pre-assembled the box in the boot, and could not get it into the car without damaging something.

2) The machine bolts were a bad idea. Once the boot and battery box were in place, I couldn't reach under some of the bolts to install the nuts. So I replaced those ones with self-tapping screws. If I were to do this again, I'd forget about the machine bolts and just use self-tapping screws.

3) While test-fitting the battery box into the boot, I found that I would have to bend that front brake line either 2" down or 3.5" forward (approximate). I chose the lesser of two evils.

4) After installing the battery box, I sat a battery in it and test-fitted the spare tire. Not only did the spare tire interfere with the brake booster hose, but it interfered with the boot so much that I'd probably need to remove the entire back end of the boot. I hope the battery is just oversized. In any case, I'm going to stop by the auto parts store and bring a tape measure. Does my Fiero see a gel-cell in its future?

But at least the battery box is in the car now. Here's a quick shot:

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 03-22-2005).]

Has anyone drilled access holes so that the terminals are facing the radiator? The "other" place that makes the relocation box out of aluminum has access holes in that location.

I have Norms box, and will install it this weekend. I am thinking of using a holesaw to modify the box so I can route my cables out towards the radiator, then under the car to the engine compartment

[This message has been edited by topcat (edited 03-22-2005).]

Blacktree, I had the same problem with the tire hitting the brake booster hose. It does help to trim away 3 inches of the plastic ledge that is above the bottom of the wheel well. You'll notice the ledge juts out a little more nearest the pasenger side of the wheelwell. After trimming this you should be able to squeeze/angle the tire into it's home. What helped was to hold the brake booster hose back with one hand while working the tire down into the wheelwell with the other hand. Yep, mine was a tight fit too. Oh, and I had to push down my brake line about 2 -3 inches too. (hated to do that though...) Also, on the self-tapping vs. running through bolts: I chose the latter because with the sheetmetal screws you're just anchoring into plastic. Fortunately, my arms were just long enough to reach around the bottom and hold my socket wrench on the nut while I tightened the topside with a flathead screwdriver. To me this project was a real PITA but was still worth it! (several benefits at a moderate cost)

Kit (86 GT)

I used pop-rivets to install mine. I used these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7962071344&category=36475

The large head type is a must with a washer on the back for support. These were great because they came black coated.