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Posted By Discussion Topic: Protect battery near dual exh ??? -- page: 1 2     Grant 02-20-2014 @ 2:43 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 538 Joined: Oct 2009 The battery under the floor in our '36 roadster is very close to the left dual exhaust pipe. That side of the steel battery box is only 3/4 of an inch away from the hot pipe. It's a good sturdy box from a '50, but that battery must be getting awfully warm sometimes. When the Optima battery is slid over as far as possible to the right, there is about a one inch space between it and the inside vertical edge of the steel box.......definitely lots of room for some sort of thick insulation. Has anyone else dealt with this issue ? What sort of material would work well as a temperature barrier to protect the battery ? Stroker 02-20-2014 @ 3:52 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Grant: Being from an "earlier age", my first reaction would be asbestos. Given that this is no longer a politically-correct response, I'd go to my local auto parts store and ask for a roll of header wrap. You can fold this stuff back and forth and wedge it between the metal case and the battery. I'm not sure what it's made of, but it will withstand the heat from red-hot steel tubing, and is a good insulator. fla48 02-20-2014 @ 4:31 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 128 Joined: Nov 2011 Would wrapping the tail pipe keep the battery box cooler and therefore the battery? Stroker 02-20-2014 @ 4:35 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 fla48 & Grant: That would be the "obvious" solution. supereal 02-21-2014 @ 12:28 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 I would do both. Most of the newer vehicles have an insulated battery box to protect against engine compartment heat. The Optima is probably more heat resistant than the common lead/acid type, but I made a box for mine and packed insulation arpund it. If you ever replace the battery in your vehicle, be sure that the insulator is retained. At our shop, we see many where the it was left out. We make them from foil faced fiberglass material, usually sold by home centers. RTesnow 02-21-2014 @ 5:06 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 1 Joined: Feb 2014 Material to wrap the exhaust can be had at any speed shop such as Speedway or Summit. battery s on new cars are wrapped with insulation use the bubble stuff at the local home store and it will work, found in the heating isle with hot water heaters or in the insulation isle it has a aluminum look to it ,comes in a roll. I have made heat reflectors from aluminum for some customers ,simply take a sheet and shape it to reflect and bolt it with an insulator. cliftford 02-21-2014 @ 8:03 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 845 Joined: Jan 2014 It sounds like this is not an original car. Have you thought about relocating the battery under the hood? I've seen it done on a '34. Or how about on the rumble seat area floor? Grant 02-22-2014 @ 1:55 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 538 Joined: Oct 2009 Thank you, gentlemen. This is definitely not an "original" car.........it has '39 hydraulic brakes, '39 pedals, a Columbia rear end, a '39 banjo wheel, BLC hot rod headlamps and what is supposed to be a '39 trans. The paint and top were done in 1951, and although both have seen better days they are still pretty nice. That as-found "patina" appearance is exactly what I'm trying to permanently preserve........a '36 roadster from the fifties. If you would like to see photos, take a look at page 55 of the November December V8 Times. For preservation reasons I do not want to cut Henry's stock firewall, even though a relocated battery would certainly be a reasonable and workable solution. And putting a battery onto the rumble seat floor would likely contaminate tools and luggage which have to be in that spot while on long-distance runs (that's what the car is used for). Having been under the '36 again yesterday for a few minutes, I think that the best approach would likely be: 1. get quite a bit of header wrap onto something like eight or ten inches of the left exhaust pipe, possibly held on by stainless rad hose clamps 2. leave some air space (1/4"?) between the wrapped pipe and the outside wall of the battery box so that the 30 mph or 40 mph or 50 mph breeze created by driving helps strip more heat away 3. on the left inner side of the box, which is closest to the pipe, build up more header wrap around a rectangular insert which can be slid into place alongside the left end of the battery (maybe a thin piece of aluminum? or is there a better space-age solid fire-resistant material?). Also, underneath the Optima, perhaps a piece of mud flap or floor mat should be installed to help keep the battery from vibrating on the floor of the '50 battery box? Is that a sensible idea? And what about some sort of flat steel bar installed horizontally from side to side in front of the Optima to hopefully keep it in position without being able to slide forward? I'm trying to make a best-possible installation here so that the battery won't die a miserable death like the last one did. The previous set-up was simply two pieces of angle iron facing each other, with the battery lowered down onto them. No hold-down clamp, no lower steel plate for the battery to sit on, no insulated pipe........just thin air.......no wonder the poor thing died. With the high heat and constantly wiggling around like a Willie dashboard wobblehead from Duck Dynasty, the next battery would be equally doomed. As always your comments and recommendations are much appreciated. woodiewagon46 02-23-2014 @ 8:10 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 705 Joined: Nov 2012 Any speedshop or companies such as Speedway or Summit has a variety of insulation products. How about a piece of fiberglass pipe insulation around the pipe where it get's close to the battery box? murphy1936 03-07-2014 @ 9:20 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 191 Joined: Nov 2013 Have optima battery, two questions, no one sells optima hold downs for this battery yet non Model A fords they do, wonder why?, had to fab.my own, second question, what material is used to make your own box? Was going to use wood painted black and run insulation around inside box around battery. Is this ok maybe paint it black? Not too sharp looking though? John41 Super Deluxe 41

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