As you can see, we relocated the batteries from behind the passenger seat to the trunk of the car. Original 427 S/C Shelby Cobras, as you all probably know, had the batteries behind the passenger's seat. I say "batteries" because original Cobras had two 12 volt batteries (hooked up in parallel). The batteries were placed behind the seats because they were race cars and they wanted to get to the batteries as easily as possible during testing, racing, etc. Also, at the time, they didn't care much about driver safety or whether or not he got something so "insignificant" as SULPHURIC ACID (battery acid) splashed on him. Today we worry about those things, (and the lawyers who tend to follow the above ambulances), so we try as hard as we can to be as safe as possible.
Over the years I have wondered about the wisdom of having batteries right beside you--especially in case of an accident. So, we decided to take the batteries and replace them with a single, new, modern, military unit. We still keep the battery on the passenger side of the car to help maintain weight balance against our ever expanding waist lines. We save 20 pounds (still trying to get below 2000 lbs!) as well by going to a single battery. We certainly didn't go to one battery to save money, the Odyssey battery is almost $200. Further, we don't sell the battery with the base model car because it is not good for batteries to sit around. Who knows how long it will take you to finish your assembly (just ask Ron Richards) and it is always best to have a fresh battery when you fire up your Chariot of Fire for the first time.
Here is a picture of our latest billet battery box.
Here is a close up of the 4 bolts that hold the box in.
