Front mounted battery - looking for good grounding point

[Henrik]

I am moving the battery to the front. Can anyone recommend a good, solid grounding point on the right side, below the trunk?

Thanks,

Henrik

[Ryan S.]

Why?

[hmcelraft]

I believe the easiest would be to go down to a bolt on the fuel tank retainer/cover. One of those would have sufficient contact to the frame for the grounding.

[Drive Stainless]

I would use any of:

the M6 bolt(s) holding the upper radiator support bracket to the frame
the M8 bolt(s) holding the lower radiator support bracket to the frame
the LH-mounted M6 bolt holding the brake tee to the frame


I would not use any bolts that secure suspension components; i.e., the M12 nuts securing upper/lower control arms or the M10 bolts securing the anti-roll bar.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I drilled into my frame and used a bolt and nut to make a ground for my headlights. I cleaned the epoxy off that area and after I bolted on the ground lug, I painted right over everything.

Note:
Your stock headlight ground has two 12 AWG wires in the harness running back to the ground feed through in the relay compartment. Using frame ground for the headlights opened those two 12 AWG wires for other uses. I used one to get 12 volt battery power to my side blinker circuit.

[content22207_2]

Several of us have run 4 gauge ground buses through our cars. We tie into the battery in its stock location, but could do the same anywhere else in the vehicle.

41775

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Henrik]

Well, turns out my biggest challenge is not running the 1 gauge wire from front to back (I threaded a test wire along the AC lines with no problem) or finding a good grounding point in the front: The hardest part seems to be finding a spot in the trunk where the battery can be properly secured without impeding access to the brake fluid reservoir, clutch cylinder or the spare wheel. The only place seems to be the right rear corner but there is not enough floor area to mount it securely.... If anything, I'm considering a sub-floor to mount the battery to, which in turn is bolted the trunk. I might be able to make the sub-floor narrow enough that the spare wheel can slide in and out. We'll see...

[Josh]

There is lots of room under the trunk floor. I would cut out the floor and make a little pocket for the battery to sit in.

[content22207_2]

1 gauge wire

Can you spell "overkill"? Exactly how powerful is your subwoofer?

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Henrik]

There is lots of room under the trunk floor. I would cut out the floor and make a little pocket for the battery to sit in.

Good one! I'll have to look into that possibility.

[Henrik]

Can you spell "overkill"? Exactly how powerful is your subwoofer?

Bill Robertson
#5939

That's what most battery relocation kits come with.

[content22207_2]

My ground bus is only 4 gauge -- I feel so inadequate.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[mluder]

Why exactly are you relocating it out of curiosity?

Cheers
Steven

[Michael]

My ground bus is only 4 gauge -- I feel so inadequate.

Bill Robertson
#5939

Bill is one of those that thinks everyone that drives faster then him is a lunatic and everyone who drives slower is an idiot.

[Drive Stainless]

There is lots of room under the trunk floor.

O rly? Then why didn't you put the LS1 there, big shot?

:wrenchin:

[Michael]

Bill is one of those that thinks everyone that drives faster then him is a lunatic and everyone who drives slower is an idiot.

That one was for Rich as much as it was for Bill

[content22207_2]

Does anybody know where John Dore relocated the battery in his 4 seater DeLorean? (There's a jump seat where the battery used to be).

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Josh]

O rly? Then why didn't you put the LS1 there, big shot?

:wrenchin:

Ill get on it! I think if you want to break the 500whp barrier the lotus chassis needs to go. Might as well switch it up to FR!

[content22207_2]

Rick Gendreau made a traditional ladder frame for his twin engine DeLorean (Honda engine and transmission up front). There are pictures somewhere on the Internet.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Bill is one of those that thinks everyone that drives faster then him is a lunatic and everyone who drives slower is an idiot.

Sounds like an old George Carlin joke...right?
Rob

[Time Machine]

Why?

Probably to prevent things like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Kwha8lC8s).
My insurance company suggested the reason my D blew up was because something caught fire near the battery, ignited the interior and BOOM.

[content22207_2]

Slightly off topic, but I suspect most DeLorean fires start in the engine compartment then migrate into the passenger compartment.

My best friend is a 29 year firefighter in the DC area. He's put out everything from Honda Civics to Metrobuses to tractor trailers (and even an Arlington County firetruck once). He is mesmerized that there is no true firewall between a DeLorean engine compartment and the passenger compartment. A metal firewall buys you at least 5 minutes before an engine compartment fire migrates into the passenger compartment, if not more (fire has to migrate through holes in the firewall). If the polyester resin that makes up our underbodies starts to burn, it's pretty much all over but the shouting. Polyester resin burns about twice as hot as gasoline. All that's separating our engine compartment from the passenger compartment is polyester resin. Our "firewall" is like a firewall in reverse -- it accelerates migration of the flames.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Rich W]

Slightly off topic, but I suspect most DeLorean fires start in the engine compartment then migrate into the passenger compartment.

My best friend is a 29 year firefighter in the DC area. He's put out everything from Honda Civics to Metrobuses to tractor trailers (and even an Arlington County firetruck once). He is mesmerized that there is no true firewall between a DeLorean engine compartment and the passenger compartment. A metal firewall buys you at least 5 minutes before an engine compartment fire migrates into the passenger compartment, if not more (fire has to migrate through holes in the firewall). If the polyester resin that makes up our underbodies starts to burn, it's pretty much all over but the shouting. Polyester resin burns about twice as hot as gasoline. All that's separating our engine compartment from the passenger compartment is polyester resin. Our "firewall" is like a firewall in reverse -- it accelerates migration of the flames.

Bill Robertson
#5939

While we are slightly off-topic, this seemed like a good place to mention there are very good fire-resistant fiberglass resins that have been developed in the last decade or more.
I incorporated fire-resistant fiberglass resin in fabricated sections of both the DeLorean Limo and the DeLorean Roadster Convertible (in the fiberglass and carbon-fiber sections).
While it can cost significantly more than standard resin, it does give you added insurance (and maybe a few extra moments) to escape the vehicle, if something does catch fire.
I opted to go with a fire-resistant fiberglass resin as the top-most coating of resin, so while not all fire-resistant fiberglass resin, it will reduce surface flash-point susceptibility.

If someone were to decide to build new DeLorean underbodies, for new DeLorean cars, it might be in their best interest to use fire-resistant fiberglass resin in the build process,
especially in the engine compartment area, the "firewall" area and the engine cover. A few extra dollars in the build process, to make the underbody safer, is money well spent.

[Drive Stainless]

Can we get into specifics? I usually use the West Marine epoxy resin products. Where do you look for fire-resistant products?

[content22207_2]

Google "fire resistant polyester resin". Vendors start showing up on Page 2.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[content22207_2]

If someone were to decide to build new DeLorean underbodies, for new DeLorean cars, it might be in their best interest to use fire-resistant fiberglass resin in the build process,
especially in the engine compartment area, the "firewall" area and the engine cover. A few extra dollars in the build process, to make the underbody safer, is money well spent.

Even better would be an honest to goodness sheet metal firewall cast into the underbody. It would need to either wrap around the pontoons or extend the entire width of the vehicle (pontoons are big hollow cavities into the passenger compartment).

Quick Google search shows ignition point of rubber to be 260-316 degrees and polyester to be 432-488 degrees (gasoline is 257 degrees). In the bad old days conventional wisdom was if an engine fire got hot enough to catch the belts and hoses on fire your car was likely to be toast. Factory original DeLorean underbodies increase that risk 60% if they catch fire.

Bill Robertson
#5939