Stock Battery Hold down - Only one bolted on clip holds the battery?

[Yamariv]

Thinking about ordering a stock battery hold down set up. Is it really only one bolt down clip that holds it down or is there one on the other side between the battery and rad support?

[kwmech]

Just the one bolt, issue is--- most of the time the clamp gets installed upside down

[howzzzit]

Yep. Just the one bolt and clamp. My 72 C10 been that way since day one.

[hewittca]

It is a bit comical isn't it? I had a Malibu with the exact same battery position and clamp as these trucks. One time under hard acceleration the battery actually popped out of the clamp and was bouncing around the engine compartment, tethered only by the battery cables! I added a strap over the top after that. On my truck, I completely ditched the stock mount/bracket and relocated my battery. This one should never jump out of the bracket!

[68 P.O.S.]

There's also a lip at the back bottom of the tray that's supposed to hold the battery as well.

[72SB]

All 3 of my Chevys, 67, 72 and 96 all have the same 1 bolt hold down using a 78 series battery. Never had any problem "throwing" a battery out of the tray...although I don't do any Dukes of Hazard jumps of off road driving.

The 96 I drag race for years and part of tech inspection is the guy grabs battery to confirm it has a hold down.

Like either top or side post (78 series) battery's there is a lip just like the post above never start battery for the 1 bolt clamp to hold on.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by 68 P.O.S.

There's also a lip at the back bottom of the tray that's supposed to hold the battery as well.

And that setup has always worked just fine for me on several different cars and trucks. It's hard to see how a battery could come loose, because the rear hold-down bracket forces it forward under the battery box's front lip. But your battery also has to have that corresponding lip. That may not be the case with all batteries.

[67 twins]

Originally Posted by hewittca

It is a bit comical isn't it? I had a Malibu with the exact same battery position and clamp as these trucks. One time under hard acceleration the battery actually popped out of the clamp and was bouncing around the engine compartment, tethered only by the battery cables! I added a strap over the top after that. On my truck, I completely ditched the stock mount/bracket and relocated my battery. This one should never jump out of the bracket!

If your battery came loose in anything less than a severe accident it wasn't installed correctly. I've seen vehicles that have been rolled over & the battery was still in place.

['68OrangeSunshine]

There's a ''lip'' on the Battery Carrier's front that's supposed to engage a raised ridge on the base of the battery, and is then clamped down by the piece in back. I replaced the Carrier on my '68 Stepside with a new one after corrosion killed the old one. With the new carrier the system works. But I have used big zipties, [2 and-a-half footers] to secure the battery in the past.

Once. after getting out to a western set from another remote location, I was horrified to find the battery had fallen back from all the 4-wheeling in my '71 GMC Jimmy. Battery acid had leaked out and burned the paint on the outside of the passenger side fender before I caught it.

The next step was to find a battery plate from another junkyard vehicle that had front-and-back circular mounts for hold-down hooks, and get it welded onto the triangular GM carrier brackets. So now my 4x4 Jimmy has a pre'66-style batrery hold down.

On the long cable ties, they can be re-used if you can release them by getting a pen knife blade or O-Ring pick under the ratchet tab and lifting it up over the grooves. Cheap fail-safe and saves your fender paint.