Drop Down Battery Box kit. Complete tech article show you how!

Classic Performance Products 378 E Orangethorpe Ave., Placentia CA 92870

Classic Performance Products

Installing a Drop-Out Battery Box

By Jeremy Cook
Brand new to the CPP product line is this new Drop-Out Battery box. It's a two-piece setup made completely of stainless steel. The mount bolts directly to the frame rail in any location you wish. Then you set the battery in the box and slide it up into the mount from underneath the truck. Now here's the cool part: there are two points where the box locks into place. The first is with the battery hanging down so you can attach the cables with ease. Then you slide the box up into place where it remains until you need to access it again. Pretty cool, huh? Follow along as we install the CCP box as well as a new battery and cables, all in about an hour. And if you have any questions about the enormous line of products from CPP don't hesitate to give 'em a call or log on.

 1. The Classic Performance Products Drop-Out Battery Box is also available for Optima-sized batteries, but we went with the standard group-24 size. We're running new cables too. The 2-gauge black cable and lugs are from a welding supply store and are used for the positive lead. We picked up the clear cable we would be using as the ground, as well as the brass terminal clamps at the parts store where we prorated our dead battery for a new one.

2. As soon as the old battery was removed, we ditched the factory battery tray.

3. We already got rid of the heater core and filled the firewall, so this side of the engine bay is really starting to look spartan.

4. While we were there, we fed the old positive cable down by the starter and pulled off the ground. It was bolted to the front most exhaust manifold bolt.

5. We determined the right frame rail, just behind the cab, to be the perfect place to bolt the CCP stainless box, so we marked the holes. We have a bird's-eye view because the bed floor is missing, but this spot was to provide easy access from under the truck later on.

6. Then the holes were drilled out to the proper diameter.

7. A&B We peeled off all of the protective tape from the mount, lined it up with the holes, and started the bolts.

8. We used a little air to snug down the bolts. 

 
9. Our group-24 battery slid right into the box and fit like a glove.

10. From underneath, we lined up the hooks and slid the battery up until the hooks locked into place.

11. With the battery in place, we began to build and mount the cables. The ground goes from the battery to the nearest frame rail, but we were careful to leave enough slack so the battery could drop down for removal.

12. Each end was then stripped. One end got a copper lug, the other a brass terminal clamp.

13. We cleaned the area around an existing hole and bolted down the ground.

14. Then we snugged the terminal clamp.

15. We still needed to ground the engine, so we cut another small piece of ground wire to run from the exhaust manifold to the frame rail.

16. The ends were stripped and a copper lug was crimped onto each end.

 17. Again, the area around each hole was cleaned

18. Now for the positive cable. We grabbed one end of the welding cable, stripped it, and affixed a lug.

19. Down on the starter, we simply pulled off the nut and replaced the old cable with the new one.

20. The cable then needed to run along the frame rail for the length of the cab. We used four insulated metal clamps and self-tapping screws to mount 'em.

21. Now the cable could be cut to length.

22. The clamp was attached and mounted to the terminal.

23. Finally, the battery hold-down was snugged.

24. That's it! With a little help from Classic Performance, Project Old School was fired up and cruising the parking lot in no time.

It's always best to have shop and assembly manuals on hand to make sure your installation is correct and to make the project as easy as possible. We recommend factory manuals, available at Greg's Automotive

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