My latest project has a rotted tray, just the tray though. Cheap and easy fix if I wanted to do so. But I know a guy who has put his battery in the rear trunk. Two days ago, I had a customer drop his car off, throttle sticking and battery leaning against the engine (almost). Too much metal was gone to just replace the support and tray. He needs the engine pulled to fix it all etc... I suggested moving the battery to the back, then cut him a deal because it was a first for me. He said Yeah! Turned out great! Plenty of room still for the top and I didn't have to buy new cables. I used a modified 911 muffler strap to hold everything down. I only had to drill a few smaller holes and one gromet. I will see if I can post a pic or two.

Anyone else done this? I have also seen the battery up front in many 914's, but seems like a hassle to run all that cable. I plan on doing this rear trunk mount to mine for sure now unless I get some real bad vibes from fellow teeners. It sure cleans up the engine area not having the battery in there.

i he hasn't done so, he had better run to costco and get an optima for the tunk mount. the fume/moisture/heat combo can make a real mess.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that one, yes, he will be using a Gel battery(Optima). I also use one. The only way to go with a 914 I think.

I am considering this mod as well but was concerned about a couple things...

How to secure it to the rear trunk?

Will my top still fit in the rear trunk?

Pictures would be nice to see how you did it and what the finished product looks like.

Thanks!

The targa top will still fit in the trunk.

I have one of those, but I think I'll be moving it to the front trunk come winter....winter?...auugghh.

Realistically, though, isn't the Optima enough? It solves the leak problem, so if the battery tray area is usable, then you wouldn't have to run new cables.

Or, am I wrong, and the Optimas will also cause issues?

Here is an older pic of my setup.
Mounted up front,down low.
A couple weeks for of frigging around to get it all to my own satisfaction.
Ron

This came with my car and It's great, I don't carry too much stuff so storage space isn't a problem.

I put this in mine. Odysee 680, 680ca 270 cca 370 hca works good for me. As soon as I take out the tray then I will mount it back in the engine compartmenrt down low. Thanks Mark

Another picture. No header or heat exchanger on that side.

If the 914 is an "every day driver", I'd leave the battery in the engine bay. On my 914-6 conversion, an "every day it don't rain driver", I concentrated on keeping all engine related items (battery, oil tank, ignition module, cooler, etc) located in the engine bay leaving the trunks uncluttered and ready for all sorts of carry ons (groceries, gear bag, book bag, car cover, etc).

With the battery in one of the trunks, be careful tossing your golf clubs in with it! Your 914 may fail the "Blue Spark" test!

Here is a pic of my rear trunk set-up. Two 6v Optimas on thier side. No problem with top storage.

Finished product.

I totally spaced taking some pics last night of my customers car. I will before he picks it up today. Mine was a very simple install. I didn't have to buy anything. I used a 911 muffler strap and just trimmed it down a little. Both battery cables worked just fine as well. His 914 was a stock FI 1.7, so the only reall anything I had to do was add some wirring to extend back down to the Fuel pump. The support and tray pulled out by hand.

If you have lots-O-rust in your engine battery area and don't have the resources to pull the engine to fix it properly, this is probably a good solution. I know I will do this to mine. It doesn't seem to take up much room back there at all.

I have not moved one to the trunk but I saw a really sharp Z.Green on Ebay with a "professionally done" battery relocation to the trunk.

They brought the cables through on the right rear side and it looked pretty solid... I thought enough of it to save the photo to my hard disk.. I'll look for it tomorrow and post it.

rob w