Size of battery hold down?

[Histoy56]

My '56 has a battery mounting bracket in the front next to the radiator instead of on the firewall. it has side battery hold down bolts instead of the ones on the ends next to the terminals. My battery is 10" long and 7.5" wide. Will a stock '57 hold down bracket fit that size of battery? I'd like to buy a chrome one, but I don't want to order it unless I know that it will fit.

Please disregard. I found out that a standard '57 battery is only 7" wide...Brian

[markm]

I have never seen a 56 with a battery mounted at radiator support, they hand off the firewall like 55.

[BamaNomad]

Unless the '55 or '56 is a factory AC car, then the battery is located more forward towards the rad support similar to a '57.

If not an AC car, then it's obviously a custom change, Mark.. and IMO a good one as the battery mounted on the firewall behind the hood hinge and under the hood and in the way of transmission dipstick is a real problem on my '56 Nomad.

[markm]

If I have seen a intact factory AC 56 I dont recall it. I have seen a few 57s. I wondered if this might be the case.

[BamaNomad]

The '55 and '56 factory AC installations were essentially identical under the hood. Here is a photo of a '55 with factory air (and lots of otheroptions).. :)

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Notice the battery location, approximately similar to '57 installs...

Something else unique about factory AC installations in '55 and '56 was that the cowl plate showing the Fisher body data, which for non-AC cars was installed on the top of the cowl on the passenger side, For AC cars is installed in similar location on the drivers side because the AC Evap unit bracket would cover it up on the pass side.

[markm]

That is the first color picture I can recall seeing. That is a very rare car.

[Histoy56]

That is an awesome engine compartment! Thanks for sharing it. My '56 battery is located in the same position as yours, however the hold down bolts are on the sides instead of the ends. It also holds a larger than stock battery. So far I've been unable to find a chrome cover, because of the larger size. My engine is restmoded instead of stock and my wife would like to put some chrome on the passenger side of the engine bay.

[BamaNomad]

The '55-56 AC battery box is *similar* to the '57 battery box but it's designed to fit the '57 inner fender and rad spt (and it's very rare and not reproduced), but I've thought it would be possible to modify a '57 box and it's mounting arrangement to fit in a '55 or '56 but haven't done it.

Without seeing a photo of yours, Histoy56, I'm thinking that a prior owner likely mounted a '57 battery box upfront (with some mounting modification) to get his battery away from the firewall and out from under the hood/hinge.

I'm imagining that you are looking for a '57 type of hold down but in chrome? I took a quick search and didn't see anything except the stock type '57 holddown as pictured here.
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These are generally plastic coated, but I like them better than '55-56 type (rectangular holddowns) because they don't put metal bracketry next to the battery terminals. One alternative for you might be to install a stainless or chrome box in the battery box you have and hide the battery?

[Troy]

Here's a link to Danchuk's https://www.danchuk.com/ItemForm.aspx?Item=314C '57 Chrome side rod hold down frame.

[Histoy56]

Thanks Troy. That's the first place I searched, and I was going to buy it. However, I found that it's for the standard size battery, which I'm told is 7" wide. Mine is 7.5" wide, so I've searched various other sites and I've come up empty. I appreciate everyones' input.