Proper routing for negative battery cable

[histoy]

My '68 440 Charger with AC has the negative battery cable bolted to the top front bolt on the oil pump.   That looks incorrect to me.   I've been looking for pictures of other AC engines to see how their cables are routed, but I've only found one.   It has the negative cable routed over the top of the valve cover on the driver's side.  The cable looks like it is fastened to the front 3/8" bolt that secures the AC bracket adjacent to the intake manifold.   Is this the correct factory way to do it?   Brian

[Ghoste]

I thought it was routed behind the compressor and attached to the forward bolt on the drivers side of the intake?

[Nacho-RT74]

Mine is bolted on compressor, at a side. On front hole of the driver side ( there is two bolts locations ), not the one of the bracket to the head support.

[histoy]

Beautiful job of restoring your '74 RT Nacho.   That's really a sharp car!   I looked at your engine picture, and I can see what you're talking about, however there's a bracket and piping on the driver's side of my '68 that isn't on your '74.   

I've been trying to visualize in my mind what would happen on the assembly line.   The engine probably had the battery cable fastened to the front bolt at the assembly plant, and was partially painted engine color.   Later if AC was an option, would they have removed the battery cable to bolt the AC bracket at that location?   If so, the quickest way to reassemble it might have been to install a longer bolt to compensate for the thickness of the bracket, and put the battery cable in the same hole.   This would mean the cable would lay over the valve cover.  If not, they would have had to take out another bolt (possibly on the compressor, as you suggested) and route the cable differently.   I'm just trying to verify what was the factory way of doing it.

[Nacho-RT74]

Thanks... lots of job and effort on it. AND NEVER PERFECT LOL... anyway never will be since I like to use a lot and for a while you use, then parts get damage. In fact is my daily driver.

Do you mean THIS bracket ?

[histoy]

No, my car has a large bracket that attaches to the 2 bolts you mentioned.   One of the bolts is in the picture you sent.    The bracket comes down the front of the head on the driver's side.  Here's a picture of what I mean.

[histoy]

Here's a picture of the 2 bolt locations on the top / front of the engine.  The one on the left that attaches the AC bracket is the one that I usually see the cable attached to on non AC cars.  On those the battery cable runs down the front of the engine where the compressor is located.  To use either that bolt or the front manifold bolt (the right bolt pictured) would mean that the battery cable will lay over the top of the valve cover.  I'm willing to do that, if it's factory correct...Brian