Rules of the day required the battery to be installed within the same compartment as it came from the factory. You could alter the position within the compartment but could not relocate it to another (from the engine bay to the trunk for instance). AAR chose to lower the battery location as much as possible, note the location in the lower right hand corner.
Some cutting, grinding and a few choice words finally got the battery, radiator and engine to coexist in this lowered position.