still can spin a big truck and/or turn on incandescent bulbs with temperatures in the thousands of degrees

the internal resistance of lead-acid batteries is in the tens of mili-Ω, the circuit of 2 bolts and one plate/top of the pole would be in the low 100s mili-Ω. lets round up to 200mΩ, power = V•I = V^2•R = 12^2/0.2 = 720W, enough to heat up the top assembly of the pole, and smolder some wood