Battery Support Part V

This may be the last post were the focus is battery support. Today my friend Tim and I welded up what should be the last of the bracing to support the battery trays. With the choice of the newer lighter batteries, I'm confident that the bracing is more than up to the task.


Here you see the cross bracing we put together on the passenger side of the car. The other side is similar.


This is a shot of the new trays I built out of 14 gauge steel. All in all, it saved 15 lbs of weight swapping the heavier ones out. With the batteries being lighter than the lead acid I'd planned, I no longer need the trays themselves to be a structural support, they just need to hold the boxes in position. You'll notice that the box in the back is smaller than the tray. Well that's the one I mentioned I was going to have to have redone. You can see the size of the footprint the box will take up has grown a bit.


I'm leaving the heavier tray at the very front because the power steering pump will be suspended from that one. It's going to need the strength.


Last is a shot of all the boxes in place. I haven't secured the trays down to their moorings just yet; I'll be doing that tomorrow. There's only a few more mechanical items to sort out now; mounting the blower fan for the motor, the vacuum pump for the brakes and the compressor for the A/C system. The compressor is going to be a challenge. It may not be running when the car hits the road, but it will need to be working before next summer.