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.

Battery Support Part IV

I know what you're saying, "Enough with the steel, and the welding and support and what not!" Well, I feel your pain. Trust me when I say that I'd much rather move on to sexier things, but I have a few remaining things to do to try and make the supports as road ready as I can.

Today I spent several hours cutting, fitting and shaping some steel tubing for cross bracing on the existing mounts we've already welded into place. Once they are welded to the existing supports, they should offer the extra bracing needed to support the batteries in the event of hard stops or accelerations.

I also spent some time cleaning up the hole I cut in the trunk's bulkhead yesterday. Took a lot of careful measurements and then went down and ordered the plastic box that's going to fit in the cavity. That should take a week to build. In the mean time I need to cut some more steel to support and hold that box in place. Ideally, I'd like to build yet another frame to mount in the area the fuel tank was in, to hold the accessory battery. I'm thinking I'm going to use an Optima battery for that because I can mount it anyway I want, even upside down!

Battery Support Part III

Well, we're back from vacation and I'm ready to start tackling the car where I left off. We welded up more bracing for the battery trays today. Today we worked on the tray that will hold three batteries in the back of the engine compartment, near the firewall. We got a lot done, but had to quit because it was getting late. We have some cross bracing to sort out, and then I just need to mount them up to the supports we've put in.

There are not too many mechanical things left to tackle. Need to mount the power steering pump, the A/C compressor, the vacuum pump, the radiator for the Zilla, and finally, the cooling fan for the motor. After all that, it's on to the electrical stuff.

Battery Support Part II

Tim (no relation) and I finished cutting and welding the steel for the frame I'll be using to hold the middle battery tray to the frame of the car. Admittedly it's not very pretty, but it's as strong as a really... big... strong... thing... Huh, can't think of a good simile. It's really sturdy, that's the point I'm trying to make.

Battery Support Part I

Spent the day with my friend Tim (no relation) working on getting some supports for the battery racks welded to the frame. They turned out very well. Once they are sanded down a bit and painted, they'll look even better. Most importantly, they are really solid. They'll easily hold the batteries and be able to take the abuse of any bumps along the road.

Yesterday I built the shroud that goes around the front of the motor. There had been a metal screen like you can see in the picture below on the back end of the motor. While the impeller in the motor would pull air in to cool it, I'll get much better cooling if I force air into it. So, in that shroud, on the upper part of the left side, I'll be fitting an attachment that will accept a 2" hose, which will be fitted to a squirrel cage fan. That should keep things nice and cool.