Batteries

 

There was no battery tray left in Lola, the battery was just in there held "secure" by 2 bungee cords...

 

Went to Wal-Mart for a battery.

I prefer to use the large chain stores for things like this so ANYWHERE in the country down the road I can get serviced without too much hassle.

 

The battery their little computer said I was supposed to use... NOT!!

That one was Tall and had the positive terminal over near the fender.

I am sure it was the right one if you had the proper tray and hold downs.

BUT for me, I do NOT like having a positive that close to a fender!

So, I looked in the racks and found a short style battery with the terminals swapped AND it was a high # CCA battery. NO issues during the cold OR in the heat of a slow cruise night!

 

Off the shelf plastic battery tray, 5/16" bolts and some fender washers top and bottom along with a piece of 1/4" fiberboard. painted the area and the fiberboard with the X-O Rust and added some bedliner to the fiber board.

 

Use a grinder to grind off the bolt heads that held in the old battery tray(they were so rotted they were just a bump pile of rust). Then I used a long punch/chisel and hit DOWN and the factory square nut that was in the fenderwell sheet metal, they just popped out on to the ground with a couple good hits.

the 2 bolts nearest the radiator actually went through the holes left by the nuts being punched out. You can see those bolts in the pic are kind of set at an angle so they fit in those existing holes.

I stuck the bolts in to see IF that was a good location for the battery and tray.

Put the battery in the tray and adjust the tray positioning in order to keep the battery clear of the everything especially the edge of the fender for the terminal posts.

Pulled the battery out, marked the other 2 holes for drilling.

 

Then marked and drilled the wood base/spacer. I made the base just big enough to fit under the raised portion of the plastic tray(thats all you need and it stays tucked up under and out of the way, does not collect extra dirt dust and debris). I use the wood base for a solid FLAT surface for the battery tray. The plastic will deform to the contours of the fender well(not good) when you tighten the bolts down. You need to have a smooth flat surface at the bottom of the battery itself to avoid any rub through issues.

 

Apply paint AFTER you drill holes and test fit, so the edges get a coat and are protected.  

 

In this pic the radiator is to the left, fender to the right, A/C component is cleared by the tray at the bottom of the pic and front of the car is to the top.

You can see the core support bolt down in the recessed area at the top middle of the pic, I can still get to it without moving the battery too!

 

The universal type battery tie down works great, I hit it with a touch of weatherstrip adhesive to keep the wing nuts from backing off. Then just cut the excess off the J-Bolts with the grinder.

 

You can also see why I wanted the positive terminal on the inside instead of by the fender.

 

cranks over NICELY!