Batteries |
Post Reply |
Author | |
Regul8r
Admin Group Moderator Joined: 26-December-2007 Location: Sarasota FL Status: Offline Points: 6624 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Posted: 09-November-2014 at 6:43AM |
This weekend I replaced the battery tray and battery in Lola Mae.
O'Reilly's Auto Parts has the plastic battery tray and hold down right on the shelf of all their battery stuff. I'll get you numbers and $ next time I go to the store. List of things I used Battery Tray Battery Hold Downs 5/16" fender washers (8), small pack of 10 is on the shelf at O'Reilly's 1.5" long 5/16" bolt (4), I used the 1/4" wood and could have used a shorter 1" bolt here. 5/16" lock washer (4) 5/16" nut (4), I bought the bolts, lock washers and nuts at my local hardware store where I can buy them individually so I don't waste money and have left over stuff to lose. a piece of 1/4" fiberboard or something similar like 7/16 or 1/2 plywood Can of X-O Rust black paint and a can of bedliner/undercoating (usually cans laying around in our stashes) The bedliner stuff is to spray on the WOOD piece to keep it from rotting away with moisture! New battery cables, cable ends or whatever you may need to make a good set up, ALL readily available on the shelf at O'Reilly's. As for the battery... All the books will tell you a battery that is specific for our cars... IF you are not doing a concourse restoration DO NOT USE THAT ONE! The books call for a battery with the positive terminal where it is close to the fender AND tall...NOT optimal to avoid accidental arcing out! Being "knowledgeable" (that's very debatable) I looked on the shelf I found a short battery that had the terminals reversed AND it has more CCAs! WIN, WIN, WIN!! Here is my write up from my project thread NEW battery time today!
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! |
|
Carl Corey (Moderator/Event Coordinator) Contact ANYTIME!
1976 Ford Elite "Lola Mae" 97 Suzuki Intruder 1400 US Army Retired |
|
Eliteman76
Admin Group Joined: 20-March-2006 Location: Nebraska, USA Status: Offline Points: 5044 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Carl-
I had that same basic tray. I found my ended up breaking apart over time. I'll just say I think it's my driving however that's the cause :)
|
|
Andrew:GTS.ORG admin, '72 Q code 5 speed Restomod
Pondering: #99Problems |
|
Regul8r
Admin Group Moderator Joined: 26-December-2007 Location: Sarasota FL Status: Offline Points: 6624 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
I agree this is not a "sturdy" tray and that j-bolt is only in to a slot in the plastic. I am thinking about putting a piece of metal down there underneath that wraps up to where the J-Bolt goes. But eventually I want to tilt her nose so this is just a temp/perm thing anyway. |
|
Carl Corey (Moderator/Event Coordinator) Contact ANYTIME!
1976 Ford Elite "Lola Mae" 97 Suzuki Intruder 1400 US Army Retired |
|
Post Reply | |
Tweet |
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |