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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Battery Tray

Posted by: Michael J May 10 2005, 07:53 PM

I finally got the guts to pull out the battery and really look at what was under there. OK I really did look there before I bought it. The not so good news is that the battery tray was about half gone and holding on by about 1/2 inch of semi solid metal. So I ripped it out. More bad news is that there was a bunch of rust under the tray. Now what kind of surprise was that? The good news is that it is almost all surface rust and the only spot rusted through is around the drain hole. About double the size of the drain. So I can clean things up without getting the sawsall out. My question is where is the beast (cheapest ) place to get a new tray and support? I'm going to put it back in the stock location. Pelican is a little more expensive than Auto Atlanta but I'm sure you all real deal finders have found the best source. Also is there any reason why I can't pop rivet the tray back in place? I'm no welder.
Thanks for the comments.

Posted by: dinomium May 11 2005, 03:53 PM

I got mine from Tweeks for around forty bux

IMHO (and not meaning to a a dick) but why go thru all the trouble of putting the tray back in the stock position if not welded? I would say put it in the aft trunk if you dont want to weld it. Rivits or nutz and boltz are askin for trouble...

Posted by: smg914 May 11 2005, 05:56 PM

I've had two 914's that I replaced the battery tray and bolted them to the body instead of having them welded. I drilled a hole near each end under the rear lip of the tray where the back of the battery fits into. Then set the battery tray in place and take a magic marker and mark the holes where they meet the inner fender well. Drill the two holes in the inner fender well. Bolt the tray in place with lock washers. The front bolt and battery clamp will hold the front of the tray in place and the two rear bolts will hold the back in place. This gives you the ability to remove the tray every few years and clean behind and under it.

Posted by: SirAndy May 11 2005, 06:02 PM

QUOTE (Michael J @ May 10 2005, 06:53 PM)
I'm no welder

then find one. or learn it yourself. easiest would be to pay a buddy a sixpack and have him weld it in for you ...

if it was my car, i would do it *right*, clean it all up nice, spray it with metal-ready, replace the batt. tray and the lower part with the drain hole, spray on some good primer, then paint to match the car ...

you'll hate yourself later if you do a hackjob now ...
Andy

Posted by: tat2dphreak May 11 2005, 06:19 PM

I'm no welder either, but you can learn enough with some scrap to do well enough... or find a friend close-by that can help out... and MIG welding is not rocket science... even a half-assed welder can make a MIG weld gook great... practice some, or take a cheap class(what I'm doing now, as a refresher for a class I took 12 years ago) then, you'll be ready to take on anything... and if it's not the prettiest weld, who gives a rat's ass, it's under the battery tray, no one will see it...

I think restoration design, Pelican, and all the other major vendors have the kit...

Posted by: Michael J May 11 2005, 11:21 PM

Wayne,
Thanks for the tip on Restoration Design. They had a great price on the tray and support kit.
I took a welding class a lot of years ago and just remember that the results always looked like bird shit. I'll call a friend and buy some beer.

Posted by: scruz914 May 12 2005, 01:52 AM

QUOTE (smg914 @ May 11 2005, 03:56 PM)
I've had two 914's that I replaced the battery tray and bolted them to the body instead of having them welded. ....... This gives you the ability to remove the tray every few years and clean behind and under it.

QUOTE (SirAndy @ May 11 2005, 04:02 PM)
....you'll hate yourself later if you do a hackjob now ...

I don't see bolting in the tray as a hack job. A lot of crap and water gets under there and being able to remove the tray to clean it makes sense.

Posted by: tat2dphreak May 12 2005, 07:30 AM

QUOTE (Michael J @ May 12 2005, 12:21 AM)
Wayne,
Thanks for the tip on Restoration Design. They had a great price on the tray and support kit.
I took a welding class a lot of years ago and just remember that the results always looked like bird shit. I'll call a friend and buy some beer.

you were PROBABLY using a stick welder... or flux core... MIG is much cleaner

if you want to just spot weld it, you can drill holes along the welding edge every 1-2 inches and weld in those holes... that way, if you do want to pop it off in the future, you can... it should hold FINE like this...

Posted by: SirAndy May 12 2005, 10:30 AM

QUOTE (scruz914 @ May 12 2005, 12:52 AM)
I don't see bolting in the tray as a hack job. A lot of crap and water gets under there and being able to remove the tray to clean it makes sense.

i have yet to see a bolted on one that looked even half-way decent ...

and if the dirt piles up all the way under the actual tray, you got bigger problems anyways.
Andy

PS: there's plenty of space to get in there and clean things up ...
user posted image

Posted by: john grier May 12 2005, 07:04 PM

Yes, that looks mity clean

Posted by: 914rrr May 12 2005, 07:33 PM

Q; where does water, battery acid, dirt, etc, go after it falls down the center hole of the battery tray? Would there be any harm in dumping some Ospho down the hole as a preventative measure?

Posted by: SirAndy May 12 2005, 08:41 PM

QUOTE (914rrr @ May 12 2005, 06:33 PM)
Q; where does water, battery acid, dirt, etc, go after it falls down the center hole of the battery tray? Would there be any harm in dumping some Ospho down the hole as a preventative measure?

runs down the top of the long and puddles up in the "hell hole" ...
there's a drain hole there too, but especially for the battery acid, that doesn't do much.
after a while, you'll have additional "rust" drain holes and all that stuff will just puddle up "inside" the long.

that's when it's time to bring out the

Andy

Posted by: SirAndy May 12 2005, 08:42 PM

QUOTE (john grier @ May 12 2005, 06:04 PM)
Yes, that looks mity clean

nope, i said you *could* get in there to clean it.

didn't say that pic was of a particular "clean" engine comp ...
Andy

Posted by: tat2dphreak May 13 2005, 08:51 AM

replacing the battery tray should tell you one thing if nothing else.... buy a damn optima battery!!

Posted by: Michael J May 14 2005, 10:59 AM

Getting an Optima battery is sure the answer but I have to ask if the newer service free batteries still can leak? If they have vent holes they probably can but then the water would evaporate and they would need fluid added and they wouldn't be maintenance free ??

Also, if the rust hasn't eaten it's way through yet what's the best clean up solution?