my battery tray and hell hole, advice? Options

[pt_700]

given the caliber of 914 stewardship here, i kind of already know...

i'm in the midst of installing a "new to me" 1.7. not intended to be the "end all, be all" powertrain, this is more of a "tide me over" until i do my long intended small block conversion. as expected, i'm doing a lot of "while i'm in there..." work.

after taking a wire wheel to my battery tray and hell hole, there's more of "less" in the former, while the later is still solid. battery tray support is also still solid. tray itself feels solid, i've been using it as a step to get in and out of the engine bay to do things like body to motor mount bar brackest, upgrade firewall shifter bushing, fuel lines (while i'm in there stuff) etc...

is replacing the battery tray an "i can't believe you haven't done this already?!", or can i put it off a few more years (until the engine upgrade) with rust treatment? the car will almost never see rain, will be driven very occasionally and lives in a garage. anybody have a battery go "walkabout" while driving due to such a tray?

if i'm convinced i should replaced the battery tray now, what's a ballpark figure for that welding job? i have a few friends that weld but, it's a bit more of a favor than i'm comfortable asking, unless my favor balance was well into the black... these particular friends have already helped me way more than i've been able to help them, my conscience dictates monetary payment.

[pt_700]

i'm liking the idea of a bolt in tray and or supports. would sure make accessing the area for cleanup easier...

in order to remove both cleanly, do i simply locate & drill out the spot welds? is there access to the backsides as seen above in the rear wheel well?