Battery Box problems and fixes

I decided to do some cleanup in and around the battery box of the 1800 last week. The PO had someone [he never did any work himself] do work that included putting 2 cut sections of asphalt roofing shingles on the bottom and back of the battery box. On top of that were 2 1/4" pieces of plywood painted black with a FLAPS battery tray that had been cut and hacked to accommodate the windshield washer reservoir and pump.

It was a mess so I started removing everything, this is when I discovered the reason for it. 2 holes about the size of half dollars in the middle of the area under the battery into the passenger compartment. First off I had to scrape the asphalt shingles off and remove all the goo that they left behind. Then I got the wire cup brush mounted in a drill and had at the areas that showed any rust, the rest of the box was solid, all the angles and seams were tight and rust free. The next step was to paint everything with a rust preventative paint, to stop further rusting.

After that dried I applied a layer of FatMat sound/heat insulation to the bottom and back surface in a single piece to seal the entire area from the engine compartment. This stuff sticks like crazy to anything it touches and then all you need to do is apply roller pressure to bond it to the surfaces. After that I added a custom bent 304 stainless steel sheet to the back and bottom to give the battery somewhere to sit that would never rust again. Everything was secured with aluminum rivets with SS washers under the rivet heads.





I also purchased a battery mat product from IPD that was about $5 and cut that to fit. The original battery hold down system will be used rather than the over the top setup with J hooks that the after market FLAPS tray used. More clearance above as well so no more rubbing of the cutoff switch knob on the inside of the hood. The old buildup of shingle, plywood, and battery tray added at least 1/2" to the battery height.



I like the look and it will be much better than the crap that was in their before. It is amazing what some people will do to butcher their cars.

finished product minus the original equipment hold down which is being painted.