I think it best to overkill the battery tie-down solution because of weight
and criticality issues. What I have done on my '67 vintage race Midget has
also been applied to my '72 street Midget.
A piece of 1/2"x1/2" steel angle iron across the front edge of the battery,
attached with "J" bolts to the standard tie-down points keeps this heavy
missile tied both down and back. Why use wood for such a critical
application? Is it because Frank is a carpenter and wood oriented? Small
angle iron is available from your local (heaven save me) Home Depot.
Because the clutch and brake lines run behind the battery along the fire
wall, I space the battery away from the sheet metal and lines with a nice
piece of 1"x2" wood, as long as the width of the battery, attached through
the fire wall with light, countersunk bolts. In accordance with race
requirements, the hot terminal is covered with a red plastic boot, even
though the bracket does not come near it.
I also don't use wing nuts, but rather double hex nuts. How often do you
remove the battery that you need removal capability by hand rather than two
combo wrenches?
A plastic tray sits under the battery to catch the occasional overflow and
prevent acid from eating the critical battery tray. Three of my six parts
cars have no battery tray because of acid leaks. Two have had battery fires
that destroyed most of the engine compartments. The damage may have come
from improperly attached batteries or batteries that were not tied down at all.
I have an article I wrote under the nom de plume MotorMouth/south that was
published in Victory
Lane Magazine and MG Vintage Racers Newsletter a few years ago that details
all the considerations and options for battery tie-down that I can send or
posted if anybody is interested.
_______________________________________________
Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html
http://www.team.net/archive
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/spridgets
|