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After looking in every nook and cranny if my 68, i have found that batteries over the years have not been kind to the compartment they have been assigned to! It seems the acid has destroyed some of the fiberglass, leaving a small (4-5" diameter) hole in the bottom.
Just curious who has had to tackle this one and how you went about it.
I was thinking of screwing in a new metal pan and covering it with fiberglass cloth and resin, i cant be the only one with this deterioration.
Sharing any solutions would be greatly appreciated....trying to tackle this this weekend!! woo hoo!!
My 71 was in bad shape too. Original design has clamps at the bottom to grab a ledge at the battery bottom. See a parts catalog if u need to.
This whole area was messed up for me. I went and used some mat to fix the holes and make the bottom flat. Then got a plastic battery tray and hold downs, drilled holes thru and mounted with fender washers from underneath.
Am not sure how much you need to fix, but also watch out for how high your repairs go, might have clearance problems with the covers.
To avoid future problems, I went with a sealed (Optima Red top) battery
I wouldn't use a metal plate. You can buy unclad G10 or FR4 fiberglass-epoxy sheet (circuit board material, but with no copper). It comes in various thicknesses like 1/16" and 1/8". I would cut that to fit, sand it well and glass it in.
Hi Steve,
I don't know just where the hole is but you might want the repair to include a hole for the drain grommet that was part of the original battery compartment.
Regards,
Alan
Hi Steve,
I don't know just where the hole is but you might want the repair to include a hole for the drain grommet that was part of the original battery compartment.
Regards,
Alan
Thanks Alan,
That is the drain in the center correct? There were 2 other drain hoses on the side almost where those 2 little holes are right above the shock in your picture...they didn't look original. I have that center grommet/drain intact. It looks like my hole is where the negative cable came thru.
Steve
BTW, my dream would be to have a vette as clean as yours...it looks like yours would make new ones coming of the line look dirty.
Thanks Alan,
That is the drain in the center correct? There were 2 other drain hoses on the side almost where those 2 little holes are right above the shock in your picture...they didn't look original. I have that center grommet/drain intact. It looks like my hole is where the negative cable came thru.
Steve
, my dream would be to have a vette as clean as yours...it looks like yours would make new ones coming of the line look dirty.
On my 68 I have same small drain holes too
Original battery had 1 drain hose per battery cap block.
Yeah they bounced around back there improperly secured for years and beat up the boxes.
Marshal
Hi Steve,
Marshal is right those 2 additional small holes are for the vent tubes from the battery manifolds that replaced the regular battery caps.
Remember these batteries weren't 'sealed' therefore couldn't safely vent into the interior so the manifolds and hoses were used.
Regards,
Alan
I believe this is an original R89S battery, but it might be a period service replacement. Missing Hoses.
Here is a picture of the cancer....looks pretty bad .
The first job is to clean as much of the white stuff off....thinking about using a can of coke!
Theoretically the acid should neutralize the alkaline.
I am thinking your battery has sulfuric acid so you might consider sprinkling baking soda (base or alkaline) and then flush with plenty of water.
My 68 had the same battery box problem, fairly big hole and a large crack, but 75% remaining maybe, I taped the bottom up to prevent the resin from dripping out and then matted in a number of layers of fiberglass cloth. I then put a layer of plastic down and then put the battery in while still wet to hopefully get the bottom of the battery shape impressed in the fiberglass. Next I installed new battery hold down brackets.
Hope this might help, the battery tray idea above sound like a good idea too.
The good news is Corvettes are fiberglass, I have to believe Corvette repairs like this are easier than fixing sheet metal.
Hope this might help, the battery tray idea above sound like a good idea too.
The good news is Corvettes are fiberglass, I have to believe Corvette repairs like this are easier than fixing sheet metal.
I used the tray after some fiberglass mat patching. The hardest part was figuring the battery hold down method.
Now vent issues. I use a sealed battery with no vent tubes. Sealed batteries will not put out a liquid, but when excessively overcharged will emit hydrogen gas. No worry for normal operation.
Battery Box rebuild?
