In this instalment of our 1973 Porsche 914 restoration project, we show you how to install the battery tray and support properly.
After you remove the battery box, take some measurements to be sure you’re putting it back in the right place. While it doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s nice to get it back where it’s supposed to be.
Coat the area where the battery box will go with POR-15 to keep rust at bay, and grind the area you’ll be welding the battery box to. The battery box will come in two parts, the bottom and the and the top. This gives you the freedom to replace just the top of the battery box, leaving the frame as it is.
Prep and drill the holes for your plug welds, and coat the whole battery box with weld-through primer. We welded the two pieces together using a spot welder, as we have one readily available.
POR-15 is not easy to weld to, so you’ll have to take a measurement and make some marks on the frame and grind it down to get a good weld.
Attach the battery box to the frame once it’s in place and you’re happy with the fit, using self-tapping screws.
When you’ve done all of the plug welds, give it a quick inspection and clean up some of the welds. Then, top it off with some weld-through primer and you’ve got yourself a battery tray and support.
Check out the video to see how we did it!
Wish that this had been around when I replaced mine! What I did was place the welded-up support and tray as far to the right (sitting in the engine bay and facing the tray) as it would go, so that the right-hand corner of the tray was resting on the frame where it kicks up over the drive shafts. That’s where the original sat, so I knew it wasn’t far off. The critical thing of course is to have enough space between the battery tray and the passenger compartment bulkhead for the injection “brain” !
Now, how about a “how-to” for the roof pillar/door jamb?