I was framed.

So with the battery frame done:



I started working on the sheet metal.  But it turns out that was a bad idea.  When I built that replacement hood support, I measured the height off the dashboard support, guessing that the front of the hood would be at the same height.


As you can see, there are some rather serious panel gap issues.  No matter, I'm putting the sheet metal to bed for the time being, until I can get my hands on a metal brake and an air compressor so I can make some new side panels.  That probably won't be until winter.


Speaking of winter, I need to finish that snow/dirt plow that I was building.

I should have measured the distance between the top uprights of the frame before I welded it, it was too narrow.  So, I cut them off, made new ones, drilled them out, and welded them onto the frame.


Made a little support for the plow.


Then I welded it onto the frame. Ignore the clamp, I didn't have a proper 1/2inch bolt for the main 'hinge'.




There are three holes in the plow bracket so I can angle it however I want. Should be useful.



Looks pretty good, too.

Leaded fuel only.

So in building this new tray, I had hoped to get four on the bottom, and four on the top. Unfortunately, as I had built the motor mount slightly bigger than it needed to be, there isn't enough room to get all four in the bottom. No matter, three and five will work out fine, if slightly top heavy.



Support for the top rack.



Drilling holes to secure it to the frame.



Sizing it up.



Gussets like crazy. Just made these out of scrap I had laying around. If I need more in the future, I'll add more. No big deal.



Since this is going to be somewhat tight and cramped, I have to remove the top batteries to get at the lower ones. May as well make it easy for myself to get the bottom ones in and out, so I drilled holes to make this side of the rack removable. Somewhat easy access is important, as these are trojan batteries that have to have their cells checked every so often (acid levels, specific gravity).



Test fitting.



Built a mini-tray for the single 12v that I have room for. I had hoped to get more in there for a paralleled bank, but there's not enough room.



All painted up.





New weatherstripping for the batteries to cushion themselves on.



Bolted down and wired up.



Gave it a quick test, everything seemed normal, so I put the hood back on.



Took it for a short test run on the driveway (first time it's moved in a month and a half), was very satisfied, so I tucked the little batteries in for their very first charge cycle.


All in all, a productive two weeks.

Coming up next, I finish that damn plow blade mount.