Silly question, but how have people rivetted the battery tray, "L" shaped alloy panel to their grp scuttles? Presumably rivets through with washers on the back to prevent them "crunching through" the grp????

Just wanted to check before cocking it up!

do you need to rivet it at all? the scuttle i have has a grp front and i was planning on rivnuting it to the chassis, the battery tray/above front footwells panel would be just horizontal, no 90degree bend/vertical part to it. or am i missing something?

Ned.

Just one bolt either side on mine, the bonnet holds the front down.

I think he must have a scuttle like mine - open front and back.
Riveting through the ali and then through the GRP with a washer on the inside of the GRP sounds fine to me.
Pat...

Yep, open front and back to the scuttle, with an alloy front which is L shaped to form the battery tray area as well. Rivets with washers it is then.

Cheers

Nat

Nat,
You can get nice washers for the job in B&Q. They are called "Repair Washers" and are something like 25mm diameter with a 3mm hole. They are also just the right thickness for the job and are galvanised. I'm sure you can get then in other stores as well as B&Q but that's where I got mine fairly recently. I also got some of the little 4mm flat washers to use when rivetting plastic P-Clips. The washer stops the rivet pulling through the p-clip.

HTH,
Craig.

Ahh, cheers. Worth knowing, because whilst repair washers are nothing new to me, I have hundreds of 6mm and 8mm bore ones but I have none small enough for rivets, so will have a look at B+Q.

Thanks again

Nat

Used rivnuts to hold all or most of these type of panels on the Challenger making a strip down that much easier.

My scuttle was open front and back as well,i riveted the firewall on and used small stainless dome heads to via angled ali to fix down.

The battery tray i made is riveted down,but my base is ali and i know some are fibreglass.
Rescued attachment MK Indy build pics 134.jpg

Ahh! Well I covered my GRP front on the scuttle with some Stainless, then drilled through the lot and fitted Penny Washers on the GRP Side and used 5mm Stainless rivets, and a few bolts all with load spreading washers. Maybee a bit of overkill then by the sounds of it. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

A battery is a heavy Item, and when travelling at, say 50mph, has a Large Mass. It needs securing properly. I dont want to think of it coming adrift in an accident.

1. All that Stored Kinetic Energy ie Big Mass at Speed
2. All that stored Electrical Energy meeting up with the metal bits and becoming an uncontrolled Arc Welder with a mid of its own.
3. All that Sulphuric Acid spraying everywhere, including over the occupants of the vehicle and others nearby.

Please treat it with respect and fix it down properly. A couple of bungy cords and a few 3mm Rivets isnt enough, in the event of an accident.


PS... I appreciate it has to pass an SVA, but do a good job on it, for everyones sake.

Exactly the reasons (amongst several others!) that my battery is going in the front of the passenger footwell (boxed in) and will be a red top varley one which is gel and doesn't spray everywhere if broken. (as well as being light, not leaking and never needing touching)

I was calling the top area a "battery tray" just for reference. I don't like the weight of a battery so high up when there is a great big spare gap underneath it!

Personally I'd rather my battery flew off in an accident... better than any isolation switch!

NSDev, which varley battery in particular are you going for? redtop 30?

Ned.

yep, by co-incidence I have mentioned it on your alternator thread!

have you bought it yet? whats the cost?

(I keep thinking the same and if a few people are interested i'm sure we can get a bulk buy)

We might, but I'll give you a call, might be able to get a good price on a couple anyway.

Cheers matey.

Might be able to get my hands on a couple of trapdoors for fuel tanks if youre interesting one (stops it leaking when you turn upside down) mate who does fuel systems for a living had another panic when i told him what i'm doing & is seeing what else he can blag. he really thinks i'm goind to die in a ball of flame.

Does sound a bit paranoid, however the overturn valve is something that even I would take seriously, as it is usually the one situation where you can't get yourself out of the car, and you don't want fuel running all over you whilst trapped!

I'll give you a ring in the week, busy at the weekend with washed out autograss meeting that turned into a dry black oval by the end of the day. Also only made 3rd in my final, and realised it's the first time I haven't won a final at M+L in 12 months! DOH!!!

NEED NEW GEARS

ahem, you won the final at the race i saw you! that was M+L wasn't it?

away this week after wednesday till next monday.

[in an attempt to make this sentance english i'm editing it]
can't help with your gears, suspect they will turn up once the bloke who's supplying them moves into a different racing class

[Edited on 9/5/05 by MikeR]

That's what I meant Mike, the 1st time I DIDN'T win a final at M+L in 12 months! I won every one until this Sunday just gone!!!

Think I may be on the phone to Quaife very soon!!! Doing the MAP open at Stratford 4th and 5th June and that's a big track so need the gears there!