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TR2/3/3A Battery box installation

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sp53

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Battery box installation, so if I remove the battery box will I need to brace or support the top cowling. The bottom has rotted out, but I am just not sure how much the spot welds and the four corner welds and the upper weld down the underside of the cowling help hold things together.?
 
I didn't have to whe I redid mine...I initially was going to cut the box a few inches from the top and just stitch it up later but I ended up drilling the spot welds and removed the box entirely.

Cheers
Tush
 
Here is what I was going to do originally....

P1060979.jpg
 
But ended up doing this..

P1080954.jpg


Cheers
Tush
 
I have done two the way Tush was originally going to do it. I just could not see messing around with the upper part of the box. I was also concerned about how the new FULL box would fit in without a lot of bending the top part to fit under the cowl.

No need to brace anything that I saw.
Charley
 
You may not want to brace the battery box, but I put the box in place, then put the hood on and looked at fit. The cowl needed to go up a little to fit the hood better so I put a jack under the cowl and raised it 1/4 inch, then welded in the new battery box. It stayed in the shape I needed!
Jerry
 
charleyf said:
I have done two the way Tush was originally going to do it. I just could not see messing around with the upper part of the box. I was also concerned about how the new FULL box would fit in without a lot of bending the top part to fit under the cowl.

No need to brace anything that I saw.


Charley
Click to expand...

If you notice, I did have to bend down the bottom sheetmetal slightly to get the top of the box up and under the cowl. I pulled this back up with sheet metal screws after and then removed them and plug welded.

Cheers
Tush
 
Well I got the battery box to go in, but the box does not fit very well. The firewall angle is different than the battery box. The firewall tips at 49 degrees and the new box tips out at 56 degrees, so the box will not sit flat. There is about a ½ gap. I checked my driver TR3 and it is also 49 degrees , so it is the new box. I wish I would have checked the angle before I started because I cut the top lip off the new box, so I doubt if they will exchange it. I did not want dig into those welds under the cowling. I cut the box as high as I could to use the holes in both places at the same time on both boxes and that part worked out well. Maybe there is a way to bend it and push as I weld it down. Did your boxes lay down flat or did you have to force them down.

The box has one of those Heritage made in UK stickers on it. I purchased my stuff from VB, so I will call Moss and TRF to see if they use the same vender and if not I will purchase another box if the angle is correct. I might call VB also because I bought floor pans and sills ect...at the same time, so the order was pricey.

In addition I used a blunt rotary file to cut the spot welds and that also worked out well because the file only cuts the lapping surface at the weld and does penetrate the other piece much, so I only get one hole and no drilling. Fortunately, the holes line up fine and the cut is high enough where it will not show much.
 
I'm pretty sure TRF has them made locally , and they fit perfectly in my car. I drilled out all my spot welds so I used the drill hole to spot weld the new box in place. I'm sure you can bend the angle piece to make it fit though. You may have to trim the top again because it will get taller and hit the bottom of the cowl.
 
Thanks Keith Yes that has been my experience also. The TRF has a higher quality, but I have also noticed that this Heritage Company is supplying many parts. Did yours from the TRF have the brackets for the dash on the back of the box? I actually talk to Chuck at TRF about the box they had when I was putting my order together, but I think he was looking at a picture and not sure. With this Box I have, the actual angle is wrong on the tabs and the box is stout and bending it in and down is making a poor fit.
 
The only mods I had to do to the box was to install the three T-shaped wire clips for the harness, and drill and counter sink two holes for the OD relay. All the brackets were on the box , and in the correct location. If you fight with VB they may give you a onetime refund for the box but you will have to prove the design on the box is wrong. I did this with a windshield I purchased from them. Ask for the onetime refund on this and you may be in luck, then get one from TRF. Back in 08-09 I did a detailed post on battery box replacement and it will have all the pictures you need if you can find it.
 
Thanks Keith I will try and find your post. When I talked to TRF I asked specially about the brackets for the dash supports, and all I got was this monotone voice saying well I only see the 2 eyelets for the battery hold down and a drain hole. TRF wanted 95.00 and VB wanted 50.00 and I made my decision on the money mostly because I thought they were coming from the same vender. I will call them again. I hope they still have the older one and many thanks for the tip on VB.
 
Well correct Again Keith VB was very helpful and refunded the Battery Box. I do like their service and how they package parts. The last stuff I got from Moss or TRF came damaged in shipping. Moss made it right, but the TRF told me that the copper figure 8 gaskets would flatten out and be fine. Like, I was going to take that chance.
 
Ok so I am doing some dry fits on the TRF battery box and notice the box is cut straight and the car has a slight curve on the cowl. I see Tush suggested using sheet metal screws to pull the sheet metal together. When you did that Tush did the cowling deform right there and if it did does it show or just come down and hid. I was thinking maybe some seem sealer, but I do want a metal to metal fit also. What did you do there Keith?
 
I can't tell from the picture if the box is back all the way against the firewall. The firewall should be straight, or at least I did not notice a slight curve in mine. The drip channel does have a slight curve to it. I cheated with mine and had an extra set of hands on the other side pushing the box tight against the car body. They can use a small piece of wood to push so they don't get burned.

Does your car have O/D if it does now is the time to drill the holes for the relay since TRF boxes are not drilled. The slotted screws for the relay should also be countersunk in the box. It's also a good idea to put a spot of weld on the back side of the relay screws to hold them in place. I can tell you an easy way to countersink the screws later if needed. The metal deforms easily.
 
When that lip goes under the cowl, you can bend it up to match the cowl curve. So, the back of the box will still be straight, but the lip goes from straight to curved.
 
sp53 said:
Ok so I am doing some dry fits on the TRF battery box and notice the box is cut straight and the car has a slight curve on the cowl. I see Tush suggested using sheet metal screws to pull the sheet metal together. When you did that Tush did the cowling deform right there and if it did does it show or just come down and hid. I was thinking maybe some seem sealer, but I do want a metal to metal fit also. What did you do there Keith?
Click to expand...
I was referring to the bottom part where the bottom of the box fits above where the throttle shaft runs. I bent that area of metal downwards slightly so I could get the top of the box tucked up under at the top. I later pulled the bottom metal that I had bent back upwards with sheet metal screws before I plug welded it in place.

Cheers
Tush
 
The TRF box looks to be thicker than original and a lot thicker than the basic vehicle where that little fold at the top is, and I doubt it will give much John, but it would be sweet if it did. No Keith the box is not back against the firewall, but one good push and that should pop it in, but again getting it out might not be ease because the way I see it the force will lift the curve of the cowl and then let the cowl drop back down, so I want to have the box prepped. There is always the possibility the box will fall back against the fire wall and tuck under, and I am just over thinking this--- that has happened before. I got concerned when I miss-read Tush’s post about bending the metal. Keith would you have a picture of the OD bracket because I am adding an OD unit to this car and have no example.

Peace out
 
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