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battery tray rust band aide

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jvandyke

jvandyke

Luke Skywalker
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Okay, so I'm in the middle of positive to negative ground conversion, removed heater box, battery and plastic tray. There's some rust through holes where tray meets firewall and some little ones in that general area. I'm not too upset about that but I'd like to clean up and "contain" as best I can.
Plan is to sand it down as much as possible, treat it with "something", prime and bomb the area with the similar flatish black someone did the engine bay in way back when. I want to avoid the "might as well" slippery slope.
I've used some Naval Jelly type rust converter/encapsulator stuff in the past, is that still a good idea?
I scraped off some material that looked like fiber mesh stuff, was that original? Doubt it.
Should I put something (besides the plastic tray that I'll re-use for the battery) over the holes? Like "glue" down a piece of, I don't know, plastic or something, just to cover the holes?
The area is actually in pretty good shape, structurally sound, so this is just a stop gap approach for a driver. Someday, good Lord willing, I'll teach myself to weld and I can fix such things properly.
 
I had some similar corrosion on my car before I rebuilt it and just cleaned the area and treated it for rust and then covered it with an aluminum plate screwed down with sheet metal screws in a couple of places. Kept the battery up off the transmission and didn't seem to corrode as much as the steel.
 
I did the same. Holes under the battery but edges of tray where it attached to the firewall were sound. I sandwiched a piece of aluminum plate over the top and pop riveted in place. I did treat area that was rusting with Naval Jelly first and spray painted. Marine Battery Box is in place and contains any nasty stuff. I know I'll need to address some day but far, far worse other reapirs needed to be made to get the car up and going. 8 years later my temporary reapir is still working fine.
 
Excellent feedback, much appreciated. Could be someone did this plate once before, my rust is at the firewall and about 20% of that seam is rusted plus 2 dime size holes right in the middle, leaving a lot of good metal and strength so I'm not too worried about the battery "falling through". I don't think I'll even go so far as to rivet or screw another plate on top if it, maybe even go so lazy as slap a piece of duct tape over the holes to stop air leaks and call it good for the next 20 years. I'm really trying to focus my energy and $$ into maintaining a nice little driver. Safety, functionality (performance), aesthetics, originality, in that order. I've got high hopes of running this little baby A LOT next year. 2,008 miles last year and good chance of doubling that this year.
batterytray.JPG
 
Sounds like everyone has the right idea's to me! I have used marine battery box'es on every spridget I've owned and highly recommend them. Like to add that a good scrubbing with a mixture of water and baking soda before you do anything else might be a good idea. Might take off a heater door and get in there too!
 
jvandyke said:
Someday, good Lord willing, I'll teach myself to weld and I can fix such things properly.
Click to expand...

I bet you can do it - MIG welding is easy once you practice a bit. I bet you could make a permanent fix in no more time than it will take to do the patching.

I am NOT taking issue with the patching, but ever since I taught myself to weld I'm amazed at how easy it can be to make solid/final repairs.

If you don't have the resources to buy a MIG welder, a really good one runs about $500, I bet you can find someone locally to do the welding for you via Craigslist or word of mouth.

Again - <span style="font-weight: bold">not taking issue with the repairs suggested</span>, just an encouraging nudge to jump into the welding. It really opens up a world of repairs and significant costs savings over the long run.
 
Even if you use a Arc Welder, I was in HF this am and you can get a stick welder to $99.95 right now. Now quality not that great but it would take on this type of job.
 
Well this may sound REALLY crude but someone has already layed a strip of glass cloth across the back. A trip to the local auto parts store will get you a fiberglass repair kit and you can do a semi permanent repair that forms a mini battery box at the same time. Duct tape will blow off!! KA
 
nomad said:
Well this may sound REALLY crude but someone has already layed a strip of glass cloth across the back.
Click to expand...

Yes, makes one wonder what that is hiding? No, I don't want to know right now!. There was glass cloth on the bottom too, loose around the edges so I scraped it all off. Tonight I cleaned, sanded and used LocTite rust inhibitor, supposed to let that sit a while so that's all I did.

No, that doesn't sound crude but I don't think covering it with fiberglass helps slow the rust, probably promotes it after it starts to give way? I'm keeping it simple and easy, this time around.
 
I really like the phrase "I don't want to know right now".... This attitude keeps me driving the little car and not trying to get it "right"...

It has been "fixed" by previous owner(s) and ever time I find another "fix" I wish I hadn't found it. Ignorance is bliss!

Oh.. The found "fixes" have been cosmetic - not a safety factor.
cd
 
Ah,yes. I can see the weave pattern in the bottom now that you mention it. Probably right about glass repair just promoting rust. Looks like just laying a piece of sheet metal over the area and putting the battery in a marine box to weight it down would do. I'm a farmer and a little baling wire could probably be put to good use too!!! KA
 
On mine I cleaned up the rusty metal with a wire brush and ground away the really thin stuff. I sealed the rusty metal with One-Step (a rust converter). Cut a piece of steel diamond plate to fit, then caulked it into place with a good quality poly (Sikaflex)caulking. I'm not overly concerned about originality and with Optima batteries won't have to worry about it again. And, no welding!

Good luck,
Walter
 
I primed it today and feel pretty good that the rust is contained enough for a while. I can't help but think a piece of gaffer's tape or some quality stuff like that would be good enough to cover the rust holes and keep the air pulling in the correct places. Now I feel like I should at least clean up the rest of the bay and am seriously considering fitting the new pretty wiring harness that I got from the PO. Slippery slope.....
 
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