A few months ago while working on my 245, I lifted out the battery and could see concrete underneath it.

This is not good, I said. I think what happened is that battery acid ate away the paint underneath, and then the car rusted right through the wheel arch.

This was never part of the plan

There was really only one thing for it. I took an angle grinder and cut away the rusted remains of the battery tray, then cut out a rectangular section of steel about the size of a postcard from the wheel arch. I couldn't believe how badly it rusted without us noticing. The hole I cut was big enough to put my whole arm down, up to my shoulder.

One of my Grandfather's neighbours is a panel beater, and he was quite happy to weld a piece of steel plate into the hole. All we had to pay him was for a can of argon. Problem solved for $50

The next problem. I have no battery tray.

Grandpa knows a man who runs a fire engine factory. They take ordinary trucks, then kit them out as firefighting vehicles, so custom metalwork is their trade. We hope to use their machine shop to make a new tray next time Grandpa or one of his electricians is installing something at the plant.

A nice plan but it may not be soon enough. I am home in 3 weeks, and hope to get everyhing done in under a month to have the car running and ready to drive back to college.

Has anyone ever welded in a cheap substitute for a battery tray? If I could find something roughly the right shape, we could make it fit. Cutting an old tray out of a donor car does not seem to be an option, as we can't really take power tools into the pick and pull yard, and we'd probably destroy the tray in the process - They are vey solidly welded in. There must be something the same shape out there.

I guess I could wire the battery up in the boot, but that would be accepting defeat. Plus I like ready access to the battery when I'm working on the engine.
--
Drive it like you hate it

Yeah, the plastic tray is probably a good idea.

Altho with that much of your car gone already.. I'd seriously wonder how long
you'll feel elated about messing with such a ratty car.

Of course who am I to speak.. I can't even give away a wagon with a much
nicer body than that :)

But.. while you're having fun.. have some fun.. you know? If you can spend the
extra couple of bucks.. maybe it would be worth going after a gel battery (Optima
comes to mind) and sticking it in the trunk or someplace else. Just make sure to
tie it down nicely (perhaps with some monsterous zip ties or something).

However, there is something to be said for adapting a non Volvo battery tray to
your car. The earlier 240s were designed to take a group 46 battery.. which is
quite a rare beast and indeed has odd fastening doohickies. The later ones..
dunno.. never seen one but I believe it's still a rather odd size. OTOH if you
grab a generic battery tray (a few bucks at the local chain auto parts store) you
could probably fasten a more common type of battery down with less fuss.

- alex

'85 244 Turbo
'84 245 Turbo

Lots to think about.

I like the idea of getting a later model plastic tray. The beauty of doing it that way is that the tray would be for a later 2 series Volvo, and therefore a genuine replacement part which the Inspector wouldn't be able to take exception to. As Lymey pointed out, plastic don't rust.

Lots of nice ideas, and I'm feeling a lot more confident. Battery is now a days work, and probably no welding required. Back to worrying about the engine.



--
Drive it like you hate it

Many years ago the tray support and I think the tray were available from Volvo.

I bought a tray support, and it still sits in my garage, it's part #1255200-6, and it does have to be welded in.

I can't remember if I got the the tray also or not, I cant seem to find it.
--
Bruce S. near D.C.

If you want to go plastic, I have used a battery box for marine applications. It is made of very sturdy plastic and if you use just the bottom it comes up to the height of the top of the battery.

Many european cars and some JapCrap 'vehicles' now come with plasic trays that bolt in place. Perhaps your local scrappy would have one in. Should also sort out your rust problem forever. Gotta be worth a rummage one sunny afternoon.
Good luck,

Big Rich.
--
'72 144, 109k for fun in the sun. '94 BMW730ise, 165k, daily driver.

If it was me I would check the parts stores and performance places likes jegs or summit or even j.c. whitney they usually have aftermarket battery trays and relocation kits (should work under the hood) and save the fabracation talent for ohhh say an aluminium splash pan or something.

Short of that the only thing I have is maybe some angle iron welded into a rectangle with a piece of flat metal cut to fit or 2 or 3 strips welded across for a "bottom". did that once for a tractor.
Bret
--
rust free in west Texas

I don't really see the need for a tray as such, just a stout platform with some means of strapping the battery down. The battery should not be leaking, so there is no need for a plastic tray to catch acid spills.
I made a second battery tray on the other side to house a spare battery when camping. I repositioned a smaller washer bottle, and made the tray out of angle iron bolted on and a piece of plywood. The battery is secured with a hasp of mild steel and two long hooked roofing bolts with wing nuts. This connects to the main battery with a proper battery cut-off switch. That way I can use the spare for lights without fear of not starting in the morning. It recharges if we go out in the car the next day.

I guess I could just bolt something new on, as you suggested, but the issue is that my car has not been registered since 1996, which means that it gets the proper Roads & Traffic Authority inspection sticker rather than just taking it to a mechanic. The RTA have a reputation for being very strict on rust repair. They have been known to put a car up on a hoist and tap all over the underneath with a pointy hammer. If the hammer goes through, they fail the car.

As a general rule, what gets cut out, must be welded back. The tray might not count as a "Panel", so I might get away with bolting it. No harm in trying I guess, but time is limited.

--
Drive it like you hate it

The newer 240s (I think it is 88 and up) had a plastic battery tray. I bought one for my 86 at the local pick and pay for $5. Maybe you can find one at a junkyard and bolt it on. You might also look in the local auto parts store for a plastic universal replacement tray to bolt on. I think it would be fairly cheap to do so.

Hope this helps.

Mike Brown
Greenville, NC
1986 244 137K
1996 965 100K
--
Mike Brown Greenville, NC 1996 965 94K 1986 244 137K