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So I bought the cheap little chinese battery strap a few months ago and its already showing signs of dry rot; and people worry about them taking over the world. Anyways nothing pleasures me more than replacing the same part twice so I was hoping for some suggestions... The metal tray itself has been replaced an painted and such; its in good shape. Since all the parts stores refer me to the same piece of garbage I thought I would ask here. Photos of creative solutions would be cool.
I dont do anything too extreme so unless some radical solution is more economical I would like to keep it simple. Thanks!
if you got a welder i would make your own.
not sure what kind of box your talking about. They do like make marine battery boxes that enclose everthing. not sure if that what you got?
I am referring to the hold down... Thanks for the recommendations. I think I will go with the dennis carpenter hold down bracket. I dont recommend the chinese universal fit rubber strap (found at the national parts stores) to anyone; its garbage but what else should I have expected from those cheap buggers.
my parts store sells the straps as battery box lid tie downs. not as actual battery tie downs. I really like my optima battery box from ruff stuff... you can save on your order if you are a member of pirate forum. Optima Single Battery Box - RuffStuff Specialties
stop signs are hard to legally come by. Some kid stole one not far from where i grew up and a lady from out of town didn't stop and got T boned and died. They charged the kid with manslaughter... just something to think about!
Someone drove through my development last year and stole just about every single stop sign... maybe they are all battery boxes now.
Ya aquiring sheet metal is pretty cheap... Not gonna risk theft.
My tray is in good shape so I think I just need a decent hold down; I hadn't been able to locate one in the junk yard due to the way the tray offsets the j- hook bolts. I am gonna try the dennis carpenter hold down; hopefully its made comparable to OEM quality. If I have trouble with it I will look into upgrading to something for more extreme applications.
I use the battery hold-down clamp spec'd for 67-69 Mustangs ($7.00). It's metal but dipped in plasticky rubber to stave off corrosion. Get the kit and it comes with new J-bolts & nuts:
I like the Price on that... I think vans use compatible hold downs as well. The thing with the dc hold down is shipping amounts to more than the part. Just me being cheap.
Well, Mustangs Plus is in Stockton.. sorta close. Maybe stop by and pick one up at Sacramento Mustang or during a trip going south on I-5. They're near its intersection with Hwy 4... or plan a visit to Pick N Pull's Premier or standard yard in Stockton which is only four miles south of their store.
well just to clarify....i got a bunch of signs at an auction planned to hang up in shop. but they had better uses haha. fully understand not stealing a road sign
If your not concerned with with looks or originality, a tarp strap works about as good as anything I have ever used. Not a cheap hardware store bungie mind you, but a regular old heavy duty black rubber tarp strap. Ive gotten many dents over the years that had nothing holding the battery down and I have always used this trick. Find the right length and its as secure, if not more secure then the original hold down bracket.
well just to clarify....i got a bunch of signs at an auction planned to hang up in shop. but they had better uses haha. fully understand not stealing a road sign
If your not concerned with with looks or originality, a tarp strap works about as good as anything I have ever used. Not a cheap hardware store bungie mind you, but a regular old heavy duty black rubber tarp strap. Ive gotten many dents over the years that had nothing holding the battery down and I have always used this trick. Find the right length and its as secure, if not more secure then the original hold down bracket.
I have seen this before... You are correct with its function but i am at least somewhat considering function. I dont know why they had to stagger the holes for the J hooks; there would be lots of newer hold downs to choose from if this were the case.