Nowadays, when we open the hood of the car, we will usually find that the engine bay is filled with numerous parts and components. However, for a custom car, keeping as little components as possible in the engine bay can contribute a lot to the overall design of the car. Hence, this article will be giving you some idea on how to fabricate a separate battery box at a different area of the car.
Let's start with the designs first. Since car batteries contribute to a certain weight of the car, it is good to construct a strong bracket that can absorb ample amounts of shock and support the weight of the battery. Bolting the bracket instead of welding it to the frame is also advisable so that you will be able to remove it in the future. Besides that, you might want to add an additional pivot shaft to the frame that allows you to tilt it to remove the battery for servicing.
Before we continue on, we would also like to remind you that you should consider the amount of clearance available for the entire structure of the battery box. This is important as you won't want it to interfere with the other components or occupy too much space. For this project, we'd advise placing it under the engine bay around the wheel area where there is more space. However, you will need to make sure that the wheel doesn't collide with the frame as it might cause the frame to detach during sharp turns.
Once you have finished with the designs and considered all the possible parameters, it is now time to move on to the fabrication process. First, you will have to deal with the bracket. For this, you will need to prepare several strong stainless steel bars and match it with your designs. Make sure the rough assembly fits what you have designed before welding anything together. This will eliminate any dimensioning and accuracy errors.
Next, when you are done with the bracket, let's move on to the frame. For the frame, you will need something slightly larger to hold the battery in place and to prevent it from sliding. To do this, take multiple measurements of the desired battery to obtain its dimensions. Once you have the measurements, you should add a quarter of an inch to it for the battery to fit snugly into the frame. Besides that, thicker metal sheets of around 15 to 13 gauges should be able to provide enough support for the battery. However, if you feel that the frame needs more reinforcement, you can beef up the base of the frame with some steel rods.
After completing the frame, you should consider adding a lid to it to prevent the battery from sliding out. To do this, fabricate an additional metal sheet as the lid and weld on some hinges so that you can open and close it. Don't worry if you find this method rather troublesome. By fabricating a slip-on lid and welding a fastener on the base of the frame, you can also easily create a safety latch for the frame.
Now that you have completed each part, it's time to join them together and see whether you can make any improvements on it. You should start by welding the bracket to the frame. It is important to make sure that the bonding is strong enough to withstand daily usage. With the bracket in place, you can now proceed to welding the pivot shaft to the back of the frame.
Finally, with everything complete, it's time to trial fit it onto the selected area. Basically, you would want to check around for the clearance between the box and its surroundings. Try tilting it up and down to check whether it collides with the floor of the car. If it does, try modifying the bracket to provide more clearance for the box. When everything fits accurately, you can proceed to welding it onto the desired section.
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