On my Firebird the battery tray is very badly rusted so I ordered a new one from Classic Industries. I had a guy looking at the old one and he says it is spot welded. do any of you guys know what is the best way to remove the old battery tray with minimum damage to the car. I was looking on the net and there are some sites with spot weld removal tools you attach to a drill. I wonder would these work?. I don't have any experience with welding or cutting so I guess I am at a disadvantage here.

Anybody any ideas,

Gerry Holian
1983 Pontiac Firebird V6
Location: Ireland

 

You can always use a sawzall.

Actually that is probably what I would do.

 

Just remenber that the stock battery tray is part of the front fender support. So don't just start cutting, When I had to replace mine it was rusted so bad, that it cost me $150 to get everything patched up and welded. Just for that simple battery tray. Uni-body cars everything support something else.

 

drill out the spot welds....sawzall

 

how hard would it be for me to move my battery to the hatch? where should i run the wire through the car? or maybe under?

 

Drill out the spot welds as said and just a spot weld remover that fits the drill, they work great IMO.

 

If you want to move it to the back you need to go get one of those kits that box in the battery in an container that vents to the outside of the and won't let the fumes from it enter the car. I would say run the wires though the car.....2 guage should work right? I mean they have like 8 gauge wires on there(IIRC) and it is quite a distance to the back of the car. Weither to run it in or out of the car depends. Most people are gonna say run it in the car, as i would do, it is not that hard, you can enter behind the passenger kick panel with ease, drill a hole in install a grommet and run it under the carpet and insulation and no one will notice. Or if you want to run it outside, you would need to make a tube for it to run though to protect it. You could use copper pipe and some fittings, but that is kinda getto....but you get the idea, i would run it inside...what you do is up to you.:lala:

 

Thanks for the input guys. I think I will leave the tray where it is and go with drilling out the spot welds.

 

How much was the new battery tray you bought from Classic Industries? I need to replace mine too.