Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Ian Fawbert]

Hi Tony,

Just a guess, i saw alot of battery casings being used as cigarette ash trays at a bowling club on the south coast of NSW. Might be a place to look and see if you can swap one for something?

Last i was at Pope Batteries in Sydney (blacktown to be specific) to have my jeep one rebuilt using my case, it cost me near on $300 (ouch... i wont be going back at that price- considering i bought the whole thing new, case and all 4 years before for around 180/200). He told me the palce which made casings is now closed/sold or so on- i think it all went to south africa and at the time he couldnt get casings (but if you had one, he would rebuild it as he had enough plates etc to last a long time).

I would be interested to know how much the people you were speaking to would charge for rebuilding a battery.

I am sure if you start asking around local farmers, you will find casings in sheds or on their rubbish tip.

Cheers,
Ian.

[Private_collector]

G'Day Ian,

You're right about the farmers. They have the most amazing things just sitting around. I'm already spreading the word amongst the 'cockys'.

Will be leaving for town in around 1hr, and i'll go straight to the battery place. They are really great people to deal with, so if there is any way they can help me, i know they will try.

I can't believe those old batteries would be used for ashtrays!!!! Good ol Australian ingenuity, eh.

I'll let you know how I go, this evening.

[Private_collector]

The battery box frame is back in my hands again, and it looks fairly good.
Battery box folded 3.jpg Battery box folded 4.jpg
I still have to attach the front piece. That is a job for tomorrow, as is final adjustment of the hold down bolts. In the photos you can see I have held one set of bolts in place with sticky tape for now. That probably wouldn't be sufficient for real use, so I better put nuts on too

The hold down plate actually fits, yay! I made it while the frame was still at the sheet metal shop being folded, and was sweating on getting it back to see if I had wasted my time. As it turns out............I hadn't.
Battery box folded 1.jpg Battery box folded 2.jpg
I really wanted rivets, but besides the fact I couldn't find any, I also wouldn't fancy my chances of inserting them without making a fair bollocks of the job.
Battery box folded 5.jpg
So I settled for these hex head bolts. I will rough the keyway up a little once tightened in place, and they will get a dollop of body filler in the holes. Sanding the filler correctly should give the appearance of rivets!

Had a disappointing discussion with the local battery shop staff regarding finding a correct style battery. No joy there. They have recently taken over the business and don't know anywhere I could get what I wanted. I did find the name of a place in Vic. that may be of help. I'll phone them in the morning.

With it looking unlikely that I will get exactly what I want, and bearing in mind I may run 12v anyway, I came up with a slightly lateral idea. The battery only needs to look original from the top and front. Assuming I eventually find ANY old Ford battery as a pattern, I can make a 'fake' battery top that is actually part of the battery hold down plate! If I make another plate that is slightly higher side profile, I can have the fake battery top showing on outside, with the real battery top hidden beneath, completely out of view. It's shifty but it should work if done well. May be able to incorporate the fake battery front into the mix as well.

All this just because I don't like the look of modern batteries.

[Ian Fawbert]

Hi mate,

Yes, were are a clever bunch. When i told the bloke at Pope in sydney, he said they were likely cracked, but i had never forgotten they were there!

The holder looks good! Well done there.

If you did want rivets, there is a guy here sin Sydney has ALOT. Mainly for vintage car hood irons, check here, his name is Richard. http://www.hotfrog.com.au/Companies/...ian-Hood-Irons

Shame about the battery place. Good luck on the hunt in Victoria. I'd also suggest trying Pope batteries here in Sydney as they did do the rubber case style, but as I said above, I'm not sure if they can still do new batterie- I'm sure they have tried to get more cases as that was one of their main draw cards!

Cheers,
Ian.