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'37 Deluxe 6 Touring Sedan battery tray pix request


kookie1

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Does anyone have a picture of their battery tray, old or restored?    I want to fabricate a copy of the originally designed battery tray.

Thanks, in advance, for your time and effort!!

 

I've searched the web for '37 battery tray pix to no avail.    I guess being the battery rests under the floor few people would show that view.

Edited by kookie1 (see edit history)
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  • 2 months later...

HI M.,

No, haven't seen a pix of the tray yet.     Can't really blame anyone for not wanting to remove their battery just to take a pix of the tray for someone else.    I was hoping someone in the middle of a restoration would have taken a pix of their tray just to record it for a before and after record.    I do it all the time.    Makes it a lot easier later on to remember how everything goes back together.     I check here regularly but nothing yet.     Haven't given up hope yet!!   Ha!

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Thanks Gary, I did have a look a while ago, in my initial search, at Gary W.'s battery tray.    His has bolt holes in the tray supports.   Mine have two, 2 inch slots on both sides of the supports.    Others have said Pontiac used these slots, at least on one side anyway, to hold short arms that stick through the slots of the battery tray.   The other two slots on the other side may have been used for bolts.   At least that would make sense since there is no reason for the slots because there's no reason to move the tray left or right between the supports.   Anyway, I'll keep looking for an original '37 Pontiac 6 battery tray pix.

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On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 8:16 AM, kookie1 said:

HI M.,

No, haven't seen a pix of the tray yet.     Can't really blame anyone for not wanting to remove their battery just to take a pix of the tray for someone else.    I was hoping someone in the middle of a restoration would have taken a pix of their tray just to record it for a before and after record.    I do it all the time.    Makes it a lot easier later on to remember how everything goes back together.     I check here regularly but nothing yet.     Haven't given up hope yet!!   Ha!

I WILL SEND YOU ONE TOMORROW NO PROBLEM.

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On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 8:16 AM, kookie1 said:

HI M.,

No, haven't seen a pix of the tray yet.     Can't really blame anyone for not wanting to remove their battery just to take a pix of the tray for someone else.    I was hoping someone in the middle of a restoration would have taken a pix of their tray just to record it for a before and after record.    I do it all the time.    Makes it a lot easier later on to remember how everything goes back together.     I check here regularly but nothing yet.     Haven't given up hope yet!!   Ha!

TOMORROW I WILL SEND ONE MORE DETAILED

TRAY.jpg

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HI M.,

 

Well, that person did a great job at taking a pix for you.   Your floor plate is pretty clean.   My cover plate was over-coated on top anyway, with something they sprayed over the entire floor as a rust preventative coating and it appears original whatever it is.    Thanks for getting at least those pix.    As I said earlier I want to reproduce an original looking battery box the battery sits in.    Is your battery box the original '37 box or do you think it was replaced sometime ago?    I'd like to see it someday if that's possible.   I understand it's in storage but if you could get a hold of a pix or two someday I'd appreciate it!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry that I didn't see this earlier, but I have been out of town for an extended period of time.

 

I have taken a photo of part of the battery box ... the end closest to the driver's seat ... in my 1937 two-door touring sedan.

 

Note: this vehicle last ran in 1968 so this is probably a mid-sixties vintage battery.  I see no evidence that this battery box has been altered ... and my battery box cover looks just like the photos that have already been posted.

 

I may be close to pulling this old battery and, if I do, will take and post additional photos.  I have a "new" 6V battery ... but haven't gotten around to filling it with acid and giving it an initial charge.  That shouldn't keep me from pulling the old battery.

 

I hope this helps and that I can generate a better photo/photos for you soon.

 

John

 

JohnBatteryBox.thumb.JPG.89a28544518cf0c4a36f73eee4a7cbea.JPG

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I have removed the battery from my 1937 2-door touring sedan and taken several pictures looking down through the floor at the battery box.

 

Here are those images of a clearly unrestored battery box.  If desired, I can provide dimensions ... at least until I re-install a new battery.

 

Here is are some of those images.  I have tried to name each photo with the perspective (top view, front view, rear view, left side, and right side.  All of those perspectives are as looking through the hole in the driver-side flloor.

 

Here is a top view with the front of the car at the top of this image:

 

 

BatteryBoxTopView2.JPG

 

Here is looking towaard the left side of the car:

 

 

BatteryBoxLeftSide2.jpg

 

Here is looking toward the right side of the car:

 

BatteryBoxRightSide2.JPG

 

Here is looking toward the rear of the car:

 

BatteryBoxRearView2.JPG

 

Here is the front of the battery box (in this case) the front of the car is actually to the right so that the rusted out corner of the battery box is closest to the right front wheel.

 

BatteryBoxFrontView.JPG

Edited by jdshott
Attempt to better label the images (see edit history)
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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry, John, I'm a little slow at responding but I've been skiing in Colorado and just got back.    Thanks for taking the time and effort to take these pix!!   I'm just a little confused trying to examine the pix.    Are the two bent support rods over the edge on both sides going into any slots or are they just welded in place and hang over the top to hold the battery box up?  Or maybe they're clips of some sort?    I can't seem to make out how they work in the pix.     Actually it looks like the front of the battery box is welded to the frame?    My '37 4-door touring sedan doesn't have a bar going across the rods to hold/clamp the battery in place.   Maybe they changed the battery box configuration between the 2-door and 4-door touring sedans?    Does the bar holding up the rear side of the battery box have 2 slots in it?     My front and rear support bars have 2 elongated slots in them and I was wondering if they were used in some way to hold up the battery box.

 

Paul

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Paul:

I'm not certain I completely understand the terms that you are using, but based on my best guess, I've taken two more photos of the front of the battery box looking back up at the front of the box from underneath.

 

Here is looking up and back at the driver-door side of the main support member.  It is clearly riveted top and bottom to the frame with rivets that appear to have about 1/2" head diameter.  That support cross-member does have a pair of slots in it (only one is shown in this picture) into which the sheet metal that supports the bottom of the battery sits.

 

BatteryBoxFrontLeft.JPG

 

Here is the view from underneath the car looking back up at the front side of the battery box looking toward the center of the car.  Although it is less obvious becuase of the black undercoating, that main battery box cross member is also riveted to the part of the frame.  The second slot into which the bottom support piece fits is also visible in the middle of this picture.

 

BatteryBoxFrontRight.thumb.JPG.5e2590977b92ce4e2e84cf105399ec22.JPG

 

Let me know if that doesn't help to answer your question, and I will try to  do a better job.

 

Thanks,

 

John

 

p.s. I hope that you enjoyed skiing in Colorado. I will be away for a couple of weeks soon to go cross-country skiing in Yellowstone ...

 

Edited by jdshott
Delete duplicate photos (see edit history)
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Super!!! John, seeing the underneath now really answers all my previous questions.    I can see the slots and the support hangers, or whatever you call them, which give the box extra support for the weight of a battery.   Thanks a bunch for the extra underneath shots.    Those really helped!    I think I can now reproduce what the original box looked like.

 

Paul

 

PS.   I hope Yellowstone got the same snow Colorado recently got.   We always have had plenty of snow there for downhill playing.     Good luck doing some serious cross country!!

 

         Have a great time and thanks again!

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Paul:

 

I've tried, as best as I can to make measurments of my battery box. These cannot be taken as super-precise, but it should be pretty close.

 

I think that the whole thing started life as a flat piece of sheet metal 20" long, by 7" wide.  In terms of the length, I believe that the flat bottom (underneath the battery) is 10 1/4" in length, a 90 degree bend on each side (that I estimate consumes 1/8" on length on each end.  Then there is a vertical flat section on each end that is about 3 3/4" high.  Finally, there are the tabs on each end that are about 1 1/2" wide and 1" in total length.  My best estimate is that each tab is bent with approximately a 3/8" diameter with a total arc of about 135 degrees.  I think that the bend starts at about 1/4" from the start of the tab which leaves about 1/4" once the bend is done.

 

Here is a sketch of the overall piece:

 

BatteryBoxOverallDrawing.thumb.JPG.3a9f9fc4540df853970554d5a00c33e1.JPG

 

One curious thing that I notices as that the part under the battery has a width of 7" but the vertical sides are only 6 3/4" in width.  Looking at the overall drawing, there is a "notch" taken out of the upper left and lower right corner that reduces the width of the sides from 7" to 6 3/4".  Why is that there?  I think that the walls are a little thinner to clear the diagonal cross member in the frame.  I believe that the battery sits behind the frame piece labeled 7.039 in the frame drawing.  In fact, I think that the front of the piece that we are discussing slips into the slots that must be in cross member 7.039.

 

ChassisDrawing.thumb.JPG.316cbfe30e58a6e53e3d318f1ca9eadc.JPG

 

 

Finally, I have tried to sketch a bit more details of the sides of the battery box and the tabs.  That sketch is here:

 

BatteryBoxEndDrawing.thumb.JPG.1ac595373c7383a9ea52427cc411e8f2.JPG

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

John

 

 

Edited by jdshott (see edit history)
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No questions John!!    I wasn't expecting that much detail, I'm not complaining mind you, just appreciative you took the time to do all that sketching and explaining.   Thanks a bunch for all the effort.   With all that info I should be able to precisely duplicate your battery tray.    By reading your explanation it's obvious you're a DIY person at heart.    Being an old industrial arts instructor it's obvious to me you've built thing before and know the intricacies of preforming radius bends, etc.  Good eye also on why the notches in the side sections are there.   I think you're correct in that observation and it can be seen in your last battery tray photo to allow clearance.    A quick few measurements during construction of the tray, I'm sure, will answer that question.

 

Thanks again for the excellent explanation!     If you have any future questions concerning your '37 just let me know.

 

Paul   over'n out

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 2/9/2019 at 10:38 AM, kookie1 said:

Super!!! John, seeing the underneath now really answers all my previous questions.    I can see the slots and the support hangers, or whatever you call them, which give the box extra support for the weight of a battery.   Thanks a bunch for the extra underneath shots.    Those really helped!    I think I can now reproduce what the original box looked like.

 

Paul

 

PS.   I hope Yellowstone got the same snow Colorado recently got.   We always have had plenty of snow there for downhill playing.     Good luck doing some serious cross country!!

 

         Have a great time and thanks again!

 

Paul:

 

I just got back into town and am looking at the March 2019 POCI Smoke Signals magazine … that has probably been out for several weeks. Do you receive that publication?  There is someone that is advertising that they are selling a 1937 battery box. If you contact me privately, I will give you their contact information if you don’t already have it. 

 

Good luck, John

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