356 T5 OPTIMA BATTERY MOUNT

i was tasked to make a battery mount for an optima battery in a 356 T5 body. I wanted something simple and effective and above all nothing where I would have to drill holes or weld to the body. Because of the value of the 356 cars the modification had to be removable or non-permanent to be able to convert back to the original style battery with no permanent markings. The finished product is shown here.

I wanted to space the battery out from the cavity because the fit was too tight in the recess. I used 1/2 inch plywood about 6 inches on a side to accomplish this.

I constructed this by using 2 screen door springs which I shortened to about 8 inches in length and reformed the ends into loops.

I then found some fuel line that would cover the spring in order to prevent chafing of the spring against the battery.







I first attached the lower spring to the existing spring mounts for the original battery box cover.






I then made 2 upper brackets out of 1/2 inch aluminum angle. I cut 2, 1/2 inch lengths of this stock. I drilled a 1/4 inch hole in each face. I then used the existing 6mm bolts that were used to fasten the steering box cover(s) and bolted the bracets to the body.














In summary, this is a non destructive method for installing a 6v Optima battery into a T5 body where no damage is done to the originality of the body.