| LIFE OF A GT |
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 | |  | May 22, 2010 - The batteries (yes, there were originally two) in the MG are supposed to live in some nicely hidden battery boxes just in front of the rear axle.
It's a pretty good use of space, they sit on each side of the differential nose which is easily a wasted area. But unfortunately, my exhaust system just touches the boxes on the bottom. I can raise the bottom of those boxes, but my Odyssey battery is just a bit too tall to allow me to do that.
In stark contrast to that particular packaging cleverness, there's a big empty space under the trunk floor. It originally held a full size spare and, well, not much else. Random tools, I suppose. If I install a space-saver spare in there, there's enough room for my Odyssey battery to lie down in the corner. I'll close in the battery boxes and use them for hidden storage, and this makes a bit of use of that weird basement to the normal trunk.
entry 332 - tags: battery, packaging, spare tire | | |  | November 23, 2010 - Lots of miscellaneous work on the car so far today.
I welded in a dead pedal to make life a little more comfortable and to aid in driver retention under enthusiastic conditions. The battery box cover that goes under the rear seat got modified to clear the new bump for the rear axle - that's it in the picture, showing shiny wet paint on the new section. I also removed the parking brake cables for the time being so I can spend more time scratching my head on how to make it work, and built a tie-down for the battery.
Lots of small jobs, most of them rewarding and all leading towards a car that can be used for more than idling up and down the block!
entry 466 - tags: packaging, battery, ergonomics | | |  | November 23, 2010 - Here's the battery all done.
The nice thing about Optima batteries is that you can flop them on their side without any problem. Makes for some easy packaging. In this case, it's just behind the passenger wheel for good weight distribution. The steel strap over the battery holds it in place really well, it's not going anywhere.
entry 467 - tags: battery | | |
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