How-to: PDC bracket for battery relocation
How-to: PDC bracket for battery relocation
When it came time to relocate the battery in my '97 ACR (to make room for intercooler piping), I needed a way to securely mount the PDC (power distribution center) under the hood without a battery tray. I made this bracket from 22ga sheet metal, it took me maybe 5 hours total to make with no real prior metal fab experience. I'm sure there are things I could have done better/differently with it, and a little heavier steel would have been nice, but I am happy with the way it turned out and figured I would share.
Tools I used:
jig saw (with fine steel blade)
bench grinder
bench vise
C-clamps
Vise-Grips
propane torch
hammer
round and flat files
drill with uni-bit
dremel tool
First I started by making a template out of posterboard, the top part with the tabs was traced from an Iceman battery tray. From there the pattern was transferred onto the sheetmetal.
I then cut the steel to the shape of my pattern using a jig saw with a fine steel cutting blade, using a dremel tool with a grinding bit to smooth out the corners.
Once I had the basic shape cut out and the mounting tab bent, I rolled the front edge over to prevent the bracket from flexing under the weight of the PDC. To do this I used a vice, C-clamps, Vice-Grips, two thick steel plates I had laying around, a propane torch and a hammer.
Here is is almost finished, with just a little bit of final finish work to be done.
And here it is mounted in the car. I still need to run the new battery cables and zip-tie the harnesses that were previously clipped under the PDC. For that matter I also need to clean up the top of my transaxle.
The bracket is now completely finished, with the edges all flattened up with a file and smoothed out with sandpaper. I still need to paint the bracket and do the final installation. I will post more pics of this when it is mounted permanently in the car.
Like I said, I have almost no experience with this type of thing, and as funny as it may sound, I learned most of the techniques used in making this from watching shows like American Chopper.
Stay tuned for my how-to for mounting an Odyssey PC680 battery in the stock washer bottle location using a modified Odyssey aluminun mounting bracket.
Tools I used:
jig saw (with fine steel blade)
bench grinder
bench vise
C-clamps
Vise-Grips
propane torch
hammer
round and flat files
drill with uni-bit
dremel tool
First I started by making a template out of posterboard, the top part with the tabs was traced from an Iceman battery tray. From there the pattern was transferred onto the sheetmetal.
I then cut the steel to the shape of my pattern using a jig saw with a fine steel cutting blade, using a dremel tool with a grinding bit to smooth out the corners.
Once I had the basic shape cut out and the mounting tab bent, I rolled the front edge over to prevent the bracket from flexing under the weight of the PDC. To do this I used a vice, C-clamps, Vice-Grips, two thick steel plates I had laying around, a propane torch and a hammer.
Here is is almost finished, with just a little bit of final finish work to be done.
And here it is mounted in the car. I still need to run the new battery cables and zip-tie the harnesses that were previously clipped under the PDC. For that matter I also need to clean up the top of my transaxle.
The bracket is now completely finished, with the edges all flattened up with a file and smoothed out with sandpaper. I still need to paint the bracket and do the final installation. I will post more pics of this when it is mounted permanently in the car.
Like I said, I have almost no experience with this type of thing, and as funny as it may sound, I learned most of the techniques used in making this from watching shows like American Chopper.
Stay tuned for my how-to for mounting an Odyssey PC680 battery in the stock washer bottle location using a modified Odyssey aluminun mounting bracket.
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- 99dohcneon
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looks very good
99 neon with 2.4 swap w/ 2.0 cams, afx race ecu, 60mm jeep tb, cai, header, polished intake, straight pipe with no muffler, poly. inserts, pt clutch, B&M sts w/booger bushing and skunk2 springs. 14.3 (gtech) 2.5 60 foot :O
'98 neon rt srt swap w/20g turbo ran on MS 18psi Project log
http://www.cardomain.com/id/the_game_rock
I have a template I could scan, but I would be unsure how to save it in a format that could be downloaded, and printed out the correct. size. Give me some ideas and see what I can do.
suave23 wrote:Can you imagine how much pussy you'd pull if you had a pet monkey riding your pet dog with you everywhere you went?
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use something like ms or somthing and zoom it in till it looks right then save it.
96 blue coupe sold
96 white 4 door sold
95 blue sport parted out
97 straberrie red coupe sold
95 black base parted out
current drivers
97 dodge ram 1500 5.9 ext cab sport fire engine red. tinted windows cat back exhaust suer chips tune, 1 mephis audio sub
90 audi 80. 400 miles to the tank
2002 custom sportster 90 whp and quick too
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Yeah a template would be nice. Or we could just mail it out to each other. From one person to the next. Get the template trace it on to your own poster board and mail it out to the next person.... But then again that may take a REALLY long time. I'm such an idiot sometimes.........
I'm gonna go hide now.
I'm gonna go hide now.
What if I traced the outline of the template onto a piece of paper, got photocopies of it and sent them to ya? I even have a couple ideas for minor revisions that would make it look a bit nicer. PayPal me $1 each to cover my costs? I assume it would fit on a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet, but I could be wrong. If this sounds like a good idea, give me a few weeks to get it going.
suave23 wrote:Can you imagine how much pussy you'd pull if you had a pet monkey riding your pet dog with you everywhere you went?
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- 1GN Registrant
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- Location: NW Florida
- 99dohcneon
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- Posts: 388
- Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2007 11:44 am
- Location: West Plains mo
I would like one also. I would like to relocate sometime. Looks great
99 neon with 2.4 swap w/ 2.0 cams, afx race ecu, 60mm jeep tb, cai, header, polished intake, straight pipe with no muffler, poly. inserts, pt clutch, B&M sts w/booger bushing and skunk2 springs. 14.3 (gtech) 2.5 60 foot :O
'98 neon rt srt swap w/20g turbo ran on MS 18psi Project log
http://www.cardomain.com/id/the_game_rock
OK I need to remove the actual bracket from the car, make some comparisons between that and my current template. From there I can create the modified, revised template and run off copies. After I have copies of the revised template in my hands I will make a post with ordering info. Give me a few weeks and I'll make sure you guys are covered!
suave23 wrote:Can you imagine how much pussy you'd pull if you had a pet monkey riding your pet dog with you everywhere you went?