Novel idea for a battery box!

[Thunder1]

Rather than leave my battery exposed or tucked up under ther frame somewhere, I think I found a great way to hide it in plain view in the bed of my truck with the aid of a vintage WWII bomber radio signal generator case.

I found this one at a junk shop for $20.00 last week. When I found it I just liked it for the history of it. After looking at it I decided to open it up and see how hard it would be to adapt it. Luckily all the electronics are rack mounted so all I had to do was unscrew the 14 cover screws and pull the rack out. I want to use the face plate of course because of the vintage gauges, dials, and switches. So I disconnected all the wires and other attachment points from the back of the face plate. Then I carefully epoxied all the dials, gauges, and switches back in place so they wouldn't fall out or come loose. Rather than relying on all 14 stainless steel face plate screws to access the battery I decided to modify 10 of them (making them dummies) by cutting them off short and epoxying them back in their original holes. That leaves 4 screws that actually hold the face plate on the case. I plan on drilling the back of the case to run the cables and a battery cutoff switch and drilling the bottom so I can mount it in the bed. Originally it weighed about 80 lbs with all the hardware inside. Now it weighs about 8 lbs. Here's some pictures.

I'd like to hear some feedback ok? Never mind the wrong dates on the pics. The camera hasn't been reset in a while!

Thanks!

Thunder

 

[BadRATT]

Alright..!!

Now I want one..!! That is one hell of an idea there Pat.I really do think its cool...Hmm..I wonder what time the local antique mall is open to..??LOL

 

[Sniper]

What if you were to hook up a light or two with the gauges, flipped a switch to activate, for no reason but the heck of it. Sniper

 

[Thunder1]

Thanks BadRatt! I'm actually thinking about that Sniper. It has two really cool glass power indicator lights already and the gauges could be back lit. All of it could be wired to light up when the ignition is on. I like the idea of having some type of power to it.

Thunder

 

[Arkansawer]

That would also be cool to use that faceplate, or another one like it, for your speedo and gas guages. Then you could have the switches and buttons for the headlights, taillights, starter, and whatever else you could think of as well.

Awesome looking battery box though, pretty inventive.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Don't know if they have them much any more, but a Ham Radio Flea Market would be a good place for odd electrical equipment like that.

That panel would be a good spot for a safety/security kill switch.

 

[BadRATT]

Thanks Sam

For the tip about the ham radio flea market...!! I would have never thought about going there.There is a HUGE flea market coming up in about a month..( 12 acres..) and we are going to go wonder around up there.Man,if I cant find it there,it cant be found.. The local Antique market has a guy who deals in old radios so I left my name and number and she said she would have him call me.That is a really cool idea..thanks for sharing Thunder1.!!

 

[Thunder1]

That would also be cool to use that faceplate, or another one like it, for your speedo and gas guages. Then you could have the switches and buttons for the headlights, taillights, starter, and whatever else you could think of as well.

Awesome looking battery box though, pretty inventive.

Thanks Arkansawer!

Thats what I was thinking when I found it. I've accumulated several really nice old gauge bezels from various old electronic test equipment and machines. I also bought a vintage light switch panel out of a WWII bomber that I plan on mounting on the dash for some of the other electronics like the lights, turn signals, ignition, etc...

It's just like this one! I only have 8 circuits so I don't need that many working switches.

 

[dmw56]

I like your idea. I come across that kind of stuff all the time at work.

 

[Thunder1]

For the tip about the ham radio flea market...!! I would have never thought about going there.There is a HUGE flea market coming up in about a month..( 12 acres..) and we are going to go wonder around up there.Man,if I cant find it there,it cant be found.. The local Antique market has a guy who deals in old radios so I left my name and number and she said she would have him call me.That is a really cool idea..thanks for sharing Thunder1.!!

BadRATT,

If you find one like the one I have, be prepaired to spend about 8 - 10 hours taking it apart from the rack mount and electronics! I forgot to mention that taking this thing apart was a mind numbing experience. The engineering that went into this thing is almost overwhelming! The shear amount of wiring, nuts, bolts, screws, glass radio tubes, and wierd angles of all the components was pretty rough to work through. I guess that's because I wanted to salvage alot of the aircraft aluminum frame work for other uses. The rack is really cool too. I can use it to make gauge mount plates and other stuff.

On the other hand, if you don't care about all that, several passes with a sawzall would really speed up the process of removing the face plate from the rack

Thunder - Pat

 

[Thunder1]

I like your idea. I come across that kind of stuff all the time at work.

Hey Brother Don!

I was hoping to hear from you and get your opinion on it! Thanks!! Yeah, I thought about you when I found it. I imagine stuff like this is pretty common in your line of work. My project is sort of taking on a military theme because of all the military surplus I've come across lately. A guy gave me an old retangular red mine sign the other day to add to my collection. Now I need to find somewhere to put it on the truck. The truck is going to be a tribute to all my Uncles who served in WWII and Korea I guess. All of them were, or still are, big time car guys too so it all comes together because of that. Hope the rest of your trip beyond Nashville went well. PM me and let me know more about it. Say hello to Mrs. DMW for us too ok?

Pat

 

[RatHead]

GREAT idea

 

[Gastrick]

Cool idea on your part T-1. I like it. I'd line the inside with some rubber around the battery post area to avoid accidential arcing.

 

[Thunder1]

Thanks Gastrick! I really appreciate your input. That sounds like a wise thing to do. I had given a little thought to that issue already. I have something I think will work for the liner. I think I'm going to run a Optima battery because I've heard they are built to withstand alot more vibration etc.. than a conventional battery. I'm going to start finishing out the box this week so I'll add the rubber insulation to my list of things to do. I need to fashion a good strong battery bracket, drill the holes for the leads and cutoff switch, and drill the bottom base plate in several places to mount the whole thing in my bed.

Thanks again

Thunder

 

[barberochris]

That's a very cool idea! I would like to see the installed pics when you finish it.

 

[Thunder1]

Bomber Radio Battery Box

Thanks for the suggestion about shielding the box from arcing Gastrick. I insulated the interior of the battery box today with Performix "Plasti Dip" rubber coating. I've used this stuff before on other projects and it works great. I applied three coats to the inside and to the back of the face plate. That should be enough to shield it.

http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

Thunder

 

[Perx Motorsports]

that s a great idea that will look great.

 

[Thunder1]

Thanks Perx!

 

[Ratcrazy]

Thanks Arkansawer!

Thats what I was thinking when I found it. I've accumulated several really nice old gauge bezels from various old electronic test equipment and machines. I also bought a vintage light switch panel out of a WWII bomber that I plan on mounting on the dash for some of the other electronics like the lights, turn signals, ignition, etc...

It's just like this one! I only have 8 circuits so I don't need that many working switches.

You mention a security/safety switch. Can the bomber switch panel be wired in a way where there is a combination of switches to turn on before the ride will crank? Or possibly use one of the switches on the "battery box" be used as a safety security switch?
Just a thought.....maybe also see if you can find a old 2 1/2 ton Army truck start switch, it has a combination of start positions to crank a truck. If I remember correctly an older military jeep has the same start set-up.
Either way I love the idea you have with the battery box.

 

[Thunder1]

Thanks Ratcrazy,

My initial idea was to use one of the switches on the bomber light switch panel to act as an ignition power switch. Basically, to turn on/off the current to the starter from the battery. I could however use one or a combination of switches from the battery box like you said. I'm getting lots of ideas and very helpful input from you guys and I really appreciate everybody's interest in this - Thanks so much for that!

Thunder1