Measure, Cut, Fit, Grind, Weld, Drill, Repeat

These battery racks are proving to be quite a challenge. Most of the difficulty I'm having is designing them strong enough while keeping them removable. It has also been time consuming to make sure all of the batteries will end up just below the bottom of the hood - without the benefit of having the hood on to measure against. But, I'm determined to do a good job on these no matter how long it takes me. Today I spent way too long fabricating this mount...


...only to later decide that it won't be strong enough for me. It will easily hold the dead weight but I am afraid that it won't stand up well enough to any lateral forces. On the next rack I came up with what I think is a much better design. So I'm going to go back and redo the first one. There is a lot of measuring, cutting, grinding, welding and drilling with these little suckers. Man, I'm glad I don't do this for a living. Here is a picture of the rack support design I'm going with (not welded in yet). I still have a few more to make.