Had a good weekend -
Finished the repair and painting of the front end cap.
For pictures and discussions see this thread:
http://www.airforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=15656
First pic - started installation of the new battery wires to the forward battery box - the wire is a 4 guage automotive (multi-fine strand) type. The damage to the front floor was caused by the battery being installed on the inside. The "Plastic Drawer" was cracked beyond all hope of repair, and allowed the battery acid and rain water coming into the battery compartment to contact the plywood floor. Mounting the battery on the forward A-frame will eliminate the liquid and acid gas problems of having a battery installed in the interior. BTW, the 28 year old battery wires exhibited quite a bit of corrossion at the fuse terminal bar. Even though the screws were tight, I am sure the corroded connection was taking a bit of voltage potential from the battery.
The second pic is of me welding the rear battery box supports to the A-Frame. 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" X 1/8" aluminum angle will run across the A-Frame in two places between the supports (just behind the LPG bottles), and a marine type of battery box will contain the battery. Note the door on the forward curb side of the trailer. This was the original battery position. I cut a piece of .040 aluminum to install in place of the door, but decided to remount the door to utilize the space for storage for docking and hitching accessories. I cut out the interior portion of my "patch" aluminum in order to use it as a gasket. The original door was sealed by the plastic battery box, which had long since disintegrated by the time I had purchased the trailer, and the aluminum gasket was necessary to get the door assembly to seal. As it was, I had to redo the hinge mount and grind about 1/4" off of the top of the door to help make the thing "waterproof". I still have to install a rubber door gasket to finish it off. The sealing of the door frame with the aluminum gasket took a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I think the forward storage space will be well utilized. I used Stainless Steel Allen Head fasteners with nylon insert lock nuts instead of rivets here because I could draw the individual fasteners tight slowly and evenly to get a good "squeeze" on the sealants and insure an even draw all of the way around. Also, due to the steel front plate and the proximity of the vertical ribs several different lengths of fasteners were required, making the choice of the #10-24 bolts and nuts even easier.
Final picture is of the same battery support fitted, clamped, and ready for welding.