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New 51R batteries in place using adapters I made out of 1/8" Fiberglass panel. Cut to fit the holders (5 3/8" x 10 3/8") then drilled to 3/4" to accept the posts. They work great to hold the batteries in place...

good idea....

You may want to paint the fiberglass sheets. They still are a somewhat porous material and moisture can impregnate them enough to cause a slow discharge between Plus & Neg Posts.

Very cool. I just bought 2 51R batteries for my M38. Did you make the two hold-down brackets in your picture or did you buy those somewhere?

Dave

They came with the jeep, but you can get them at most vendors. I know MWM makes them for the M-38 with the extra bolt tabs...

Just curious Hal --- the fiberglass covers looks nice (albeit a little unusual), but with the metal frames on top holding the batteries down with j-bolts, what purpose do they serve?

Are the metal frames not form-fitting to the shape of the batteries enough to keep them from moving? I think I might always be wondering if corrosion was forming under them.

Just my 2 cents from the peanut gallery.

The 51R batteries are a bit smaller than the 2HN and the regular mounts I have would not hold the new batteries in place. I came up with this to keep the batteries from moving and bouncing around...

Thanks Hal, good stuff. American ingenuity!

Nice clean solution!

I do wonder about the batteries off gassing with a big plate over them. I would think just cutting more thread onto the hold downs would be better. It is an interesting solution though.

it isnt the length of the threaded rods so much as the the dimensions across the top of the battery. The stock hold down slips down the battery.

A simple riveting on of diagonal straps about 1/2" wide taking care to trim excess meat at the terminal corners has solved the issue for many years. Those with tons of energy and metal working skills would just shorten the length and width of each top bracket as needed to match the new batteries.

I bought semi sealed (there are no caps that I can see, unless under labels) batteries, and the hold downs that I have are covered in a OD Green rubber material (Original or military applied ????) make it so that I did not want to damage them. Also with this option I can go back to 2HN batteries if I want to.

One other thing to consider is the batteries are at different heights in the battery box. The center one is at least 1" higher than the other... On the M-38A1 they sit at different levels...

Im working on making the same adapter idea using plexiglass - that way I can at least see the battery incase its leaking/cracked.