Sunday, Nov. 9 2008.
Today, Tom, Mark, and Rich came over to help with the Electro-Metro conversion.
I have plates on the car, but it’s time to renew them, which requires going in to emissions for testing, or in this case, proving that it has no engine, gasoline, or exhaust.
To do that, I need a tow bar, to be able to drag it to the test station on the other side of the county. I also need a proper place for the two “radiator-position” batteries. Before, they were literally set in the car, and held in place with a ratchet strap.
I started off earlier in the week by removing the entire nose of the car, so we would have access to the area.
Rich was nice enough to show up with a chunk of metal that was 2 inches wider than the batteries, and twice as long as the width of the car. Perfect as a pre-built battery tray! Just cut to length and install!
Well, not quite that easy, but it didn’t involve too much cutting, notching, and then welding in place.
Once in there, we welded square stock across the front edge, and welded angle iron tabs on the end that were also connected into the bolt holes there.
I bought a discount, on-sale, tow bar from Harbor Freight the other day. We took the bolt-on tabs and welded them to the front cross tube. We positioned the tabs as wide as we could and still have them stick through the “guppy mouth” of the car. I will still need to modify the bumper cover a bit, but nothing I can’t do with a razor knife.
The front end of the car now has a nice double-box for batteries and connections for the tow bar.
I still have to clean up all the welds, brush it all up, and paint the welds and bare metal. Then the front bumper, front corner lights, and bumper cover need to go back on (with a little modification).
After that, I should be able to take (read: tow) the car in to the testing station and get the emissions exemption.
I will also be able to now tow the car to other locations for more work. (Places where people have welders, and other wonderful tools!)
Thanks guys, for your tools, materials, and most of all, your support!
For photos of what we did, please follow this link.
`
