I needed to replace the battery tray in my '65 cat and found the '72 Cutlass battery tray for the 455 is very close in size to my Wildcat original. I think I got it from The Parts Place. Do a search on ebay and it will pop up. Unfortunately the high & low spots in the bottom of the new tray did not line up with the original mounting holes. In other words there is not a flat mounting surface. So, I cut two straps of metal (from Home Depot) long enough to bridge from one original bolt hole to the next (see pic #2). I marked the holes from underneath the fender well, drilled the holes and then laid the first strap on the second and drilled out the same holes. Then I bolted the two straps in the car and laid the new tray on the straps and marked where to drill holes to mount the new tray. Drilled those out and bolted the tray in. I also put 4 nylon bushings between the straps and the tray to allow clearance for the heads of the bolts that held the straps to the original mounting holes. I think it looks pretty close to the original. Regards Rick
Rick, Excellent write-up! I may have to do that with my Wildcat. I just went down to Lowe's and picked out a piece of sheet steel and went to bending. Not the best looking, though.
:TU: Looks Good! I'll have to do that to a couple of my cars-thanks for the tip! Wonder if they'll ever start reproducing parts for the big Buicks? o No:
Battery Trays Local Canadian auto supplier - CTC, has black vinyl coated, made in China, universal trays for about $10. They come in various sizes and look OEM once the battery is sitting on it ! I'll get a pic posted later. :beer :TU:
