924Board.org

[924RACR]

I'm bummed, it's perfect turbo-driving weather in town now, and the car's totally down for repair... still runs, but the entire dash is removed, HVAC removed, etc., so that we can repair the rusted out battery box. We have to rebuild the "shotgun" (the upper body rail that goes forward to the strut tower), as it's rusted out, and the entire bottom of the battery box is gone. It's amazing that the battery hasn't fallen on someone's feet yet!

The acid was never neutralized, but instead someone put RTV on top of it to try to seal out water. This only kept it bottled up to do a more effective job of eating the sheetmetal.

Let this be a lesson to you - always neutralize any spilled battery acid. Use baking soda with enough water to dampen the surface, and wait till it stops bubbling.

If you have a car that does have battery box rust (or on the hood, for that matter), it is safe to assume that it's caused by battery acid. It is not safe to assume that the acid is gone now! Take some baking soda to it now and neutralize that acid, even if you've patched it up! Wire wheel/sand off all rust, then prime and repaint it with anything!

_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[Paul]

One of the first things I install when I buy a 924 is a battery mat, they really work!