battery exploded, rust problem

[IDriveFords]

Ok so I just got done unbolting the KA and taking out everything to prep to drop my Sr on, however when I took the battery out I noticed the tray area is rusted really bad. I know I gotta drill a hole here anyway for intercooler piping but the WHOLE battery tray and general area got hit pretty bad. My question is this: does the tray itself come out or is it welded in there (it seems to be welded in). Is any part of this area tied into the frame? I just don't want this to spread and start rusting out the frame. I'm not the greatest at body work but I wanna neutralize this area so it never rusts again. Also... Where can I get a new tray, pref. plastic so another incident like this doesnt turn into cancerous rust? Thnx
-Rob-

[Ninjabread]

Just get a battery relocation kit, cut out the hole panel, weld in a new one and drill the hole you need.

Easiest way to do it.

[yfz460]

IMO, the easiest way is to take a drill with a significantly larger bit than the welds and drill out the few spot welds holding it in. You will have a few small holes if you go all the way through the welds, but if you're careful and have access to a flat-nosed (I think the technical term is a bottoming bit?) bit you can easily get just the welds.

I cannot remember how many welds there are, but you can see them and there aren't too many, they look like dimples in the surface of the tray. There are a few on top, one on the tab that extends up the fender well, and 2 or 3 on the support that extends down to the frame rail area.

I can get pictures of my rust bucket's tray and circle them if you have trouble with it! Good luck! :bigok:

[IDriveFords]

Thnx for the info... I can't really see where the welds were, the rust must've messed em up maybe some sanding will bring them out. btw what rust protector stuff should I use? I had some rustolium stuff I used on a very minor hole I got in the wheel well and used some kitty hair to patch it. I'm gonna be repaiting under the hood be4 I drop the SR in and I wanna make sure I complete eliminate any chance this rust may show through again. I heard POR15 is good stuff but I'm not sure where to get it or what it does exactly. I'm a complete newb to body work. I'm trying to make this car immaculate because I plan on repainting it with a silvia front end conversion eventually. Other than this spot and the tiny spot in the trunk the car is rust free from what I can tell, even under the spoiler it seems to be rust free.

[gotta240]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe you should be using a baking soda mixture on the battery acid spots. You need to NEUTRALIZE the acid before doing anything..

Might want to research that a little.

[Chernobyl]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe you should be using a baking soda mixture on the battery acid spots. You need to NEUTRALIZE the acid before doing anything..

Might want to research that a little.

That's right. Take a box of baking soda and mix it with water in a bucket. Use a bunch of paper towels; dip in the mixture and spread it over the rusted areas and anything else that you think got acid on it. It will make a huge mess and you'll end up with a gray residue all over the place, that is, after all the fizzing sound stops. Then just dump the remaining mixture on the problem area for good measure and clean everything up with water.

Then use POR-15 or something else (I just used spray paint when I did this, but I didn't really care about that car) to cover the bare metal.

[IDriveFords]

Ok... I'll be getting down to the nitty gritty on sunday. So baking soda and water to neutralize the rust, make a huge mess, then hose it down? My other question is how hard is it to do a nice painting job on an engine bay with spray cans? My worthless landlord still has not gotten the power company to reconnect power to my garage and I don't think I'll have use of my compressor and spray guns. So my real question is: can a semi-professional lasting engine bay paint job be done with cans?

[Chernobyl]

Unless you have the entire engine bay stripped, you're going to get paint all over everything anyway.

Cans should be just dandy for what you're trying to do here. Unelss you want a show car.

[IDriveFords]

not necessarily show although I may enter it in a few local shows this coming summer if I get around to painting the car. I do want it to be presentable when you pop the hood though. If this can be done with cans and some sandpaper I guess what I need to know is what kind of canned high temp paint is good for doing an engine bay. I wanna do it in a flat black so when ppl look under the hood they notice the motorwork and not the surrounding paint, however, I want the paint to look good not bubbled, rough and messy. Any suggestions, I'm not real experienced with bodywork but I do have some help.