Because I did not have the batteries in my possession, I never spent too much time trying to figure out the battery layout for the upgrade. I knew that most of the cells would fit into the large enclosure behind the seats where the original engine compartment was. The rest should fit in the front trunk or the gas tank area, or a combination of both. I really hoped that they would all fit into the gas tank area and that would leave the front trunk for the charger and the air conditioning equipment. I was not confident that this would happen and thought I’d have to put the charger and the ac equipment in the gas tank area where it is harder to access and then put the batteries in the front trunk. Worst case, I’d have batteries in both locations. As it turns out I got lucky. The batteries should fit nicely in just the motor compartment and the gas tank compartment. The layout is very easy with two rows in the motor compartment and one row in the gas tank. This should make the cabling very easy. Time to get some exacting measurements and start cutting the angle iron from the old lead acid rack and modify it to fit my new Thundersky’s.
Feb 272011