Firebrid: The Prius v Powered Hybrid Convertible

Been kind-of stalled due to life events. I'm hoping to make more progress on it soon. Health of me and the family are all good. There are just too many irons in the fire for now.

 

Finally getting back to working on the Firebrid. I realized this morning that the best way to mount the hybrid battery on the uneven floor of the car was with hinges. The first two hinges are now attached to the casing. Slow progress is still progress...

 

There will be modified hinges on all four corners to hold it in place. The surface it is mounting on is sloped and uneven, so a spacer or two may be needed on the forward edge. The whole battery will be in a ventilated metal box beneath an elevated rear seat that I plan to fabricate.
Here is a view of the deck below the battery as it currently sits. The battery will be elevated enough to snake the orange power cable around to the back side of the battery where it needs to connect.

 

Yes, the front edge of the traction battery will be suspended above the access panel for the fuel pump. The traction battery will be above the outline positioned very close to where it is shown on the floor. This is to allow the original Firebird rear seat upright portion to remain in its original position. Only the rear seat bottom will be elevated with a thinner cushion than it originally had. The rear seat won't be usable by adult humans, but a large dog or picnic basket and beach chairs could fit on it. I have no other choice in location. As I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, a main structural support for the Firebird body occupies that area. I have circled the future location of the traction battery in red.



BTW, if you haven't read through the earlier posts, you'd be missing a lot of information on what I am doing and why. (There are 29 pages of reading!)