"Packing" under battery?

[Nisswa Collision]

What is the correct "packing" that goes under the battery? It says two, 8" and one 3" piece of packing but no mention of another mesurement. Like what is the material, or how thick or how wide? What was the original material made of? Fiber? Plastic? Rubber? Carpet pad? Mine had a rubber mat over an aluminum sheet on top of the fiberglass.

[Lotuswins]

Which model do you have? 

On my TCS, nothing is under the battery, but there are 3/8 foam strips stuck to the battery side of the aluminum heat shield that protects the battery from the heat radiation exuded by the headers/exhaust manifold if that helps.

Jerry Rude
4005R

[Nisswa Collision]

2603R Stromberg twin cam with emissions removed and now, new huge oversize pistons. It has the series 2 dash and heater as well as the later 4 speed but has the 1 1/2" rear brakes as used on the Special. Tonight I had a bad enlightenment. I was excited to see the set of new engine cover "Lotus" letters arrive in the post but bummed when discovering that they are too small to fit my original holes in my freshly buffed paintwork. They measure a full 1/8" shorter than the originals so the originals went back on; pits and all. I know better than to attempt to get the originals replated. I call that a "can of worms". I did get a few steel parts chromed. No surprises with those.

[dakazman]

2603R Stromberg twin cam with emissions removed and now, new huge oversize pistons. It has the series 2 dash and heater as well as the later 4 speed but has the 1 1/2" rear brakes as used on the Special. Tonight I had a bad enlightenment. I was excited to see the set of new engine cover "Lotus" letters arrive in the post but bummed when discovering that they are too small to fit my original holes in my freshly buffed paintwork. They measure a full 1/8" shorter than the originals so the originals went back on; pits and all. I know better than to attempt to get the originals replated. I call that a "can of worms". I did get a few steel parts chromed. No surprises with those.

  The LOTUS letters from R&D were a perfect fit .Re-chromed letters will be expensive.
Dakazman

[Grumblebuns]

I hope you're not looking for originality in the replacement pad. I doubt too many people remember the original make up of the pad .On my TCS, the bottom where the battery sits, several holes had worn through the fiberglass to the frame. I'm definitely going to reinforce that area before a new AGM style battery goes in. I'll also use a sheet of rubber matting under the battery. I would recommend not using the standard lead acid battery due to the off gassing of acid fumes and the rubbing of the corner of the battery case which eventually ate away a hole in the side of my left tank. My new TC still has the aluminum shield (may not be original) that Jerry referred to.

[Roger]

2603R Stromberg twin cam with emissions removed and now, new huge oversize pistons. It has the series 2 dash and heater as well as the later 4 speed but has the 1 1/2" rear brakes as used on the Special. Tonight I had a bad enlightenment. I was excited to see the set of new engine cover "Lotus" letters arrive in the post but bummed when discovering that they are too small to fit my original holes in my freshly buffed paintwork. They measure a full 1/8" shorter than the originals so the originals went back on; pits and all. I know better than to attempt to get the originals replated. I call that a "can of worms". I did get a few steel parts chromed. No surprises with those.

  The LOTUS letters from R&D were a perfect fit .Re-chromed letters will be expensive.
Dakazman

Another vote for Ray. I just fitted my
Lotus letters and only had to slightly relieve one hole .

[Kendo]

The LOTUS letters I got from RD were too small, maybe by 1/16". The old letters went on. Bummer.

[BobW]

 My S2 has two (dense foam?) rubber strips that the battery sits on to keep it off the fiberglass. The strips run side-to-side but can't be seen with a Group 45 battery installed on top. I believe the strips to be original, not that many will care. A Group 45 battery has the right bottom ledges to be snugged in by the original hold-downs. 

[Nisswa Collision]

I suspect that the rubber strips as described by BobW are the original. Are they the right number and length? That would help determine it. How wide? You know, I've restored cars all my life and in doing so, I've invented a new word. "Carceology" It's taking things apart with priority being paid to determining what was original and what were modifications performed later. (Or what you find under the back seat) My car has the 2 aluminum battery shields but nothing I would call "packing". Mine has a rubber mat over the bottom aluminum plate but I suspect that's not original. It is a good set-up though. For the letter issue, I'm going to attempt to attach a photo. Rechroming pot metal, like the letters are,  is almost impossible. Pot metal has bubbles in it and every time it is polished, a new layer of pin-holes opens up that then have to be re-welded shut and repolished yet again. Turn around time on pot metal plating is stupid. And they lie. When you finally get your part back, it's missing all detail and is somewhat smaller.  There was some talk a while back about a new epoxy that had enough metal in it to be plate-able and could be used to fill the pin holes much faster than the welding method. I haven't heard more about it.

[Nisswa Collision]

I'll bet this stuff isn't original, but it's what mine had. Do other cars have that curve and channel to fit over the fiberglass edge with the different angle? It needs replaced but I don't look forward to making a new one like it.

[BobW]

No, not original. The battery hold down system in my Type 54 is unmodified. The battery sits on the two rubber strips directly on top of the fiberglass. There is no tray of any kind, presumably because fiberglass doesn't corrode, and the bodywork has a lip at its inner edge that would prevent leakage from washing onto the frame. An L-shaped bracket is mounted to the forward side of the inner left wheel well (just visible in the not-so-good photo) and holds down the rear of the battery. Another L-shaped bracket is screwed down to the forward end through a bobbin in the body. The two brackets clamp down on ledges near the bottom of the battery case, holding it in. Despite its apparent flimsiness, I've never had a problem with this system. 

[Kendo]

While we're in this area, what does the aluminum heat shield look like? Just a sheet of aluminum, or aluminum/asbestos like the trunk/tray heat shield?

[Nisswa Collision]

Ha! I found the original "packing". It's very firm foam rubber 1" x 1/2" Of course the one I found was not useable but I'm sure It's the original. It was secured in place with a cloth tape that, if I had to I.D., would say it's medical tape. So I ended up answering my own question.
I'll be using the aluminum heat shield again but found a white plastic battery tray exactly the right size that will fit nicely. I'll continue to use the lead-acid battery and have made a battery clamp exactly as shown in the parts book. I'll have to send the bolts up from the bottom but it will mount as original in the unmolested original holes. I reglassed that whole area, adding a speck of weight and redrilled the holes in the fiberglass.
I have a question for long time owners: Once I get all the shorts worked out, which will I need? A battery cut-off switch? Or, can I get by with a battery tender? Or are these seriously so simple they won't drain the battery?

[Kendo]

On my TCS, the battery was always draining down. I have a cutoff switch and a tender, though the battery is currently out of the car as I do the restoration.

[BobW]

The absence of electronics means there should be nothing running while the ignition is off. My S2 will sit happily for at least a couple of months with the battery connected. I have a screw-type disconnect on the positive termnal but don't use it. Over the winter I connect a battery tender because I've noticed that doing so seems to extend the life of the battery. Starting after a few months' rest takes quite a bit of cranking if you've retained the mechanical fuel pump, as I have.