Hole in fender under battery tray

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Creedmoor

Recovering Fordaholic
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‘68 fastback barracuda. Doing some cleanup in the engine bay when I was reacquainted with this hole in the fender right under the battery tray. Forgot it was there many years ago. There was clearly some rust damage right around it and the metal right next to it is kinda thin. Is there supposed to be a hole there? What for? Thanks for any info.

IMG_0734.jpeg
 
That hole corresponds to a drain hole in the bottom of the battery tray.
1706932799305.png
 
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Its the pee hole for when the battery leaks. Nothing to be worried about.
 
It's more like it is there for when water gets I the battery tray it will drain out.
 
I have never seen an A Body, or any Mopar for that matter, with this hole from the factory. I HAVE seen inner fenders rotted out right there from battery acid leaking.
Is that may be what it's from?
 
niceolddart said:
I have never seen an A Body, or any Mopar for that matter, with this hole from the factory. I HAVE seen inner fenders rotted out right there from battery acid leaking.
Is that may be what it's from?
Click to expand...
I suppose Chrysler started the rotting process by punching drain the hole at the factory. Presuming you have an A body/Mapar, post up yours that wasn’t given the rotting accelerator from the the factory.

Battery Tray Mounting
 
H22A4 said:
I suppose Chrysler started the rotting process by punching drain the hole at the factory. Presuming you have an A body/Mapar, post up yours that wasn’t given the rotting accelerator from the the factory.

Battery Tray Mounting
Click to expand...
Good idea. I have my Duster in my driveway & I'll get a picture of it today. I'll have to remove the battery & tray first, but I'll do it.
 
niceolddart said:
I have never seen an A Body, or any Mopar for that matter, with this hole from the factory. I HAVE seen inner fenders rotted out right there from battery acid leaking.
Is that may be what it's from?
Click to expand...
All of mine have it- and it's a punched hole, not a rust hole.
Early A:
1706975240457.png


Later A:

1706975477660.png
 
All I know is I usually cut out about 3-4 inches of rusted away metal below the battery tray!!! That hole was long gone!!! :poke:
 
OK, here’s a better pic. I’ve cleaned the area up some. That’s a quarter for size comparison. It may have started life as a much smaller hole, but I think it did rot out to its present size. Like I said in the OP, the metal around the edge of the hole is pretty thin and you can see a lot of pitting in the general area. So, should I try to patch it up and re-drill before respraying? My welding skills may not be up to the task and it’s not visible once the battery is installed.

IMG_0736.jpeg
 
I bet 95% of all the cars I have restored over the decades had rusted out metal under the battery tray. Just the nature of it all, battery acid, moisture trapped under the tray. I always cut out the rust and weld in a patch. It all gets epoxy primer and topcoat in the end. If you aren't a great welder, so what, it will be under the tray!! Drill a drain hole there if you want.
 
Just leave it like that and move forward with the car.
 
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