3D Printed Ford Battery Case Help

[WarbirdPhotog]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

There seems to be a basic that you aren’t grasping. The foot tabs serve no purpose here, and are easily removed, but you place an unrealistic value on keeping them over the importance of producing a case that externally matches the original. The external dimensions are important in order to fit correctly into every battery location in every Ford that uses that battery. There is also the matter of the expert observer, able to spot an imposter on sight. I’m sorry to be a wet blanket, but I’ll remind you that Fit and Finish are paramount in judging on the V8 Club Concourse, and we haven’t even addressed the difference in finish of a printed case as opposed to a molded case.

1) I never stated I was going for concourse. That's not my intention here. Based on the photos I've seen of all the other covers for batteries compared to photos of original batteries, I can say that I've yet to see an actual cover that meets that perfect replication. Each have flaws in their own ways. While I am trying to go for as close as possible to an original, keep in mind I do not have an original. With no one currently offering these covers for sale anymore, I have taken it upon myself to do this for my own Fordor.

2) I already have ideas on the finish that I haven't stated because I haven't gotten to that point yet. It involves actually spraying the cover with a thin layer of rubberized type paint. That'll give it a bit more of that original look.

3) I'm not appreciative of your condescending tone, I do actually grasp the idea of those feet tabs. I was unaware they were easy to remove, however. I have yet to see anybody say the tabs are easily removable, and in fact I've seen quite the opposite on the Jeep forums saying it takes a bit of time to remove them. So, my thought process was to make a case that's very easy for everybody to put the optima in with minimal work. Especially having the ability to replace the optima easily.