My Optima rests nicely under the driver's seat of my 90 Westy and the lid is still on its hinges. Put the Optima on its side with top posts pointing forward (left plastic caps on) and side posts up. Right above the side posts cut notches in the lid and then taped across the notches with black fabric tape so there can be no contact of the posts to metal. In order to get the Optima in the hole had to cut two notches... one for each of the top posts... in the metal lip at the forward part of the battery box so the top posts would pass by the lip... not a big deal.
Bill
    -----Original Message-----
    From: Michael J. Sullivan <sullivan@OPENMARKET.COM>
    To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
    Date: Wednesday, March 22, 2000 2:17 PM
    Subject: Re: Optima Batteries
    
    
    Depends on whether or not it is a Westy -- the Westy hinge for the battery cover is different than the standard van's. I have them side by side and the Westy one is MUCH smaller -- the Optima battery (either model) will not fit as-is! In my Westy, I had to punch holes in the battery cover to get it to work. OR I could have eliminated the cover and the hinge completely and probably gotten it to work. A "normal" van does not have this problem.
    
    Cheers,
    MJS
    
    
    At 11:56 AM 3/22/00 -0800, Ron 'Coyote' Lussier wrote:
    >> Solar panel? There was a discussion a few month back that the Optima
    >> batteries do not fit in the Drivers Side compartment. Have you had this
    >> problem? If my memory is correct, someone bought an Optima and could not
    >> figure out how to make it fit without drilling holes in the top of the
    >> cover.
    >
    >See http://www.vanagon.com/info/articles/upgrades/battery/
    >
    >Coyote
    
    
    
    
    Michael J. Sullivan
    IPS "SWATteam" Architect
    Open Market, Inc.
    
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