(ET) Great find

["John" <etrak jvlnet com>]

Hi all; It's been awhile since I posted here. I recently picked up an E16 
that was in pretty fair condition except for the usual cancer on the rear
battery box. Well I picked up a set of batteries and replaced some of the
cables thinking I was in pretty good shape. Using  it to mow for a couple
months I didn't notice how bad the rear box had gotten until I ruined one 
of
the batteries. The seat sat down on top of the left rear battery and broke
both posts and the top cover around them, well you can imagine my 
temperment
at the time. I really didn't want to do any repairs to the machine until
next year at the earliest since I don't have a heated garage. I had to pick
up a new battery and since I was passing through the area on business I
stopped to see Bill Gunn at Tech Service to say hello. He was working on an
E20 for an old gent and we got to talking about my dilema with the battery
box, a trip to the back of the E20 and my eyes lit up. Here was a battery
box in the same condition as mine with an interesting bracket welded over
the rear with formed sides and a couple other bends. I asked what that was
and Bill told me it was a modification for the I-5's used in industry to
prevent the tongue on pull carts from damaging the rear box and possibly 
the
batteries from an over zealous operator in reverse. Well I had to have one
considering it will save me a lot of time that I don't have and a heck of a
lot cheaper to. I paid around 15 bucks for it and 10.00 for my local welder
to weld it in place, I asked the shop what they would charge to make me
another one and he said about 50.00. I guess I made a great find, plus I 
put
in new battery bags this time. Another lesson learned, bye for now. John