A lesson learned in mounting components!

Mounting components -- very critical to ensure that all components will handle the hard use of a daily driver and last in the test of time. In the lightning bug, there were numerous improvements when mounting the major components, such that they could easily be removed in minutes for service in case anything were to happen. I also wanted to use all stainless steel socket head allen screws because they look much more professional. But one component, did not receive the same "easy removal" installation. That was the DC/DC converter. In the Bug, all of the major electrical control components are mounted on a large aluminum plate which is then mounted in the back of the car, and the components are installed on the surface. The DC/DC converter, was mounted through the back of the large aluminum plate that everything else mounts to, so it had to be installed before the large plate was installed to the car.

The painful lesson came after installing every component to that large aluminum plate in the rear, the DC/DC converter seemed to be acting as if it was defective and it needed to be removed to be tested. I learned that unfortunately, I was not going to be able to get the converter off without taking apart all of the electrical components and all of their wiring apart. I knew that I had to make that component mount in such a way so that I never had to go through that again.

In the picture above, I got a thick piece of 1/4 inch aluminum and drilled the 4 holes that will mate up with the 4 mounting holes on the back of the converter. My idea was to use small socket head allen screws, and drill counter bore style holes as seen in the photo below.

After doing this to all 4 holes, I was able to simply bolt in the converter and make sure all screws were recessed from the surface and strong enough to hold the converter. This can be seen in the image below.

Next, I drilled the outer holes that will secure the convert-plate assembly to the car as seen below.

Mounting to the car:

In the above photo you will see the converter mounted in the car. All that was left to do was mark, drill, and tap the holes on the big aluminum plate on the car. Finally, I simply held the converter up with one hand, and then installed all four stainless steel socket head allen screws with stainless steel washers with it. This created a nice looking installation, and one that would allow me to easily remove it like every other electrical component in the rear of the car. It's fair game to say lesson learned for sure!