Gutting a resto battery, how's it done?

I've seen posts from people who've done it here and seen it in some magazines for the FAST racers. I've got a resto group 27 battery that died a few years ago that I want to use for a shell. What did you use to cut out the bottom? Are there any tricks or things to avoid? Did you find an aftermarket battery that the terminal posts line up with the resto case? Will the left-over acid reside that will inevitably get all over my clothes cause them to fall apart?

I did a little write up in this thread a while back....scroll down
Be careful!

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/show...rue#Post3963101

Great pix that provide a lot of the details I've got to worry about. This looks very messy and a little dangerous. The cutoff wheel sounds like a good way to go to get access through the bottom of the case (I was thinking Sawsall). It's definately worth it to save 27 lbs on the front end.
My current sealed repo battery is still going strong after 7 years without using a trickle charger but it's only a matter of time before the end will come. The battery I'm cutting up is the wet cell that lasted only 1.5 years and vented so badly that it messed up the paint around the battery tray and under the hood. It will be a pleasure to chop it up.

Personally I would make 100% certain the battery was completely discharged before I began drilling into it. Even if you empty and flush the battery acid first I would still load the battery, and when dead rig up a short circuit (like a 10G wire)before 'going in'.

Good idea. Thanks for the tip.

I would not use a saws all as the case is very brittle. To much vibration will crack it. I drilled a 1/2 in whole in each corner of the bottom and used a small air saw that looks like a saws all but fits in the palm of you hand and is easdy to control. Once the bottom is off I used a needle nosed plier and started to brake the plates loose. They are soldererd on the underside of the top so be careful not to crack the case.

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I would not use a saws all as the case is very brittle. To much vibration will crack it. I drilled a 1/2 in whole in each corner of the bottom and used a small air saw that looks like a saws all but fits in the palm of you hand and is easdy to control. Once the bottom is off I used a needle nosed plier and started to brake the plates loose. They are soldererd on the underside of the top so be careful not to crack the case.

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yes the case itself, while pretty thick on the outside, is very brittle. The inside dividers snap off easily with a plier though