I would like to add a few words to this. Having done this on a number of reproduction batteries, one will find some that do not have this type of wet cell. Some reproduction batteries are AGM (absorbed glass mat) and are a little easier to work on. Some were built with a small AGM battery inside and if you find one of those they are so easily rebuilt you will be finished in almost no time. Those that are AGM and those that have a smaller battery inside can easily be identified by trying to twist off the red caps- the AGM type will have caps that ARE NOT removable. I find them on occasion and they are getting more plentiful. Friends bring me their "corpse" battery to stuff with a wheelchair battery now and then and the AGM types are starting to fail so more and more candidates for rebuilding are of that type. Don't be afraid to tackle them, Jims write up covers all of the important steps. In regard to cutting the top off, do as Jim suggests and use a hacksaw and cut right below the ledge of the top part. The hacksaw removes such a tiny amount of material that one cannot tell the battery is shorter, probably only removes about .030 inch if you watch what you are doing. (a band saw will remove significantly more material but is certainly quicker) As for reattaching the top portion after working your magic on the inside I have found that construction adhesive is both strong , not costly and universally available. I use masking tape on both the edge of the top cover and the case where the top mates so any excess that squeezes out will be on the masking tape, not on the case. If you use construction adhesive it probably will leave a light tan or grey parting line right under the ledge that quickly can be converted to the same black as the case by using a magic marker and wiping the excess from the case after application. I think you will be surprised how invisible the seam of construction adhesive can be. And that type of adhesive can be applied in a continuous bead around the perimeter of the sliced area and I can attest that it is more than strong enough to allow your newly rebuilt Autolite battery to be picked up, carried and reinstalled in the car with a normal battery strap type carrier - just let the adhesive dry 24 hours or so or whatever the instructions on the tube advise for 100% strength. If after several years you need to install another battery inside of the Autolite shell the construction adhesive is very easy to cut for your next rebuild. Finally, I think that you will be surprised at the cranking power of the 12-350 style wheelchair battery. I have been unlucky enough to have a timing chain slip hundreds of miles from home on a Saturday night and that little battery lasted while figuring out the problem, making the repairs and still starting the repaired motor with no noticeable decrease in cranking speed. Finally, I have found that keeping this type of battery fully charged during winter storage can really prolong their life - having just redone a couple that were originally converted to the wheelchair battery either four or five years ago. I charge them on the first day of each month with a charger specifically manufactured for AGM type batteries but probably a normal 2 amp self regulating charger would be sufficient. A big thanks to Jim for writing this and the images to illustrate how it is done.
