As mentioned, I have an 82 truck with the right front battery mount, and that little thin steel strap that the J Hook rod of the battery holder hooks into has one side torn away now. It looks like it could break sometime soon, so I want to come up with an alternative way of holding the battery down. My only idea so far has been to bend the rod and hook it under the bracket attached to the fender that holds the vacuum hoses.

If anyone can mention, or preferably show via pics, a fairly easy alternative way to secure that rod, I'd appreciate it.

 

Pictures?

 

you can always install a new battery tray, bolt that down to what you have already

 

You can replace the battery tray with a fiberglass one from Toyotafiberglass.com. I don’t have a pic on my phone, but I had to replace mine due to corrosion. It’s mounted with adhesive

 

i would look for a new battery tray.
in my 81 (tried to find pics) i had one made out of angle iron

you could try something like this (i am ordering one for my 4Runner) just get one that would fit you battery, but i like this because it is about bullet proof

 

Sorry guys, perhaps I should have clarified. I'm looking more for a way of holding down the battery, the tray itself is not the problem. The problem is specifically trying to find (or make) an alternative anchor point for the threaded J Hook rod that attaches to the bar that goes across the top of the battery to hold it down. The reason I said I'm asking for an easy alternative way is because the battery platform sits atop the right front fender well, and I don't want to drill through it to attach an aftermarket tray or cage, as it could mean leaks and rust.

I have ordered some JB Weld original steel reinforced epoxy. I'm going to try sanding to bare metal a spot on the fender well right near that failing anchor point, and attach an L bracket there, and use the hole on it's short end to attach the J Hook to. I will also sand and thoroughly degrease the glue surfaces on the fender and L bracket, then prime and paint them after taping the bracket to hold it while the epoxy dries.

The other slight problem I have to address is coming up with a height spacer for the battery itself, as when my truck got stolen recently, the thief took the new battery I'd just bought before a police parking enforcement vehicle snapped a pic of my license plate and reported the truck's whereabouts. For that I plan on zip tying either a 3/4" piece of wooden dowel I have under the bar that holds the battery down, or buy a short length of hard rubber hose that diameter if I can find any such bulk hose. I may just end up finding a universal fit battery tray with height spacer included though, I've seen them before.

 

Thought I'd update you on this problem. As I was sanding the spot I wanted to JB Weld the L bracket, I saw the metal was a bit too rust pitted to trust it as a long term fix. I tried taking cell phone picks, but a video resulted in better lighting and clarity. I sent the vid to a local shop near Seattle called Eurotech, and the guy said it was adequate to make a general quote with. I've not yet heard back from him, but meantime I thought I'd post it here and ask if anyone knows of an auto body repair shop near Seattle that does rust repair like this, without being too pricey, ideally $500, but I can flex a bit. As far as I can tell, the fender well only looks badly rusted in the area just around the battery platform. As you can see I cut a piece of galvanized pipe hanger metal strapping that I mounted to a ground cable anchor point, which is my new temporary attachment point for the J hook rod that my battery hold down bracket attaches to.