M38 hood battery box

[evanso1975]

I picked up a good used hood battery box for my M38 a while back. There's a slotted hole near the base on the rear side:



I notice that the repro battery boxes have this hole too. Two questions:
1. What's it for?
2. Should it have a grommet or plug in it?

Thanks in advance.
_________________
Owen

1951 US Air Force M38
1944 F-1 1/2-ton Airdrome Trailer
1940 C15 Chevrolet CMP 11-cab
1939 DKW KS200 Motorcycle
MVT # 19406

[skyjeep50]

The battery box wasn't a sealed unit. If the jeep went swimming water had to drain from the box somewhere, hence the hole.
_________________
1951 M38

[G740]

The hole on the bottom of the box is for the arctic power plant heater kit. There was a plate that had coolant hose hooked to it to preheat the batteries for arctic weather starting.
John

[evanso1975]

[wesk]

The kit John refers to is TB 9-2855-3 Powerplant Heater Kit. Some of the TB is in my photo album:




Item W lays in the bottom of the front battery box and those two tubes come out that hole. Item V goes in the cowl battery box and those two tube come out the bottom outboard of that box.


The boxes also receive these insulation panels.
_________________
Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100

Mjeeps photo album: http://www.willysmjeeps.com/v2/modules.php?set_albumName=Wes-Knettle&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

[skyjeep50]

When the jeep wasn't driving on top of the ice with the arctic kit, it may have been swimming at the bottom of the river with need for a hole.
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1951 M38