Got the air cleaner relocated today. I took a week off the project to do some preps for spring planting around here. Here's the original location with the lid facing the street. One has to crawl under the bus to change the air filter. Not something I'm going to allow if I don't have to:
I had welded in the floor framing previously and removed the air cleaner from it's original location and ordered a 4" 90 deg. ell. I'll have to shorten some of the coolant hoses to make room for the ell:
I had to remove this bracket (a plate on the inside with three studs sticking out) and re-install it 180 deg. so I could hang the air cleaner housing from the floor bracing:
I had to remove the snorkel from the air cleaner adapter plate, turn it 90 deg., re-attach and build a bracket to anchor it to the frame. Strangely, as simple as it mighty look to twist a piece of angle iron about 45 deg., it took about twenty trips back and forth to the vise to get it just right. This little bracket took more time than any other modification and fabrication. Interestingly enough, the snorkel ended up facing just about where it was in the original configuration. Well protected from scooping up water and trash from the road:
Here's the bracket that the air cleaner housing bolts to that's welded to the floor bracing:
Here's the whole thing installed in it's new location giving me access to the air filter from the outside:
While it's not facing perpendicular to the side panel, I'll be able to gain access to service the filter easily now.
I had to shim the inside of the sir cleaner cover as it didn't fit tightly against the filter. Little did I know, when in the vertical position, there was a 1/2" gap at the top of the air filter between it and the housing. I shimmed the cover to push the air filter element to contact the housing. I also put a couple spacers to hold the filter centered in the housing while installing the cover and retainer band.
I'm planning on reusing the old battery box door to make the access door for the filter. I'll have to cut it down and make a new frame but the pad latch is in good working order and there's no reason to lock this access.
There's not enough space left over to justify making an additional storage cabinet. As a result I now have a lot of room to get around the engine from underneath. Something that was near impossible with the step well there. I've spent most of my career (marine technician) trying to service equipment that people designed and didn't have a clue about the need to actually access said equipment. Not gonna happen on my watch!!