My 1955 Thunderbird has been converted to 12 Volts.  I installed a new 1957 12 volt battery tray and HD battery in the car last summer.  Batteries to fit this car are hard to find.  I bought a new battery from the local auto parts store.  The TBird takes a Group 29NF battery.  I wasn't able to find a maintenance free 29NF battery.

Because I upgraded my brakes to a dual master cylinder, I was not able to use the battery shield.  Everything worked fine until this summer.   I noticed the battery water level was low, so I filled it.  Evidentially, I filled it too much as battery acid came out and into the tray.  This made a big mess with white battery powder all over the frame below the tray.   I cleaned up the mess and painted the affected areas.   I ordered a new tray with the shield still attached. 

I don't know if the missing heat shield caused my battery to boil over or if overfilling it caused the problem. I will try to make the heat shield work.  It may take some fabrication.  Anyone ever have this problem?