The EVDL consistently says that mixing old and new batteries is a bad idea. These might be considered new, but with the discharge damage, I'm not so sure. After all, I built the car for electricity's reliability; I don't want to be constantly checking and maintaining batteries.
So I decided to take the two stinkers out. Rather than leave empty spaces, I decided to move the two inaccessible batteries into their places. Sunday I rewired everything for the new battery configuration, keeping as much of the old wire as possible in case I ever decide to go back to 144V. I also fixed a problem with the ground connector for my main contactors: the small screw that was both acting as ground and holding the accessory tray to the battery box had sheared off. I drilled two new holes and inserted screws, each slightly larger than the original ground screw.
Of course, that still leaves empty spaces where the inaccessible batteries were. And I don't want batteries sliding around in the unlikely event that I ever get into trouble.
So I built a brace to hold the batteries in place. It fits nicely into the trapezoidal area where the inaccessible batteries used to live. The six remaining batteries in the back box should fit nicely in the 13.5" x 29" box remaining. (The trapezoid is 21" long on its shorter side, and has a 10" base, in case you were wondering.) At 6" tall, the brace fits just under the battery lids, so any impact will lie completely on the base instead of knocking a lid off.
Thanks to my friend Jerran's help, the whole thing was done in an hour or so. We used screws I had lying around and some 3/4" plywood scrap left over from when I made a bottom for Tatiana's bed. It's not perfect, but it's functional.
Not much left to do! I need to refill the tranny, put on the wheels, and... oh, yeah... put the batteries back in. Oh, I should probably recalibrate my E-Meter and charger, too. But then I'm ready to go. I hope to make my historic second first ride on July 4th. My country will declare its independence at the same time my car does.