I have the old batteries out of the car. Since they were sitting next to a 12v charger, I connected a pair with one of the HV cables and let it sit on charge for a day. For the first 12 hours, nothing much happened. After 24, the 'charge ready' light on the charger came on... They were finishing at almost 15v (normal). After having them disconnected for two days, they are still at 6.35 per 6v battery - very close to 100% charge!
Once I get the differential back in the Comutacar, I'll have to see if there is still a mile or two in the 15 year old batteries
Still no word from the differential shops to see if 5.17 gears are still around.