August Update

Time for an update: I've been working on lots of different things and making a little progress, the largest was the transmission. The guys at Commercial Machine Service finished up the transmission and I installed it where the rear differential used to be. Of course, I had to make the rear wheels go around using electricity so even though the batteries aren't fully mounted yet, the controller board isn't finalized and I don't have the pot box installed, I hooked everything and low and behold, I have electric motion!!! (I'll video if anyone is interested).

However, not everything worked like I hoped. I'm using a chain drive so the center distance between the input and output shaft must be such that the number of links in the chain is a multiple of two. In my case, the chain ended up needing a half link. Unfortunately, these aren't made for the motorcycle chain I'm using because the half-links are weaker. So, I had to add a full extra link to the chain, making it very loose. Since the center distance between the shafts is fixed, I'd always intended to put a tensioner in because the chain will stretch. Now, it is just going to have to take up more slack. So, I'm working on a design that will fit in the tight confines of the drive, be adjustable, and be able to reverse. More on this later.

Controllers - I laid out the controllers on a piece of Plexiglas and I've gone through a couple of iterations, but I'm still not satisfied. I figure that I will mount them above the motors but I don't want to take up too much room in the trunk, so I'm still adjusting. One thing that is coming together is the method to keep the controllers cool. Again, to keep the cable runs short, the controllers are going to be in the trunk and I was having a hard time coming up with a way of providing enough air flow. A couple of people have used water cooling but mine aren't designed for it. However, I found these: http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?SKU=6190228&MPN=416501U00000G . Secure them to the bottom of the controller with some heat sink compound in between then route the antifreeze to a radiator in the slip stream and Voila, cool controllers.

Battery Mount - I finished up a battery mount for the front batteries but I'm not super happy with it. I've said before, metal fabrication is NOT my strong suit and the mount looks like it. However, it is functional and I figure that since this project probably will never be totally finished, I'll add a professionally fabricated mount to the list of things to be redone.

Batteries - I was part of the group buy from EV Components. I was heading over to Seattle towards the end of July and I thought I would save myself some shipping cost by picking them up myself. Unfortunately, a customs snafu delayed the batteries and they weren't available for my trip. So now I'm having them shipped but that means that I still don't have my full pack. Soon.... hopefully soon. When they get here, I'll have all the components and then it will be time to get this thing driving!


Guess that's all for now. When I get something finalized, I'll post some pictures.

Front Battery Mounts

Spent some time last night working on how I am going to mount the batteries in the car. Since I'm going to have the rear wheels driven by motors in the trunk, the logical place is up front where the ICE used to be. Since I'm planning on having four packs, I need to find a place to put the 96 batteries and no matter how I try, they aren't all going to go in the front. Still, I think I can get three up front which will nicely replace the weight (~360 pounds) and I won't have to monkey with the suspension. I'm thinking the fourth pack is going to go where the gas tank was but I haven't made up my mind about that yet.

Since I'm trying a bunch of different configurations, I came up with a different way to simulate the pack rather than the cardboard box method. I got some foam insulation from Lowes and cut it up into 96 LiFePO4 battery analogs. This made it very easy to pack (pun intended) the batteries into the front of the car to determine the best way to get most of them up there.

Now I just have the job of fabricating what I came up with. I tried a little gas welding and let me tell you, it is HARD!! Metal fabrication is definitely not my strong suit so I'm probably going to end up with something that will at least initially, be bolted in. Not my preferred solution, but you gotta work with what you have.

Back after hiatus....

I know... It has been too long since my last update. I've been working on several things but it seems that nothing is getting done. So, I haven't updated with any progress. Well, I just went to the machine shop doing my transmission and PROGRESS!! Back when I started this, I had the idea of doing a four wheel drive car using a motor for every wheel. The first step was to build a new gearbox for the rear wheels and here are the results. It is not 100 percent complete but you get the idea.....

The guys at Commercial Machine Services are doing a great job basically building a prototype using pictures I drew on a scrap of paper. Soon, I'll be installing this in the car and seeing the wheels spin using electricity.

First Battery Set Up

I finished putting together, at least in a temporary setup, last night. I plugged in the charger this morning to give the batteries their first charge and after about an hour, the Volt Blochers have started shunting, just like they are supposed to. Take a look:

First Set of Batteries

I got the first set of batteries yesterday. I bought 24 Thundersky 60Ah LiFePO4 from Elitepower Solutions. They were shipped very quickly and it was exciting when the UPS guy showed up because the batteries are such a significant investment in this whole process. I also bought a cell balancing circuit board from Volt Blocher. I finished soldering those up last night so the next step will be to hook up the entire pack with the Volt Blochers and get the batteries their first charge.

While waiting for my gearbox to be built, one of the things that I didn't like about the '02 was the dim headlights. Cars really have gotten much better since 1974; driving the Beemer at night was pretty scary with all the deer we have around here. So, I found a set of Xenon HID lamps on eBay that fit the '02 and boy what a difference. I'll get some before and after pictures and post them.

Out with the old....

As all conversions start, the first thing you have to do (besides decide, design, plan, order... you get the picture) is remove all the stuff associated with the gas engine. This is a grimy, greasy job but it really makes you feel like you've accomplished something. Above are some pictures of the process. At this point, I have removed the engine, transmission, drive shaft, muffler, radiator, and gas tank.