DIY Electric Car

NOVEMBER 7, 2010

Update 11-07-2010. The gauges were a lot of work but worth it! My original idea was just to mount the amp meter, voltmeter, ect on top of the dashboard. But at the behest of a friend I DID take the dashboard apart to get at the instrument cluster, it wasn?t as bad as imagined it, after multiple configurations ( 4), I ended up with a very attractable presentation on the instrument cluster.

Volt 100

Volt DC IDEA Installation 100

DIY Electric Car

OCTOBER 25, 2010

Materials are everything! As my parts have arrived in good condition, I have progressed from selecting, purchasing to installing the electronics for my conversion (phase 3). My next step was to create a shelf within the motor compartment. Thinking of light material I chose 1X2 pine boards as shelving material. After installing them to the plastic fenders it soon became obvious that this was unacceptable, as the platform was bouncy, weak and unstable.

Portland 100

Portland Light Installation Purchase 100

DIY Electric Car

OCTOBER 20, 2010

Parts have arrived all in good shape. Today I mounted the switch box., connected the primary and secondary circuits to the controller , mounted shunt on the motor. And played around with the brake pump. The interesting part of working off of someone else’s wiring/ prefabricated parts is in reconfiguring the fit. Jr sent me most of the 2-0 gauge jumpers that he had used in his car but they weren’t quite right, but some did fit.

Parts 100

Parts Plug-in Connect Connected 100

DIY Electric Car

OCTOBER 8, 2010

Yipee, scored on the exact parts I wanted on Ebay. It was suspisiously like pre-ordained destiny the way I found my curtis 1231c controller listed on Ebay for a starting bid of $700. Further distiny occured when I privately e-mailed the seller ( I first tried to e-mail through ebay but of course their site was censored), and found out that he also had the zivan battery cahrger that I wanted, and controll box complete with 2 albright sw 200 contactors wired with relays and vacume pump for breaks,

Parts 100

Parts Purchase Plug-in Installation 100

DIY Electric Car

OCTOBER 3, 2010

Started putting the motor/tranny into the engine compartment. Got it positioned and connected the driver sigde motor mount. Feels good. Kind of wondering if I should have tested the motor before I put it in. Not sure how I would have done that.

Motors 100

Motors Motoring Motor Engine 100

DIY Electric Car

SEPTEMBER 19, 2010

EV Grinning, we have just completed our conversion from gas to electric, two weeks ago the Fiero passed it's safety test with no problems. We had the car licensed and plated the following week. We have had a few road tests, trying to find the actual range per charge. We are averaging about 25 km's (15.33 miles) per charge with a charging cost that has averaged about $0.67 and taking about 6 hours to charge @ 10amps per charger from a standard 115 volt ac plug rated at 15 amps.

Legal 100

Legal Extended Range Conversion Volt 100

DIY Electric Car

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

After much thought/consultation about waterproofing the motor compartment of the truck. I decided on a vinal underlayment for the motor compartment to act as a splash shield, ( here in the northwest we get serious puddles and undercarrage splashing 8-10 months a year and I would hate to short out my $1500 motor!!). I used a 12 ft. section of vinal carpit runer from wallmart ($9) and molly bolts with fender washers to tack it on the plastic fenders and thin steet metal in the compartment.

Motors 100

Motors Motoring Motor Water 100

DIY Electric Car

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Hello DIY'ers, The Exploratorium in the San Francisco is looking for someone who'd like to show off their DIY Electric Car for one night on October 7th as part of our monthly After Dark series. On the first Thursday of each month we keep the museum open a little bit later and invite adult audiences to enjoy the museum with a drink in hand and in a setting curated around an ever-changing monthly theme.

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San Francisco DIY Cars Electric Cars 100

DIY Electric Car

AUGUST 27, 2010

Going at it step by step per instructions. Biggest advance has been to install new clutch and fit it to electric motor. The transmission is loosely connected to the motor. I have to figure out the right bolts since the adaptor plate now in place is considerably thicker than the sheet metal on the original car. I followed a video from the vendor of the kit I'm using to install the clutch.

Kits 100

Kits Installation Connect Connected 100

DIY Electric Car

AUGUST 8, 2010

No good excuses for why I haven't worked on the car. I can blame the heat and spending my free time at lake. Real reason is that I've been frustrated by next steps. Today, I got back to it. My friend David M. and I set up a "workbench" using a couple of saw horses and pulled the motor out of the box. That alone was kind of motivating. We bolted the adaptor ring to the motor.

Kits 100

Kits Purchase Motors Motoring 100

DIY Electric Car

JULY 21, 2010

Sunday our New Beetle rolled out of the garage on it's own! We got on a testdrive in our neighborhood, just to feel this great moment :-). There is still a lot of work to do, but this milestone was a big rock! :-). So stay tuned. it will go on :-).

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Neighborhood 100

DIY Electric Car

JULY 15, 2010

Thank you From. [link]. 2010.06.08. Ontario's Ban on Electric Cars. Success!!! The Ban on EV Conversions is Over!!! Yesterday (June 7, 2010), Electric Mobility Canada sent out an e-mail advising its Ontario members that MTO has lifted the ban, and has implemented an interim solution for the licensing of electric vehicle conversions. That e-mail read (in part): "Dear EMC Ontario members, "I am pleased to announce that following consultations with officials at the Ministry of Transportatio

Conversion 100

Conversion Canada Convert 2010 100

DIY Electric Car

JULY 13, 2010

Hello All, Found a great little download that has a bunch of great electronic tools. Electronics Assistant is a Windows program that performs electronics-related calculations. It includes a resistor colour code calculator, resistance, capacitance and power calculations and more. Details of calculations can be saved or printed. It provides all the functions found in the calculators section of this site and more in a stand-alone user friendly program.

Power 100

Power Powered 100

DIY Electric Car

JULY 14, 2010

Picking Your Dream Car for Conversion. So I am converting a 1984 Pontiac Fiero, well you may ask your self why? A Fiero. Well I have always wanted three cars, A Fiero, DeLorean and Lamborghini. So after a deer hit my dino drinker, I decided to tack the plunge. So your almost there, ready to take the plunge as well to convert a car from gas to electric or maybe you dino drinker is on its last legs and is going to need to be replaced soon.

Conversion 100

Conversion Cars DIY Gas-Electric 100

DIY Electric Car

JULY 1, 2010

Changing our world one kilometer (or mile) at a time. After people tell me, "You can't do that for next to no money, made from a recycled. car, recycled batteries, recycled wires and recycled dreams." It kind makes it hard to just let it go, knowing how easy this converting process is. A couple weeks ago deer hit me on the way to work and destroyed our car, we were going to replace the car with another "beater" as a commuter car but thought this would be a perfect time to realize

Solar 100

Solar Volt Commuter Cars Convert 100

DIY Electric Car

JUNE 15, 2010

I know that I?m killing everyone with minute, but I?m very proud of the work that I?ve done so far. The motor and transmission is now mounted in the truck, motor mounts have been fabricated, placed and are rock solid. Tomorrow I will raise the drive wheels and give her a good testing of the drive train. This will conclude what I term phase 2, the mechanical refit of the EV.

Deep Cycle 100

Deep Cycle DIY Motors Motoring 100

DIY Electric Car

JUNE 9, 2010

Finally, after cajoling the machinist for a month, I finally got my connector between the motor and trans. I do have to hand it to Jon at Portland Manufacturing, he did a great job fabricating this connector it fit like a glove, and after assembling the motor and trans. It ran like a dream. The bench test was 100% successful, I could discern no grinding bearing noises, or binding in the coupling.

Connect 100

Connect Connected Portland Installation 100

DIY Electric Car

MAY 8, 2010

Finished up the mounting plate today, cut down the shaft with a 4"cuttoff grinder and premounted the motor and tranny on the bench. It looks like a god fit! And my concentricity looks great. I have the 2" connector being machined in the shop, 1-1/8th keyed on the motor side and I poped the spline out of the clutch and the machinist will lathe it and press it into the tranny side.

Motor 100

Motor Motors Motoring 100

DIY Electric Car

MAY 6, 2010

Intro. Well I'm finally going to get around to installing a WarP-Drive 160/1000 motor controller package in our 97 S10 EV conversion. I've been meaning to get this project started for a few weeks but it seems one thing or another always kept popping up and delaying the project. But now the time has come, so, a little background first. Our EV Solutions 97 S10 EV conversion was originally completed in the Spring of 2007.

Installation 100

Installation Kits Conversion Connect 100

DIY Electric Car

MAY 5, 2010

Hi, I will try to translate the important points to my New Beetle conversion in this blog. I got some questions about it, because my "original" blog is written in german language. My english is surly not the best, so please feel free to correct me, ask me questions, comment and be patient to me :).

Conversion 100

Conversion 100

DIY Electric Car

APRIL 20, 2010

I Made a template of masonite of the transmission bolt patern to transfer onto the.50 inch aluminum plate as the first step of connecting the transmission to the electric motor. My plan was to connect the two Clark forklift motors together end wise. There just enough room to do it in the car. SO. I went looking for a more suitable motor. I found and bought a Caterpiller electric fork lift truck, the end result was that for $600 I got three 48 volt dc mortors, and a controller.

Volt 100

Volt DC Connect Connected 100

DIY Electric Car

APRIL 10, 2010

Hello, I am an 8th grader who is trying to make a difference in the world. I am a part of a robotics team who has become national champions and been invited to Istanbul, Turkey which, in part, has to do with our research project. Our Goal: Changing America. See our project is based on electric cars and that there are currently no Electric Mini-vans available in the United States.

Turkey 100

Turkey Minnesota 2002 United States 100

DIY Electric Car

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

Almost completed cutting the hole in the trunk for the rear battery box. There's something satisfying about watching the sparks fly when you cut metal. The conversion instructions I'm following are not great and the folks I got the kit from are not returning calls. Still I think it's ok. I'm a bit worried that I'm weakening a supporting cross-member.

Kits 100

Kits Conversion Battery Batteries 100

DIY Electric Car

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

Today I removed the engine from the donor car. I had to pull it and the transmission together. I think in the long run it is better to have the tranny out to make the adapter plate and so forth. I took lots of photos and will happily share them. In order to disconnect the half shaft axels from the gearbox I had to disconnect the lower ball joints and steering tie rod ends (I think that would be necessary on any front wheel drive car).

Engine 100

Engine Water Cars 100

DIY Electric Car

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

How do you eat an elephant???? One bite at a time!!! I decided to devote most of the day removing more components that will be unused. Keeping with my plan not to destroy the parts, I seperated the exaust pipe from the muffler at the flamge. I pulled out the bolts holding the top of the rubber hangers fom muffler and pipe. Between the maniflold flange and the catalytic converter is a flex pipe. rhere is a ridgid hanger on either side of the flex.

Petrol 100

Petrol Plug-in Plug Store 100

DIY Electric Car

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

I woke up at five stoked about beginning the project. At six I started removing the interior. By seven I had it all out. Three seats two side pannels and floor matting. Not much too it. I didn't break any of those plastic blind connectors in the side panels. I put the seat hardware in zip bags and labeled them. I learned that from a friend that restored vintage Corvetts.

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Mercedes Oil Connect Connected 100

DIY Electric Car

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

It is my intention to give a detailed account of the process of converting a 1988 Subaru Justy DL into an EV. I chose this site to share the process because I think it is the best and most informative site on the subject. My project goals are: 1: Do as much of the work myself as is pratical. (I need a project!). 2: Keep the cost as low as I can. 3: Use as many parts that are salvaged from other uses. 4: Learn as much as I can. 5: Make friends that are interested in green sustainable living. 6: H

Conversion 100

Conversion Legal Convert Green 100

DIY Electric Car

FEBRUARY 17, 2010

There are things I need to consider: I can save myself lots of headaches, frustration, money and tantrums if I seek and entertian knowledge from others. Secondly, what kind of EV do I want when I finish? I choose to make a medium range, street legal "Grocery Getter" Next make a buget! Or at least have an idea of how much I am willing to spend, and is this amount realisitc?

DIY 100

DIY Legal IDEA Parts 100

DIY Electric Car

JANUARY 24, 2010

First, thanks to those folks on various forums who have responded to my questions. I was able to remove the starter which was the last thing connecting the engine to the tranny. They are now separated. Progress showni in last six photos in this album [link]. Need to clean car up and figure out what's next.

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Clean Cleaning Connect Connected 100

DIY Electric Car

JANUARY 18, 2010

Finally got the engine out. Took a saw to cut most of the head of that pesky bolt off and then filed until the axle came free of the transmission. Next steps are to remove a few more ICE parts and clean.

Clean 100

Clean Cleaning Parts Engine 100