The car is now ready for the arrival of the electric motor! In this video (the longest yet) I go about fixing up anything that hasn’t yet been done in anticipation of the new motor! I fixed the last of the rust on the bottom of the passenger door, I replaced the steering rack boot, put fresh oil in the gearbox, installed the stereo and broke a lot of tools! The motor has been shipped (well, airfreighted) and the CV Boot got the better of me, so now there’s nothing left to do but wait……
I was worried about this video – I mean how could I possibly make an interesting video about buying a motor on the internet? Still, the saga continues! Just this morning I went in to the bank to sign the loan paperwork for the electric motor and borrowed 00 NZ to get my EV conversion project rolling. This is a major milestone in the conversion process. I reckon I’m about a quarter of the way there already! I made a second trip to the bank this afternoon once the money had appeared in …
It’s legal at last! Two tough inspections and a sea of paperwork later, the electric Mitsubishi Tredia is legally allowed on the road! I was as nervous as hell during the inspections but it turns out that it was all worth it as I now have a fully functioning, road-legal electric car! This episode begins with transporting the car up to Auckland City for the main Certification test, then transferring the car all the way back to New Plymouth for the Warrant of Fitness test. Once I had those …
At last! The battery racks are in! After a some battery choice problems, some battery rack sizing problems and a few delays I’ve finally got all three racks installed. It took a while and there was many a stressed moment but at last the racks are complete. The rear rack is bolted into the floor with 5mm thick steel bar underneath to hold it in place. The front racks are welded to the chassis (not the sub frame) to ensure the crumple zones remain… well, crumpley in an accident. Now it’s …
Tech ed teacher Ron Grosinger and a group of students at Memorial High School in West New York are almost finished with a project that cost about 000 and involved hundreds of hours of work: Converting a used car into an electric car. They plan to present the car Friday at the New Jersey Technology Education Association conference in Hasbrouck Heights. (Video by Jennifer Weiss/The Star-Ledger)
Video number four is here (early too). We’re getting closer to converting the car to electric every week! In this video I removed the seats & carpets before scrubbing & hosing them down. The amount of brown water that came out of those seats was pretty gross but at least my fiance will sit on them now. I ended up scrubbing the metal floor, door skins and ceiling too and I can finally say the car smells good!
The batteries have arrived and are installed at long last! It took a few days of fiddling about but we installed and secured the front and rear batteries into place with super-strong stainless steel strapping. I also created and installed my sealed rear battery box which has the extraction system connected to the turbo timer and a relay so that both the ignition and the charging system activate the fans. The turbo timer ensures the fans keep going for 3 minutes after I’ve turned the car off …
buy an EV heater from an EV accessories supplier but was advised I could save a bundle by doing it myself from parts! The whole thing has cost me NZ as opposed to 4 NZ from a popular EV accessories seller! And once again, if I can do it then anyone can! I hope this video proves educational. Feel free to see the install in more detail at KiwiEV.com Once I scrounge enough money together then the Battery Racks video will be uploaded asap! Progress has slowed a little as things have got …
Wow, this EV conversion project is turning into a mini series. Next it’ll be “Twin Peaks – Who Killed Laura Palmer’s Electric Car?” In this video we’re removing the clutch from the car. A clutch isn’t needed in your average Electric Vehicle as you generally drive around town in one gear all day. If required, you can still change gear easily though as there’s no backpressure from having a big gas engine chugging away aimlessly. There are many EV drivers who swear by keeping the clutch in …
Hi, my name is Ken Davis. I grew up working on cars, and have always been comfortable under the hood. I also care about the environment, and was searching for some way I could do my part to help fight global warming. Saving some money on my gas bill wouldn't hurt either. A friend suggested I take a look at converting one of my cars to run on electricity, and gave me some tips about how to get started. I put together this blog to share my experience.
Still, the saga continues! Just this morning I went in to the bank to sign the loan paperwork for the electric motor and borrowed 00 NZ to get my EV conversion project rolling. This is a major milestone in the conversion process. I reckon I’m about a quarter of the way there already! I made a second trip to the bank this afternoon once the money had appeared in …