February 28, 2007 by Rob.

I’m not entirely crazy for converting the RAV…http://austin.craigslist.org/car/285469611.html. This is posted on the Austin list.

[Note: This appears to not have been a legit offer according to EVDL]

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February 28, 2007 by Rob.

Lisa K: “If you enter 1994 or 1995 Toyota MR2 on whatever sites you are using that ask for year make and model, you should be able to find one easily.  They run about $150 refurbished, cheaper if you can salvage a good one.”

Posted in AustinEV, EV Tech | 1 Comment »

February 27, 2007 by Rob.

My son and general shop helper started posting today!  I’m looking forward to adding his perspective into the work that we do.  He definitely pulls his own weight in the work we have to do.

I also started looking online for an electric power steering (P/S) pump.  DriveEV.com used a salvaged MR2 p/s pump and I thought to just order one.  Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to order auto parts by the part type!  Everything expects you to start with the Make, Year, and Model.  I could use a Prius p/s pump (also electric) except that it does not look like they sell them in the after market.

Suggestions anyone?

Posted in Storyline, Conversion, EV Tech | No Comments »

February 27, 2007 by Alex.

Last weekend we cut the metal plate to fit the transmission, and it was a lot more work that I expected. Cutting with the ripsaw didn’t work out for the teeth wore down to fast and the blade when we used the grinder was ground down about 1.5 inches when cutting the aluminum. After that we started to drill the holes to attach it to the transmission but drildred some of the holes in the wrong place. We had to re drill one of the holes three or four times to get into the right place.

Posted in Conversion | 2 Comments »

February 26, 2007 by Rob.

Erik was kind enough to trim the rest of the bell mounting plate off today. It’s great to have an EV community for support.

While I picking up the plate, he suggested that I consider putting in more batteries (using 20 8 volt cells instead of 12 12s) to improve my range. He said that the target battery load for an typical conversion is 1/3 of gross vehicle weight (GVW). My curb weight w/ ICE was 2800 and the GVW is 3200. That would mean I can carry about 1200 lbs of battery. The Trojan J150s would be (12*80) 960 lbs. The T875 would be (18*63) 1,134 lbs.

The extra lead would increase range and also allow for more luxuries like power steering.

Posted in Storyline, AustinEV, Conversion, Planning, EV Tech | 1 Comment »

February 26, 2007 by Rob.

My friend Paul has donated some MDO scraps from his construction site.  I have a nice 4×4′ sheet just waiting in my garage for it’s Cinderella moment.

I’m not sure what all the fuss is about for MDO: it just looks like plywood to me.  It doesn’t taste any better than pressure treated pine either.

Posted in Storyline | 1 Comment »

February 26, 2007 by Rob.

We made a lot of progress today on the RAV (no - I’m not nearly done). Several AustinEV members (Dan, Aaron, Chris, Erik, Tanda, Riley) provided great help and advice. We had some other visitors who wanted to learn more about EVs and conversions (Aaron and Erik both drove their EVs).
We were all in new territory because none of us had ever followed EV America’s design plans. The alignment tool, adapter, and mounting plate fit perfectly. I put together a video of the day’s effort: don’t worry, it’s edited way down and has titles for easy viewing.
If you’re doing this yourself, I highly recommend using 1/8″ spring pins to help with the alignment! We drilled pilot holes in the plate and then extended them into the steel bell. It was trivial to keep the alignment right once the pins were set even though we took the plate off several times.

Posted in Pictures, Storyline, AustinEV, Conversion, EV Tech | 1 Comment »

February 25, 2007 by Rob.

What a beautiful day to be out washing a car! Yesterday I detailed the engine compartment to get ready for installing components. I wanted to get the engine compartment clean before I start working in there because there is no reason to get rotted dinosaurs (oil) on my hands anymore!

Posted in Pictures, Storyline, Conversion | 1 Comment »

February 20, 2007 by Rob.

Mounting the motor to the transmission is the part of the whole EV project that caused me the most stress in the early days! How I long for those simpler days

This composite picture shows how the transmission, adapter (was the clutch), mounting plate, and spacers all stack together. The white alignment tool is used to ensure they are centered to 0.005″ for final assembly.  I needed extra spacers because I did not want to cut down the transmission shaft.

Posted in Pictures, Conversion, EV Tech | 1 Comment »

February 20, 2007 by Rob.

All,

I’m going to stick with my plan for an Open Garage on Sunday 2/25 from 1 to 5 PM. Please RSVP by commenting on this post.
My clutch adapter, alignment tool, and spacer arrived today. My plan for Sunday is to cut out the mounting plate and start the mounting process. I tested this with my rip saw and it worked. I’ll also have the grinder with a diamond blade.

I may be a little sleepy - we’re planning to watch the Intel Shell implosion on Sunday @ 7 PM.

Posted in Storyline, AustinEV, Planning | 8 Comments »