April 3, 2007 by Rob.

So I’m ready to put in my front axle and go to swing out the wheel mount.  The steering rod tie joint ends in a ball that attaches to the wheel assembly.  To unassemble the joint, I need a pickle fork.  I’ve got a cucumber forks and cocktail forks, but no pickle fork.  It looks like they run about $30.

Note: Do not trust an 11 year old to remember all the steps in auto repair.  He remembered that Leo had hit the ball with a hammer but forgot the pickle fork.  Luckily, I stopped to check the manual before he was able to find the sledge hammer!

Posted in Storyline, Planning | No Comments »

April 3, 2007 by Rob.

This is really great news about how progressive Austin is being about EV adoption. The bummer is that under the current rules, the RAVolt would not qualify.

Are they afraid that it would create a scramble to convert ICE to EV? Hardly enough $ are on the table.

[4/4 Update from Austin Energy] The purpose of the program is to assist dealerships and manufactures in the sales of electric vehicles.  The list came from the Austin area dealerships. Conversions are not on the list because they do not directly contribute to local dealerships or OEM sales.

Posted in EV News, AustinEV | No Comments »

April 3, 2007 by Rob.

Here is a colorful story about a new conversion kit maker.  The interesting parts (to me) are the market analysis.

I still believe that it’s too hard to make a generic kit for “most cars.”   AustinEV and other groups have talked about finding a major auto maker who would sell new gliders.  Then the community could work out an open source conversion kit solution.

Posted in EV News | No Comments »

April 3, 2007 by Rob.

According to EVAmerica, my Trojan J150s are on the way!  They should be taking up space in the garage by tax day.

Posted in Storyline | No Comments »