Allen, When I retire we are moving to the Pacific Northwest and I do not understand convertibles in South Florida. I want AC and a solid roof while I am here.
I fully agree with picking a donor car that other people will notice is important. I also suspect that by time I buy one I will spend more than I expect. Ideally I would find a car that someone forgot to change the oil in since they bought it new. But I suspect that's unlikely. I need a great outside and very good inside. Manual transmission and the smallest engine. I will drive it for a few months get the basics, brakes, suspension checked fixed then rip its old heart out. I do not have the automotive expertise to deal with a damaged car or one that needs restoration even if that might be lower cost. That was some of what I hoped to discuss with others at the meeting. There must be subtle year to year changes that may have big impact on how good the conversion will be. I am a Volvo guy, and the 4200Lb I drive today just won't do it. I doubt this will be my only EV. My interest is in the technology. When my car runs, I want to make my own speed control. When things run and work for a while I will see how these components I am planning work out economically. If they are cost effective I may share them or sell them. But all that's pie in the sky until I have a car to start with. David Kerzel Pompano Beach From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 8:36 AM To: FLEAA Mailing List Subject: Re: [FLEAA] Choosing the right donor car Hi David, I have 2 thoughts on the right car for a conversion. You already know about the technical requirements for the right donor car...but here is something else to think about. 1. Pick a car that you like and will enjoy driving. We decided on a convertible. Remember, you are going to be putting a lot of time, money and energy into this conversion...so the reward has to be a driving "your car". I suspect you will keep this car for a very long time; through all the stages of life(kids, teenage drivers, retirement..etc). People will need to hear the excitement in your voice when you describe your car (even 5 and 10 years from now). Plus, we are all victims of marking too. Everyone you talk to will naturally judge your car based on the donor car. So the more expensive types of donor car(BMW, Proche, ..etc) the more people are going to take notice( the WOW factor). 2. Since you are changing the frame of the car...there are a large inventory of "wreaked" cars available. So you should be able to pick a late model car with good interior. My mistake was using a "too old" a car. Everything needed to replaced. Just think of the hours and hours you will spend replacing little things like window cranks on the doors, weatherproofing around the windows, rusted parts, stereo..etc. If I was going to start all over...I would use a late model car with good interior. The interior is really where you will be spending most of your time with the car. Only the car enthusiasts, engineers and mechanics care about what is under the hood. Just my thoughts, Enjoy, Allan David, FloridaAME wrote: Allan, My EV interest is the technology and the challenge if converting an IC vehicle to electric. I will never save enough on fuel to justify this. I am concerned about the environment and foreign oil, but a few converted EV's are just a curiosity and production cars are a long way from reality. My project began in April 2008. I have been considering the project since February. The target is a small car, for short trips in town primarily going to work <20 mi/day. I am here in South Florida so there are no hills no cold temperatures and I-95 is not a requirement. I would like to keep the AC but is not a critical requirement. I want space for one passenger and a few packages for weekend shopping. I don't have a "donor" car yet but have been looking ad thinking about what I need and how the car will appear to others. I have considered a number of sporty Mazdas and Mitsubishi but I keep ending up at the New VW Beetle. The Beetle has a reasonable weight, and size, designed for a smaller engine and efficiency. It has modern safety features and parts are available. I suspect the car will be 5 years old. Doing the basic motion calculations and thinking about how I drive combined with the torque curves for the series wound DC motors, I decide I need an AC drive system. My goal is not peak torque for fast starts or highway speeds. I have found a Siemens water cooled AC motor 30 KW (40HP) continuous or 60KW for 5 minutes and an industrial controller that will meet my needs. Since the AC motor operates on 330V I will use 24 12V batteries, the higher voltage and flat motor torque keeps the current down. Battery charging and balancing is my present focus. I am presently working on a programmable charging system with a low power computer per battery that communicate with each other. The charging system will operate on 120,208,240 VAC, 20A PFC to begin with which will do a good charge overnight. I think the charging will take 2 -3 months to get right. No need to do metal work if I can't charge the batteries. I expect 3 or 4 months to actually convert the car once the parts are here. Then a lot of fiddling and polishing details. I realize there is a significant amount of risk in a project like this, taking apart a good car, lots of expensive electrical parts, and what if it just does not work as a system, that's the challenge. David Kerzel Pompano Beach -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2008 8:44 PM To: FLEAA Mailing List Subject: Re: [FLEAA] no meeting Hi David, I am a EV newbie myself. I have a converted 1989 VW cabriolet. The EAA has a broad membership, with each person having their own topic to discuss on the list server. Charles posted a few weeks back, a very good discussion on NiMH batteries. I still have the posting if you are interested. Like everything, there are advantages and disadvantages to whichever battery technology you choose. For my conversion, I decided on "flooded" lead acid...simply for cost. Someday I hope to upgrade, but I prefer tried and test technology and not "bleeding edge" (one step before 'leading edge'). The Florida EAA website has some good basic information. It also has a FAQ. When/if you have questions about specific parts, then feel free to post your question. I am sure someone provide an answer. I actually have a few questions for you 1. How much money are you willing to spend on your conversion? My conversion was $16,000 2. How much spare time do you have? An average first time conversion seems to take 200 to 400 man hours. 3. What is your car? and what shape is it in? I have spend $5000 on "non conversion" expenses (brakes, paint, new top...etc) 4. What is your primary design criteria? My criteria was range and cost, not performance. I am willing to set the controller so that it will "never" draw more than 500A from the battery pack. Driving around Miami, I usually do not need more than 300A. But when I go over the Innercostal causeway, I sometimes wish I had more power on the uphill. Please continue to post your questions. Allan David, FloridaAME wrote: My EV project is about 3 months into the design stage. I am looking into small computers to use to charge batteries from the power line. I realize that for my EV to have any positive value it must look good and be interesting to others in addition to my primary goal of getting me to work with less world impact. I had been hoping to discuss the possible donor vehicles and some of the first real steps involved in a conversion at the meeting this morning. I am leaning to a new VW bug. I am looking at a 40 HP water cooled AC motor operating on 330V battery pack of PbA batteries. I am sure there are things I have not even thought of that are critical for a conversion. This mailing list seems environmental and political rather than technical. I find some things interesting but I am looking for a more technical discussion. Is there one. David Kerzel Pompano Beach _______________________________________________ Florida EAA mailing list [email protected] http://www.floridaeaa.org _______________________________________________ Florida EAA mailing list [email protected] http://www.floridaeaa.org _______________________________________________ Florida EAA mailing list [email protected] http://www.floridaeaa.org
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