Ben Nelson's Electro-Metro Build thread

[Johnny Mullet]

I would locate a junkyard replacement trans for that car. I thought about rebuilding my trans, but scrapped that idea whn I was lucky enough to locate one for $250.00

The welding looks great!

[bennelson]

I have been thinking about battery configuration some more.

I have 12 batteries that are 12 volt each. Each weighs about 75 lbs.

I have a 400 amp, 48-72 volt PWM DC motor controller.

Therefore, I need to use either 6 batteries in series or six PAIRS of batteries in series for my battery pack.

I really can't do the math to figure what the car's range would be, because I don't know how many watt-hours per mile it uses yet.

The advantages to using 6 batts in series is the I shouldn't have to get too wild beefing up brakes and suspension, and the batteries should fit fine under the hood and in the cargo compartment. It also leaves me with a "spare" six batteries I could keep and use later.

Using all twelve batteries would give me much better range, but I would also need to beef-up suspension and brakes, and find a place to put them all. I think that would mean removing the back-seat, converting it to a 2-person car. I would then build a low box in the whole back of the car - something similar to a CRX or Insight, with room on top to use use for storage, carrying groceries, etc.

hey Darin, how many watt-hours per mile is the Forkenswift using right now?

Anyone's thoughts on battery configuration?

[bennelson]

Here is what that welding repair looks like cleaned up and painted.

I used a fiberglass brushing wheel on a cordless drill and Rustoleum, brush-on, oil-based gloss black paint.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by bennelson

hey Darin, how many watt-hours per mile is the Forkenswift using right now?

Average has been 312 wh/mile, driving pretty conservatively (medium duty hyperwatting).

As for battery config, You can always start with 6 and add the buddy pairs later. It won't really change what your battery layout is up front (you'll only have room for 3 or 4), and you can always consolodate in the rear if you need to.

[MetroMPG]

Nice welding, Tim! Beats the "squeezed out bird poo" that mine resembles.

A hundred years from now, all that's going to be left of this car is that control arm mount.

[bennelson]

Yeah, I agree with you on being able to add batteries later.

Maybe I just do a real bare-bones approach to everything on this project just to get it on the road this summer and then tinker/rebuild/change everything next summer.

I just got an email from a fellow EV builder who helped partially take apart the transmission yesterday.

His subject line was "feeling adventurous?"
followed by this photograph and link


LINK

PS: I think the bearing causing the problem is the one in the upper right of the photograph

[bennelson]

Is it modern art?

Nope.

It's the field coil from the Electro-Metro forklift motor being hung up so I can use a spray-on non-conductive varnish on it.

The spray-on is a green epoxy designed for use with electric motor parts and other things you want to insulate.

Once it's dry. I can put the motor back together again. Hope it spins better and pulls a few less amps when this is done.

[bennelson]

Been thinking about chargers some more.

Made me remember that I already have a charger. A HUGE one that came with the forklift.

According to the specs on the charger's ID plate, it is:

Hobart model 1R18-450

AC input: 208/240/480 single phase, 60 hz.
Max amps 29/26/13

DC output
Volts: 36 Cont Amps:65 Max Amps 95

It looks like I only need to change some jumpers inside to convert it to 240 volts.

Another set of jumpers controls output amperage, but it only has a scale saying higher and lower, not a listing of what the actual amperage would be.

Looks like I need to talk to an electrician.

This thing sure has a big transformer inside it. There is also a weird looking part towards the back, which I think is a very large resistor. This thing must get hot when it's running.

Even if I can't use this charger, it would still be a great source for a 200 amp ammeter, some cabling, and fuses.

Here are a few photos of it.





Is the above a giant resistor?


Plugs. 30 amp twist lock and large Anderson.

See all the forklift charger photos, including spec plate, etc. at:
Charger Images

[MPaulHolmes]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Is the above a giant resistor?

Your mom's a giant resistor.

[bennelson]

A not-so-distant junkyard claims to have a car the same year, engine, and tranny as mine. Guy on the phone said they were going to sell it as a used car, but a piston blew right when he went to start it up.

They are asking $275 for the transmission.

A local tranny guy who does work on the side, said it would be $250-$500 labor to fix my tranny. There is another tranny guy I wanted to go talk to, but I haven't got a call back from him yet.

So far, it sounds like this junkyard transmission would be the easiest way to go. At $150 for a rebuild kit, doing it myself would be the cheapest, scariest way to do it.




Wait a minute, Geo Metro in ok condition, other than a dead engine? Could become Electro-Metro number 2!

Great, now I wonder how much they want for the whole thing...

[metroschultz]

My old tranny is at CoyoteX place.
Go get it, he's got others too.
S.

[bennelson]

Call me impulsive, but I found a Tranny at a junk yard.

$100 and it looks good.

I only got such a good price because I stopped there the other day and the guy showed me one I could have for $100. It looked all wrong. It may even have been an automatic transmission.

I stopped back in today with my adapter plate, tranny, and coupler to compare them on the transmission they had there. Yep. It was all wrong. However, 4 transmissions over was one which looked right.

It only had a tag on it saying "'92 Metro".

The adapter plate fit (minus the alignment pins, which the machinist pulled out for me on my tranny) and the coupler fit the input shaft.

I also lugged my transmission back there and compared the two. As far as I can tell, they ARE the exact same. I put junkyards transmission through the gears, and it seems to spin fine in all of them. In fact, it shifted into gears easier than mine does. I think that's a good sign.

They couldn't find this transmission in their computer system anywhere. The clerk was a woman I had seen there before, but wasn't the guy I spoke to a few days earlier, who walked by briefly and confirmed my story that he offered a certain transmission to me for $100.
When I went to check out, the woman said "$100 bucks, huh?". I readily agreed and forked over a Benjamin plus tax.

All other tranmissions I have seen kicking around for Metros have been 3-5 hundred dollars. There is another local junkyard that has a 95 or 96 Geo Metro with the transmission still in it, that the guy said I could get for $275.


Either I just got a piece of junk and wasted my time and $100, or I just got a REALLY good deal.

-Ben

[Clev]

Geez, I never realized how good we have it out West. I have a '90 Accord with 285K miles on it, and the only rust (other than light surface rust on the drums and such) is where some paint was scraped off the trunk lid. Maybe I could make a profit transporting clean Metros and other high mileage cars to the salt belt for sale. :-)

Ben, regarding your headlights, try flipping on the highbeams. If they work, or if jiggling the stalk causes the headlights to flicker, the problem is burned contacts in the turn signal stalk. I replaced two stalks in my '99 Metro in the 165,000 miles I owned it. (Both times the headlights went out at particularly scary times, but the highbeams still worked.)


Tim

[MetroMPG]

I've read that about the Metro stalks being troublesome also.

Ben: good price on the transmission. About the worst you could expect is that the 2nd gear synchro is worn. That's common.

[Johnny Mullet]

Originally Posted by Clev

Maybe I could make a profit transporting clean Metros to the salt belt for sale. :-)

Metro/Swift cars are a very rare find in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and other states with rust issues. I see maybe one a week around here and know for a fact I have the only Metro in my town.

[Tango Charlie]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Call me impulsive, but I found a Tranny at a junk yard.

$100 and it looks good.

-Ben

I could make a really poor joke in really poor taste...
but I won't.


Ben, it sounds like you're giving Darin a run for his money in the deal-finding parts-scrounging bottom-line-suppressing category!
Nice find on the transaxle!

[bennelson]

Ah yes, I just got that joke.

Good thing I tried doing a web search for "Geo Metro Transmission" rather than just "tranny".

Thank goodness for Google's Moderate Safe Search!

[bennelson]

Here are some photo updates for your pleasure!


The newly green epoxied field coils re-installed.


Junkyard transmission double-take.


Junk in the trunk. Looks like 4 batteries fit in back. Might be able to squeeze 5 back there.

[MetroMPG]

The green guts in your motor look excellent!

[MPaulHolmes]

Your motor looks new! I really should do something like that. Wow! Beautiful!