Reviving the Comutacar

[TomEV]

Thanks for the link! I may have to buy some aircraft fabric just to see how it works / looks...

[TomEV]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

He's ignoring us, Matt. The world's first somewhat aero Citi/Comuta retrofit is just waiting to be born...

Will a large area of doped fabric withstand 40 mph headwinds? (Yes, I realize airplanes go faster than that! But not presenting the same surface area to the wind as the front of a C-car.)

No - not ignoring you, but I've had my Citicar for two years now, and the body is in about the same condition as when I bought it. Runs fine, but won't win any beauty contests... My art is more towards the mechanical / electrical, and not the exterior. If someone wants to try their hand at aeromodding the Comutacar, this would be a prime candidate! I plan on letting the local high school use this car to learn about basic EV operation and body repair next school year. Maybe they'll decide to aeromod it as well...

You're right - 40 MPH is about tops for a C-Car! Most folks that have gone faster in one usually tell the tale with a faraway glazed look...

[TomEV]

Removed the differential this weekend. Stamped as a 5.17 ratio (31-6) I was hoping to use it as a high(er) speed option compared to the 6.8 ratio I currently have in the operational Citicar. Turns out that the ring gear and pinion were changed sometime during its life to the other ratio available (long ago...) - 12.25. Probably will do wheel stands, but top speed would be about 25 mph @ 5k rpm. Anyone have an old Dana 'Model 18' 5.17 differential ring gear and pinon? Want to trade for a 12.25?

Not sure if a Dana 27 ring gear and pinion would fit... Might try it out as they look about the same diameter.

[TomEV]

I have the old batteries out of the car. Since they were sitting next to a 12v charger, I connected a pair with one of the HV cables and let it sit on charge for a day. For the first 12 hours, nothing much happened. After 24, the 'charge ready' light on the charger came on... They were finishing at almost 15v (normal). After having them disconnected for two days, they are still at 6.35 per 6v battery - very close to 100% charge!

Once I get the differential back in the Comutacar, I'll have to see if there is still a mile or two in the 15 year old batteries

Still no word from the differential shops to see if 5.17 gears are still around.