OK, We have finally started this project. We have been planing on doing this for months, but haven't had time to start. On Saturday we use the truck to pull the car from down back where it was parked. We pulled it up near the garage where we spent almost an hour cleaning off all the mold and sap from the car. We removed some of the carpeting that was moldy. We had to use the pressure washer to remove all the junk. With the car clean and free from all critter nests, we proceeded to push it into the garage. we had to turn it 90 degrees CCW to be able to back it into the garage. It took out about 10 minutes to the the car in the garage as it was very hard to push because the brakes were dragging a bit. Once it was in the garage, We began the deconstruction process. We started with the simple stuff under the hood. We removed what was left of the AC dryer and its connecting hose's, then we removed the extra vacuum lines that went to the headlights, those will not be lifted with the vacuum like they use to be, so that stuff went into the box too. Next we started draining the antifreeze. Most seemed to have leaked out from sitting for so long, Only got about 1.75 gallons out. Thats all we got done on saturday.
On sunday we had a little more time to work on the car. We wanted to try and start the engine and get a little video of it so that we could sell it. We put a fresh battery in the car and about a gallon of gas in the tank. We ended up needing to add a new wire to the + side of the coil because there was something wrong with the built in one. Once we added the wire, it started right up.
After that, We finished removing the Fan and shroud as well as the radiator, alternator, belts and some other small things.
Video #1:
Video #2:
Video #3:
Video #4:
I also had some more time last night to get some more work done. I was able to remove both the seats, and the A/C controls in the cab. I finished removing the remnant carpet pieces that somebody used for the floor carpets. All the extra parts are cleaned out of the cargo area as well.
For the car our goals are to be able to bake the tires, as well as be able to drive it further then across town. We are aiming for around 60-80 miles per charge, but will be sacrificing range for performance. Since its a Vette, it has to be fast.
So far we have been thinking of going with 22-26 optima yellow top batteries, the D31T ones. These will be wired in series and parallel to give 150A/H and 144V. We have also been looking at lithium batteries, but we need to find them at the right price.
For a controller, I plan on building a modified version of P&S 144V open source controller. I almost have all the details worked out about it so it will be up to see soon.
For a motor we are stuck between 2 different options. Our first choice is a Warp11 motor. This will be mounted in the traditional way, with the clutch still in tact. Our second choice is 2 Warp9 motors stacked vertically, mounted into a custom made housing, coupled by 3 inch supercharger pulleys and belt. on the lower motor would be a special adaptor for mounting the pulley as well a bearing mount to support the torque of the top motor. On the other side of the bearing would be the clutch mount, and you know the rest. The 2 motors would look very nice and still leave alot of room in front of them for batteries. If we do 2 motors we could put them inline instead. As I said, were not sure what were going to do.
I believe the 2 motor setup would be a better choice, producing above 60 HP between the 2 motors. This, I believe, Would increase the top speed of the car greatly, While providing incredible amounts of torque in the low end. But, I do realize that it would have poor effects on the range of the car.
I also plan on building a BMS system from scratch. This will include modules for each batteries, as well as a central computer to monitor the packs and alert if there are problems.
Well I think thats it for now. I would love to hear your comments.
-Adam
Picture #1: Rick washing car
Picture #2: Engine bay
Picture #3: Interior before being stripped
Picture #4: Engine bay after Radiator, Fan, Shroud and Alternator removed
Picture #5: Interior stripped
P.S. I promise that following posts wont be this long.
