on another note, a fellow EV enthusiast generously offered to donate a 36/48V curtis controller, an ammeter shunt, and contactors to the project.
he was given the parts in a custom made electric go kart that needed fixing up, but decided he's already got enough on his plate with his current conversion.
he has already donated the kart's 8 hp motor to the guy who built the
$800 yugo EV (and who unfortunately had motor trouble not too long after).
the Curtis may be a good alternative to the 25 year-old controller that came with the forklift. also, it's a better controller for using one of the smaller pump motors if the drive motor turns out to be too big for the forkenswift's engine bay.