Another EV in the garage!

[Ryland]

Last night I hauled home another electric car, this time a CommutiCar, the 2nd incarnation of the CitiCar, so it has real windows, better seats, a larger motor, and because of the larger motor the batteries are in the bumpers, instead of under the seat, so it has the longer black bumpers.
Mine is pretty, green, still shinny, bought by HMV freeway in 1981 for research and development, then sold in 1982 to a family member of the company, then to another family member of the company, then yesterday to me, complete with original invoice and owners manual, 2 year old batteries installed, some disconnected wiring to the gauges, and a bad connection to one of the turn signals, but other then that it's in awesome shape, stored in side it's whole life and only has 2,800 miles on it.
Monday I'm going in to get plates for it, next weekend is the first car show in the area of the season and I have plans to take it! I of course have plans to use it, just need to get the minor electrical problems worked out first.
Don't worry, photos have been taken, I've just been busy, I'll have them up soon.

[Arminius]

Nice! Can't wait to see the pics.

[Ryland]

I have Photos! of my new Comuticar up, and more to come, I got some work done on it today, the lights all work, the horn works, hub caps are shinny, the weather striping has glue that is curing, brakes are adjusted and clean and it's a blast to drive! took a friend for a ride down the street, it started to rain and the windshield wiper was loud... tomorrow I get temp plates for it.
the batteries appear to be in ok shape, but they are a little weak, not sure if it's the batteries, or all the old connections and small gauge wire that was used, that will all be replaced over the next few weeks.

[SVOboy]

Pretty sweet ride! I can't believe I missed this post yesterday, nice job,

[Peakster]

Oooh! It's so PRETTY! I want it... and I want it now!

I wonder if Canada would allow them on the streets?

[johnpr]

wow!! 27 years and it only has 2800 on it!! if i had one i would take it everywhere, it sure looks like a blast to drive around in and it looks like it is in great condition!

[MetroMPG]

Ryland. That rocks! Feel like telling us how much $?

Looks like they replaced the wheels with something bigger. Plans to keep it stock or revert to original?

Peakster: these cars were/are legal in Canada. I used to walk by one parked in a driveway when I was at university in Ottawa. One of the old-time members of the EV club told me just last week that "there are a few of them sitting somewhere" around Ottawa (I'd be sorely tempted to pick one up if they were for sale).

I was in touch with a guy by e-mail a couple of years ago who lives about 80 km from here - he has two of them. He was going to show them to me, but never followed up on my email to him to set up a meeting.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by Ryland

I have Photos! of my new Comuticar up, and more to come, I got some work done on it today, the lights all work, the horn works, hub caps are shinny, the weather striping has glue that is curing, brakes are adjusted and clean and it's a blast to drive! took a friend for a ride down the street, it started to rain and the windshield wiper was loud... tomorrow I get temp plates for it.
the batteries appear to be in ok shape, but they are a little weak, not sure if it's the batteries, or all the old connections and small gauge wire that was used, that will all be replaced over the next few weeks.

Being that we are both from Wisconsin, I was wondering if there were any problems with the MDV. I'm looking forward to updates.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by Arminius

Being that we are both from Wisconsin, I was wondering if there were any problems with the MDV. I'm looking forward to updates.

I have a temp plate on it right now, I did get asked if this was truly road leagle, I answered "yes" and it was left at that! I ended up going down to the police station today (DMV is only open Thursday and Friday here), dealt with the meter maid who was working at the counter, she looked at the title and was a bit confused, I told her it was a weird little car that was one of about 2,500 made, she then asked what kind of mileage it gets! I smirked and told her it was electric, she also asked if my family was going to be part of the national tour of solar homes again in October, I was kind of suprized at what she pays attention to.
I'm getting collector plates on it, it cost me an extra $35 and they never expire, I just can't use it in January, I also asked about collector insurance, that is going to cost $178 per year for full coverage as long as I don't use it as my "back up vehicle" or my primary mode of transit... well tonight I drove it to a friends house to show it off, drove around town a bit, and it's so much fun to drive!
I'll keep my other car for work, hauling cargo, tools, and bad weather.
When I first drove in to town I was expecting people to notice, but people really noticed, like speeding up, turning in to parking lots and pulling out camera's, kids pointing with jaws dropped, I've never seen anything slow other vehicles down like this, it made me grin.

Oh, and the wheels are stock 13" with original tires as best as I can tell, the hub caps however I don't think are original, not sure what to do with them
My batteries are over 2 years old so my current top speed with batteries fresh off the charger is just over 30mph on a flat road, the battery cables are undersized, and I need to finish cleaning connections as a few of them are getting warm, new cables are part of the plan, the 3 speeds takes a little to get used to, but in a way I don't mind it as much as I thought that I would.

[Christopher Jordan]

Terrific green I must say!!!!!