Ben Nelson's Electro-Metro Build thread

[bennelson]

I was sort of wondering what it would take to put a manual transmission in there.

Since you have to take everything out in the first place to do a conversion, half the work is done anyhow.

The toughest part of this project is going to find a good price on a car with minimum rust.

Seriously, in my area, everything rusts just terrible because of all the salt they put on the road.

This has been the cheapest/prettiest car I have seen so far. But that automatic transmission isn't going to work.

I am also still trying to figure out how cheap and ugly I want to go with this project. I really DO want to spend as little as I can, but I want something to be proud of when I am done too. Also, weight is still an issue, as I am not sure how much weight at what speed I am going to be able to push a car with my motor.

[TomEV]

Not much rust in New Mexico - If you get one with an 'operable' engine, you might even be able to get it back to Milwaukee for less than two hundred bucks. Probably safest to tow it, however...

http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/car/570873713.html
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/car/570864897.html
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/car/569664764.html
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/car/542552646.html
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/car/525482321.html

[bennelson]

The smaller Saturns look like they may actually be pretty good for an electric conversion.

According to Wikipedia, the early Saturns with a stick got up to 40 MPG hiway, and the body side panels were made of plastic, which is good for looking nice and not rusting

Plus, this particular one looks really nice in RED. Put some pizza pans on the tires and it would be classy...

I still need to go see what's laying around at Tom's Auto Farm sometime.

[MetroMPG]

I'm with TomEV - avoid used batteries that aren't free.

I'd seriously consider that automatic Saturn if the floor isn't rusty. You don't necessarily have to install a clutch pedal, but you will need to install a manual shifter & linkage.

Also: automatic EV's aren't unheard of. I know of one in Ottawa - a Jetta. But they will "automatically" eat up 10% of your potential range.

If you decide not to get this one, something else good will turn up.

[metroschultz]

Originally Posted by WaxyChicken

Such a shame. And it looks like it'd be very easy to Aeromod, too.

What does it mean when someone in your area says a car "Dog Tracks" ?
This stick shift 2 door Toyota Tercel is running for only $200
.

"Dog Tracking" is an old car guy term for wheel alignment problems.
The front end of the car goes to the left or right of the rear end when traveling in a straight line down the highway.
Generally caused by the rear wheels not sitting straight with the centerline of the car.
A good indication that there is problems in the frame or rear suspension.(crash victim) .One term for frame misalignment is "Diamond Checked". Means the frame is not square but now a parallelogram.

Check very well under rear of car for indications of accident damage.

S.

[metroschultz]

Originally Posted by diesel_john

OLd Rabbits are aero inefficient. In fact a stock rabbit can only go 70MPH on 52HP. They rust out too, mine has a full length aluminum frame between the bottom and the belly pan. i was going to suggest a little diesel/gen. in back, but didn't. One that would burn about a pint an hour wide open.

I beg to differ with you sir. An older Rabbit will indeed go over 70mph.
In 1991 I owned a 1978 Rabbit. I drove 125 miles one way to work, yes 250 round trip.
I sped a lot to save time.
I lost my license for tripping the Radar @ 114mph.
Boy was my wife P!$$ed.
It took every penny we had and could scrape up to get my license back.
Everything in the car was stock. When I sold the car it had 300k+ on the odometer and still running strong.
I had many driving related problems during that period of my life. I'm better now.

I would like to get another one, it was a fun car to drive. But it was a very basic car, not unlike my Geo in that respect. Engine, wheels, brakes, seat. Everything else was optional, even the steering wheel.

But it would definitely not be the most aerodynamic car you could start with. Basically a brick with wheels.
You could call it "Bricky Nelson"

S.

[bennelson]

Metroshultz, Glad to hear that you are a REFORMED driver.


I finally got a bite on selling the forklift. A reply to my Craigslist ad said

"do you still have it?
Would you take $250 cash?
Thanks Randy please call ***-***-****"


(Phone number has been changed so you all don't try to sell your forklifts to him)

Doesn't sound like too bad of a deal to me. I don't think I would get any more than that at a scrap yard.

[MetroMPG]

Did you call a couple of scrapyards?

[bennelson]

I called a couple of scrap yards today.

The best price I got was $175 per ton of scrap ferrous metal. Of course that means that I need to drag it over there.

I also got two nibbles on my Craigslist ad posting the forklift for sale.

The forklift should be right around 4000 lbs without its battery. I don't have a giant scale handy, but I hope this is close to accurate.

That means I could get $350 from the one scrap yard if I can make it into little pieces and haul it over there myself.

The one potential Craigslist buyer who sounded pretty serious, offered me $300 and will drag it away himself on his large tilt-bed truck.

The $300 and having it out of my driveway is sounding pretty good. That means I got a big charger, 3 motors, and misc forklift bits for $200 plus shipping.

I wish I had spent less on getting it to my house ($181!) but it wasn't super-close and I don't think I would have wanted the liability of trying to get that thing under that low bridge!

[bennelson]

What do you think of this Craiglist ad for a possible donor car?

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/car/573719365.html

"I HAVE A 1990 4DR HONDA CIVIC 1.5L THAT NEEDS TO GO. IT IS CURRENTLY NOT RUNNING DUE TO THE FUEL PUMP. IT TRIES TO TURN OVER, BUT MY MECHANIC SAYS THERE IS NO PRESSURE FROM THE FAULTY FUEL PUMP. THIS CAR HAS BEEN A GREAT CAR, BUT NEEDS THE FUEL PUMP AND MUFFLER (OLD ONE IS IN THE TRUNK. MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE WELDED OR USED). TIRES LESS THAN A YEAR TO YEAR AND A HALF OLD, NEW ALTERNATOR. GOOD RUNNER, HAS BEEN RELIABLE, JUST NEEDS A FEW REPAIRS. COSMETIC DAMAGE. 21100+MILES ON IT, LESS THAN 90K ON THE ENGINE.

CLEAN TITLE!

THE CAR IS TAKING UP MY NEIGHBORS PARKING SPACE DUE TO THE SNOW EMERGENCIES THE OTHER WEEK.

I NEED THIS CAR GONE BY THE END OF THE WEEKEND (2/18). YOU PAY TOW CHARGES OR HAUL THE CAR AT YOUR EXPENSE. PLEASE MAKE ME AN OFFER. "


I am still not sure if the big pump motor I have (only spins the one direction) would work with a Honda or not!?!? The other motor is reversable, but I am not sure how much weight I could push with that one.