Mild Hybrid - DIY EV Conversion Motor?

[freebeard]

How big is the family?

One big advantage of my Clark Cortez was the overall length, IIRC 18.5ft. It's important to fit in a standard parking space. I can't find a floorplan online, but they are really well laid out.


i.pinimg.com/originals/2e/7d/0c/2e7d0c820dacf3652da3af8c98fd818e.jpg

The dinette converts to a bed and the shotgun seat is a rock-and-roll bed, plus provision for a cot across the dashboard. Six foot galley. Bathroom with a [family-friendly] door.

It cast the same shadow as a Cadillac sedan. But it's built like a brick-shaped tank -- 10MPG.

[seuadr]

Wife, 2 girls 7 and 11. Both girls want a separate bunk. They also want a bathroom with a shower, preferably not a wet bath but a separate shower pan

The transvan i think can accomplish that, if a bit snugly. I'm researching different types of murphy beds and elevator beds to play double duty for space (hopefully)

[Piotrsko]

Smallest shower/toilet room I have ever seen is a 3x4 ft with the toilet outside of the shower area. In a Casita it is 3 x3 but the toilet and sink is in the shower and some space is consumed by the attached black water tank. Could get the area down to 30 inches wide but I found that to be too small for me. Teen aged daughter hated the Casita.

I found the best place to look at efficiency was the inside of a sailboat. Most floor plans are online. Aircraft are better, but most don't have a shower.

[seuadr]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Smallest shower/toilet room I have ever seen is a 3x4 ft with the toilet outside of the shower area. In a Casita it is 3 x3 but the toilet and sink is in the shower and some space is consumed by the attached black water tank. Could get the area down to 30 inches wide but I found that to be too small for me. Teen aged daughter hated the Casita.

I found the best place to look at efficiency was the inside of a sailboat. Most floor plans are online. Aircraft are better, but most don't have a shower.

Originally Posted by freebeard

How big is the family?

I can't find a floorplan online, but they are really well laid out.

that is similar to the transvan - they had a 17ft, 18 ft and 21 ft variant for 1979.

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Smallest shower/toilet room I have ever seen is a 3x4 ft with the toilet outside of the shower area.

I found the best place to look at efficiency was the inside of a sailboat.

that is similar to the transvan - they had a 17ft, 18 ft and 21 ft variant for 1979.

i have been completely unable to find any kind of floorplan - but right now the rear is the only part that remains, and it has a toilet on one side
shower on the other with the door in the middle.





looks like it is ~84" wide and 66" tall. the ONLY floorplan i can find is:



near as i can decipher from this bad quality is:




there are dimensions, but i can't read them. seems like a lot packed into what is probably 15-16 feet, unless the 21ft length doesn't include the cab
(i have no idea)

[Piotrsko]

Problem you'll have with floorplans: they were somewhat custom from what I remember. There were all seat versions, all bunk versions, cargo van versions, surfer van, and contractor versions with all storage racks down the sides. You ordered one, threw down a deposit then they gave you a completion date which they never hit. Until the finance officer shut me down, I lusted after one back in the early '80s

[seuadr]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Problem you'll have with floorplans: they were somewhat custom from what I remember. There were all seat versions, all bunk versions, cargo van versions, surfer van, and contractor versions with all storage racks down the sides. You ordered one, threw down a deposit then they gave you a completion date which they never hit. Until the finance officer shut me down, I lusted after one back in the early '80s

fortunately, with the exception of the existing rear it is all an open slate. Only things i know i want are a queen bed sized area for my wife and i, and the girls like bunks. beyond that :shrugs:

well, and i'm pretty seriously considering altering the roof/height to get a little more so i can stand up'ish in it.

i think for that i may just go the route of finding a fiberglass top from a conversion van and retrofitting it. it is my understanding that some of the adhesives like sikaflex are actually so strong that i won't have to use additional fasteners. (but i need to be really, really sure that i'm happy with it cause it is remarkably difficult to remove once cured - fortunately it takes a week so i have a little time )

[Piotrsko]

Trouble you might have with a pop top: its narrower so structural is going to be a bugger unless they still make fatboy vans for the handicapped or you go celestory like freebeard commented on. These weren't very sucessful for survival on their sides or upside down.

[seuadr]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Trouble you might have with a pop top: its narrower so structural is going to be a bugger unless they still make fatboy vans for the handicapped or you go clerestory like freebeard commented on. These weren't very successful for survival on their sides or upside down.

i'm probably pulling one off something like this:


the B series vans stayed the same basic dimensions from 1978-2003 so it should be just about a drop in.

that is a fair point about a rollover though - i have no idea if those conversion add ons are tested in any sort of way for strength.. although the current ceiling is also fiberglass with some metal ribbing.

i could probably work around the metal ribbing on either side and build a reinforcement for the area where the height is really needed by the kitchen.

heck, the whole thing is gutted right now, i've got lots of opportunity to add interior walls that also reinforce via metal and/or fiberglass composite panel reinforcement..

definitely some food for thought, i appreciate you mentioning it..

[Piotrsko]

Just as a fyi: they used to be common as dirt in wrecking yards since most conversions don't hurt them in a crash and mucho cheaper since hardly anyone wants one.

If they weren't so desired, a Westie poptop........

As a swag 90% of what I saw in yards never flopped on a side, and trans vans were front and back damage

[seuadr]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

As a swag 90% of what I saw in yards never flopped on a side, and trans vans were front and back damage

makes sense, they are fairly wide and the biggest weight is slung low between the frame rails.

actually had not thought about checking that out but i should - might score some cool retro fixtures and the like.

i really like the idea of building much of the replacement walls and cabinets out of fiberglass composite, but, i was really invested in that idea more when i thought that the weight was going to make a more considerable impact on the vehicle's efficiency, and, as i'm learning more and more i see while it does make some impact, it isn't all that big of an impact compared to other things, like aerodynamics, gearing, etc.