New here with a goal to build an electric car...
 

Hi everyone,
My name is Bernd and I'm from Minnesota. I got the idea of building an electric car while looking at my old battery powered 3600 lbs Yale forklift. Batteries are dead but there is a motor...:) I'm not sure where to start here in the forum looking for advise especially on identifying the motor (9" dia x 14" ??) and what it takes to get it up to speed. I have an old Saab 900 w/ manual transmission which would make the donor car. I am happy for any guidance.
Bernd

Welcome, I'd begin asking questions in one of the subforums

The Saab has a chain drive from the clutch output shaft down to the transmission. That actually might make it quite easy to hook up an electric motor as the upper chain cog has it's own bearings and all you would need is a short new drive shaft from motor output to the cog internal spline.

Only downside is that it's a relatively heavy car.

You are right, the weight might pose a problem but it is a car I have available..
Bernd

shells can be bought for cheap tho

ive seen pretty good complete bugs (w/o engines) go for $500

True! I have to check that out. Makes probably more sense...

Do it with the saab! Use the extra 500 dollars for more battiers or better batteries to offset the weight!

Read the electro-metro thread and all the other ev build threads on this site for ideas. Are you a mechanic, mechanically able or a machinest?

Or sell the saab for $1000 and use the extra 500 dollars for.....

I'm a mechanical engineer and have a machine shop. That makes adapting motors easier..:) My goal is to reach a top speed of min 65 mph and a range of min 50 miles. I was thinking of maybe adding a small fuel or gas powered backup generator for extending the range by recharging the batteries while driving...
Goes a little against the pure electric motor princpal but the car must also serve a practical purpose. .

I actually talked about that in the hybrid forum

motor might be a bit small, what's the voltage?
the Saab should have space for alot of batteries, but it is going to take alot to get it going as well, so regen braking would be nice with a car like that.

I'm not sure about the motor. I have a 9" / 36V motor from my old forklift but that might not be the right one. I need at least 96 V. Regenerative braking would be top but it will require an AC motor (=$$$$). I haven't really looked into that, don't really know how that works together with the real brakes??

You should know that that's massively more ambitious / expensive than a neighborhood electric vehicle. Play with the simulator at Aerodynamic & rolling resistance, power & MPG calculator - EcoModder.com , and note that to cruise at 65mph requires three times as much energy as cruising at 40mph.

I don't mean to discourage you. Anything you want can be done, given a large enough budget. But I do think you should carefully consider paring the car back to the bare minimum to save on cost and other resources. Will this be your only car, and what tasks will you use it for? Can you find a smaller donor car with enough payload for the batteries? Is 50mph enough, and how fast do you need to get to that speed?

One option that I find attractive among electric cars is a plug-in hybrid. If you had an electric motor and batteries large enough for 90% of trips you take, and a tiny gas engine that might take forever to accelerate to highway speed but is just large enough to cruise with, you'd have versatility and low cost.

Check out what other folks have done at DIY Electric Car Garage - index , and run through some calculations yourself.

Robert,
You are absolutely right! This is why I am still crunching numbers and try to get a better overall understanding. I live in a more rural area and not in a city and don't want to always check with Mapquest on if I can get there and back. The Saab might stay gas powered and I might look for a lighter car. My budget is limited and therefore my choices too. The hybrid idea is coming to my mind more and more... I will read what others have done.