Rookie with an unknown motor (Caterpillar 9.25 x 13 in - suitable for EV conversion?)
 

An elderly neighbor had gotten an electric Caterpillar motor for a grain auger project he was going to do. However health issues intervened and he offered it to me. I brought it home, hooked up a battery to it, and in a cloud of chicken manure, it took off. I googled DC electric motor projects and EV conversions filled the page. So here I am.

The motor has the Cat tag on it, but I can't find any specs for it. I called Cat, gave them the tag info, but they said without the model and serial nos. of the lift truck it came out of, they could not help me.

Questions: Any ideas where I can go to get specs for the motor? Will it work for an EV conversion? (It is 9.25 inches in diameter, 13 inches endcap to endcap, and weighs a grunt and a half.)

The tag info is: Type E Part NO 913146, Serial NO 9005099, DC Volts 36/48, Insul Class H, Ser Code 07

Thanks, John

based off the size and voltage of the motor I'd say it's good for powering a passenger car as 9" motors are one of the most popular sizes for cars and light trucks and you should be able to run it at a higher voltage then 48v assuming it has four lugs on it for connecting power to it then it's a series wound motor and the only issue you can have is over speeding the motor by not having it under load or by having it geared in a way that it over revs, gearing it to run at 4,000rpm or slower is pretty common but you should be able to run it at up to 5,000rpm as long as it doesn't go faster, faster and it will explode/fly apart.
You might also take it to a motor repair shop and see what they can tell you about it.

It does have four lugs, and I'm looking for a Geo Metro. On the female brass lugs, can I use other than brass bolts to connect cables and not worry about electrolysis degradation?

Brass is pretty stable so using steel should not be an issue, just be careful not to strip it out as brass is softer then steel, looking up torque specs would be a good idea because if a connection like that comes loose it will melt the connection, I bought a bag of bronze lock washers from McMaster Carr along with brass washers and bronze bolts, but you shouldn't need to go that far.
Using some copper or silver, electrical grade never seize can be a good idea as well or a good dab of dielectric grease, it will keep moisture out.