For Sale: "ELECTRIC BOOGER" 1992 Mazda MX-3 EV Conversion - Greater Vancouver Area

[mechman600]

It's time to put up for sale to make room for new projects.

The Electric Booger started life as a 1992 Mazda MX-3 Precidia. I bought it for a Winter beater, and after commuting with it for one winter I decided to convert it into an electric car.

Ecomodder build thread here: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...zda-22478.html
Website in my signature.

Firstly, this isn't a Tesla. It wasn't mean to be. It's a low budget EV conversion. If you know little about cars or nothing about electricity, this car is not for you. It requires periodic minor tinkering to make sure everything is a-ok. But so far after 3000 km (1900 miles) gasoline free, it has never left me stranded. I get in, turn the key on and drive. Get there, plug it in and walk away.

Secondly, this car is not meant to fly down the freeway 100 miles every day. That's what $30K store bought EVs are for. This is an in-town/back road, short range commuter, and it excels at it.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Motor: 8" Baker Series Wound Forklift Motor
Controller: Alltrax 7245 - 72 Volts/450 Amps max (approx 30 horsepower)
Batteries: 12 X 12 Volt 92aH AGM, Branded "TRP" (a rebadged MK/Deka)
System Voltage: 72 Volts
Instrumentation: System voltmeter, switchable volt meter for monitoring individual batteries
Transmission: Original 5-speed, no clutch
Charging: 6 X 12 Volt/10 Amp eCity Automatic Chargers, 120 VAC (regular wall outlet)
Charge Time: <4 Hours after a 13.1 km (8.1 mile) commute
Heater: 700 Watt Electric, Uses regular blower fan/ducts. Not hot, but keeps the windshield fog free
Top Speed: 90 km/h (56 mph), but it is much happier if you keep it below 80 km/h (50 mph)
Range: 30-40 km (19-25 miles), although this is a guess. 20 km in the cold of winter is no problem

Asking $4200 OBO

If interested, PM me or email me through my craigslist ad:
"ELECTRIC BOOGER" 1992 Mazda MX-3 EV Conversion

[Daox]

Good luck with the sale!

New projects???

[mechman600]

Originally Posted by Daox

Good luck with the sale!
New projects???

Thanks!
Yeah, I can't decide what's next. Maybe a diesel commuter motorcycle. Maybe a plug in hybrid car. I should start small and go with the first one....

[MetroMPG]

Nooooooooooo!!

Actually, I'm also trying to figure out what to do with the ForkenSwift. It's probably not going back on the road this spring (rust). A "for sale!" message to the local (Ottawa) EV group got no inquiries.

Hope you have better luck!

Keep us posted!

[MetroMPG]

PS: what are you going to commute in for the cold, rainy winter months? Not a diesel motorbike, I'm guessing. Going to hit up War_Wagon for a classic, budget eco-mobile?

[mechman600]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

PS: what are you going to commute in for the cold, rainy winter months? Not a diesel motorbike, I'm guessing. Going to hit up War_Wagon for a classic, budget eco-mobile?

I rode a motorcycle year round for a few years, so cold and rainy isn't a big deal to me. My riding gear is very good. If it sold soon I would just register the V-Stom to get to work.

The War_Wagon idea may come into play if I cannot sell it. I am thinking of upgrading gliders - something in nicer shape and lighter. MX-3s aren't exactly featherweight cars.

[UltArc]

I do fancy your MX3. Good luck with sale.

[War_Wagon]

My ears are burning! I missed this posting as I was out of town buying big pickups that we generally thumb our noses at, but those actually sell sadly, unlike the eco-fleet. Good luck on your sale. Let me know if you need a new glider for it, or a possibly dead Prius, I might have a few stashed away still.

[mechman600]

Well, it's official. The Electric Booger won't sell. I'm down to $1999 and I get about one email per week with a classic Craigslist no-show. Two people have viewed it and loved it and in the end have said, "wow…that looked easy to convert. I think I will build my own."

Good luck with that in your 2 bedroom condo.

So I will start parting out the Booger soon. I can probably sell batteries to my commercial truck clients. AGMs work great in heavy haul trucks - especially with the fridges and other parasitics that they have. eBay the rest? The scrap guys will take the glider away for free.

In the mean time I have been given orders to buy a "real car", as my wife put it. Something I can chuck the kids in and actually go somewhere.

I am now on the hunt for a half decent 96-00 Civic Si (the Canadian version, otherwise known as the EX in the US of A). The one with the D16Y8 SOHC VTEC. I drove one yesterday at a shady used car lot. 204K km (127K miles). Confirmed that this is what I want. It has issues - missing rear speakers (easy), A/C blows warm (probably easy), ginormous rims with uber racing rubber (really? Did they have to?) - but I can probably scoop it up for $2200. I will look at a couple more before pulling the proverbial trigger.

[MetroMPG]

Bummer. I ended up parting out the ForkenSwift too... fortunately all to the same buyer.

Don't forget Mr War Wagon and his limitless access to eco-beaters!