We’ve been working on battery boxes. I made two out of 0.63 diamond plate 18 x 13 inches and 13 inches deep. These will go in place of the gas tanks under the rear seat. We did two to retain the parking brake cables that run from the center console to the rear wheels. These […]
Batteries and battery boxes Read More »
Work continues on the Clubman. Actually the work is going quite well. The Video work I’m getting a little behind on. I did just post the video for removal of the Exhaust system and the fuel system. This talks a bit about our battery box placement as well and the SAE J1772 plug we hope
Exhaust and Fuel Systems – Drive Shafts Read More »
Somebody wake me up. This cannot be. It just cannot be. One of the reported problems with the BMW Mini-E is that apparently MOST of the vehicles have a problem with the transmission just magically kicking into NEUTRAL while going down the road – even while accelerating. A lot of the owners are returning the
The AC induction motor and controller give us the option of employing “regenerative braking”. This concept derives from the fact that there really isn’t much difference between a motor and a generator. If you apply voltage to the motor, the shaft turns. On the other hand, if you turn the shaft, voltage comes out. The
Regenerative Braking Read More »
We currently have an Intro video showing the features of the car and why we selected it for conversion. We also have our first conversion video which covers the wheels, brakes and suspension. This will give you a sample of the level of detail we intend, and just how boring these videos promise to be.
We have started our 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman conversion, actually some weeks back. I’m remiss in posting, and indeed the process will be MUCH slower than the Porsche Speedster. We are trying to document each step of the conversion process. There are some 450 participants in the lease process from BMW for the Mini-E. At
2009 Mini Cooper Clubman Read More »
We’ve received a lot of questions about the Thundersky LiFePo4 batteries we used in the 1957 Speedster conversion. I’ve done an hour and a half video on the topic of battery chemistry where I stumble through an attempted explanation of how they work. And we bandsaw a Thundersky battery into pieces and take it apart
Thundersky Batteries Read More »
We recently upgraded the 1957 Porsche Model 356 Speedster electric conversion by adding two additional Thundersky LiFePo4 90 Ah batteries in the rear engine compartment. We placed polyethylene grommets over the terminals of the existing exposed batteries in the rear engine compartment to act as standoffs. We found these on the counter at the local
Porsche Speedster Achieves 100 miles on a single charge Read More »
There are some serious advantages to owning and driving an electric car, including: Convenience – you don’t go to the gasoline station and you don’t make individual payments for fuel. You plug in to a wall socket at home, which if you can operate a toaster you can do easily. The utility company of course
Electric Magic – It’s All About Efficiency Read More »
Welcome. In the last year, batteries sufficient to drive a motor vehicle have become available to mere humanoids. I’ve waited a number of years for this technology as I was never able to pencil an electric car that would satisfy my design parameters with lead acid batteries or the many variants that were available.
