Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Overall Plan

Here's a thumbnail sketch of how I intend to convert the Pulsar to electrons. Some of these items are obviously simplified and not in the strictest order, but you get the idea.

  1. Submit plans to Queensland Transport and get approval for the conversion
  2. Remove exhaust, fuel tank, fuel lines & engine
  3. Measure transmission bell housing
  4. Design & fabricate connection plate and coupling for the torque converter
  5. Design & fabricate a bracket to hold the motor in place and install it
  6. Install the electric motor in the bracket and connect it to the torque converter via the plate and coupling
  7. Design and fabricate a bracket to hold the alternator and vacuum pump
  8. Install alternator and vacuum pump (for the brakes)
  9. Design and fabricate battery racks: 1 in the engine bay, 1 in the fuel tank space and a backup in the boot
  10. Install controller, pot box and battery cables
  11. Design and fabricate charging system
  12. Purchase and install voltmeter and display on dashboard
  13. Tow the finished EV to the inspection depot, get insurance and rego finished, then drive it away!

I have a fair idea how most of it fits together, and I know the hard bits will be:

  • Fooling the transmission into knowing when to change gear
  • Design and installation of the brackets to hold the engine and alternator
  • Modifying the demister/hot air blower to comply with safety standards
  • Affording the batteries to get the range I want (50km)

Over the next few posts I'll put some technical specs together and a costing guess. I'm looking for an electric motor in Australia, but I may have to import it from the USA. Both KiwiEv and Electric Echo had to use US motors, so I may have to follow suit.

As you can imagine, this kind of project isn't cheap, and with a family to feed, house and clothe, it all adds up. Time may be money in some cases but here, it's definitely a case of the more money I can bank, the faster this project will go!

I'm working two jobs at the moment but if you can spare a few dollars (or a few hundred), you can be assured it is going to a very worthy cause and helping to do a little planet-saving. Please use the "Donate" button to deposit funds into my PayPal account.

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