A 240Z becomes an EV

Engine/Transmission Separation

2012-02-16T08:16:00.001-08:00

Just so our updates make sense in the context of our project, here's a general overview:

Remove the engine, fuel line, exhaust, etc. (mostly done)
Remove the transmission from the engine (totally done)
Build an adaptor plate to attach the new electric motor to the transmission so we can use the existing clutch, gearbox, etc.
Hook up the batteries, accelerator, and motor (and some other things I'm forgetting) to the controller, which will regulate power from the battery pack to the motor to do things like move the car, and also run current back to the battery pack to charge it.
Celebrate

Apparently some DIY-ers connect the motor straight to the drive shaft, which cuts out a bunch of weight from the finished car (clutch and gearbox) not to mention rotational weight (the flywheel), but our rationale was that we wanted to be able to do things like shift into reverse easily, and in particular have some margin for error when it comes to choosing the optimal gear for driving the car. Dave tells me some cars are left in 3rd gear all the time since the electric motors are so torquey, but without doing a bunch of calculations up front it seems wiser to have some wiggle room. Also, Seattle's a hilly place, and just how powerful are these electric motors?

On Sunday after a brief discussion about where, technically, the transmission, gearbox, and clutch begin and end, we started removing bolts to try to separate the transmission from the engine. First came starter motor, and with it, a glimpse inside the bell housing. It's impressive to see the teeth on the edge of the flywheel and imagine how quickly it must turn to start the engine.

The flywheel and the bolts that almost prevailed. Note the starter motor bracket to the right and the teeth on the flywheel

Every so often we'd need to re-orient the engine on the wooden dollies we had placed it on, which gave Dave a good chance to practice his man strength and grunting. Impressive. It worked well, and we removed the bell housing first, then the clutch, and finally the flywheel. It's fun to mentally assemble the parts as you're taking it apart and consider how each piece works together.

The closer we got to the flywheel, the harder it was to loosen bolts and the bigger they were. We broke a tool (not from Harbor Freight - something even cheaper?) and were in danger of not having enough 19mm socket wrenches to finish the job. Dave worked out an ingenious system that involved resting a two-by-four on a socket wrench, standing on it, and hopping until it started to loosen the bolt. The only tricky part is the bolts are connected to the crankshaft, which rotates.

This won't do

After the engine work was done, I got started removing the fuel line from underneath the car while Dave cleaned up the transmission. I made the mistake of first cutting the fuel line while there was still fuel in it (oops - we thought it had all evaporated after we'd removed the gas tank several weeks ago) and then, thinking the line had finished draining, spilled gasoline all over my legs while lying underneath the car. I escaped commando style, crawling out the other end of the car on my elbows, reeking of gasoline. Dave and I drank a beer on his porch, me in a grimy sweatshirt and underwear, he in his space camp shorts and a T-shirt.

Where the flywheel used to be

Now the engine's finally ready to be sold, and this weekend I can finish pulling the fuel line and start cleaning out the engine compartment.

Engine Removal

2012-02-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we pulled the engine and transmission from the car. Neither of us had removed an engine from a car before, so the testosterone levels were, as you can imagine, pretty high.

First we had to fix the garage door that had broken last week. After a false start (is it bad to wind the spring in the wrong direction?), we were in business. Time to open up the garage door and enjoy the awesome weather. Except we had to keep it mostly closed so the camera mounted above the engine compartment wasn't obstructed. Compromises.

Dave and I both spent some quality time rolling around in the oil, radiator fluid and grit while disconnecting the clutch, shifter lever, and drive shaft. It's weird lying underneath a car, looking through the center console to the radio.

Once we had the right bolts attached to our hoist (does anyone ever try to do this without an engine tilter? It was invaluable) the actual removal was pretty straightforward. No major mishaps except a rag that got caught under the hoist and had to be removed with a loud man-shriek.

Next up: cleaning the engine compartment and cabin.

Draining Liquids

2012-01-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

In preparation for removing the engine (the point of no return, for real, we think), I drained the radiator fluid and oil out of the engine while Dave, in shorts and sandals, situated himself in the cut out hole in the back of the car with our new Harbor Freight grinder-that-hasn't-exploded-in-the-first-20-minutes-of-use-so-will-probably-last-awhile. Dave went to work brushing off all the rust with the shop vac duct-taped to the grinder. Several beers were consumed. An exhaust system was sold to a craiglist buyer.

Lack of decent foot protection aside, Dave and I were both wearing ear plugs and safety glasses (an improvement from last week) and head lamps, which turned out to be incredibly effective for finding hard to reach nuts and bolts inside the engine compartment and rusty spots underneath the car.

Our progress culminated with witnessing the self-destruction of the garage door - exactly what the root cause was we may never know. The final showdown involved Dave cutting a cable with hardened steel shears and an impressively loud crash as the door hit the pavement.

Dave, where the spare wheel used to be:

Engines look much better when you can see the front of them, eh?

Yet More Deconstruction

2012-01-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today was removing the remainder of the fuel system, exhaust system, and initial work on the motor. Also, we generated lots of rusty-metally-dust.
Current tally:
1 gasoline-in-eye
1 stubbed toe
4 bruised knuckles
1 bruised elbow
2 metal splinters
1 bloody foot (cause unknown)
1 suspected dangerous inhalation

Deconstruction, pt 71.

2012-01-21T20:17:00.000-08:00

The car is now starting to come apart. Anthony joined us this weekend as we removed doors, hood (bonnet), and trunk (boot), and large sections of rear steel. This is all in preparation to add batteries and the new motor!

Below, Mho shows off the exhaust manifold for sale.

Colors

2012-01-13T22:44:00.000-08:00

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

First Cutting!

2012-01-10T22:45:00.000-08:00

Its official, there is no going back. Today David and I jacked the car up and started on the fuel system. We cut out the fuel tank, emissions resevoir, and the entire fuel system. Next up, exhaust!

Stop controlling me!

2011-12-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

Our new Synkromotive motor controller arrived. This conroller is a 750A, 160+V controller. The huge bonus of this controller is its ability to actually manage battery charging through the controller, rather than through a separate charging supply. This means that you can do fun things like pulse charge from a local battery pack (ie old, heavy batteries in the garage) or charge off of a simple rectified wall current, rather than using a seperate, heavy battery charger. Plus, this one has an intarwebs and USB interface to display motor and battery conditions remotely!
~~i'll upload some photos when I can figure out how to get blogger.com to work on the ipad.~~

This is getting real!

2011-12-21T11:42:00.000-08:00

Batteries and Motor are on order.

We went with 48 China Aviation Lithium Battery Corp batteries. These are 3.2V, 100 Ah batteries that will yield a 156 V, 60 MJ bank. Theoretically, for this car, this will yield a 80 MPH top speed and 60 Mile range. Of course, well see what actually happens. Batteries are delivered 02 Jan 2012.

The motor is a brand new Netgain WARP 9 motor. This is the defacto standard in DIY electric vehicles and a top of the line, entry-level motor (think 60D in camera-land). The WARP 9 has a peak current of ~ 1000 Amps and has demonstrated reliable use in many past DIY EV applications. Again, this will theoretically give the brown bag a peak power of 156 kW (210 HP) at maximum charge.

Cameras are up!

2011-12-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

Two fixed cameras, intervelometers, and a wireless SD card have been installed in the garage. Beyond that, mostly infrastructure updates (i.e. cleaning up the garage and moving stuff around).

Heres the first picture from the overhead mounted camera.

Brown Bag on the Way Home

2011-12-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

This is her being towed home the first day. Nice job craigslist!

Dave vs. the power washer

2011-11-27T21:52:00.001-08:00

Here's Dave, troubleshooting the power washer. I was surprised how high the water went, even without having the power on! Either there was pressure built up inside the machine that took awhile to dissipate, or (more likely) water was just making its way, unpressurized, through a very small hole. Power washing has to be one of my favorite cleaning activities.

Project 240z to EV, take 1

2011-11-27T19:54:00.001-08:00

Welcome!

We're converting a 1973 Datsun 240Z into an electric vehicle. We'll be posting updates and info on the project here as we continue...

What we've done so far:

Bought a car - a 240z in good condition, and brought it over to DK's garage
Started up the engine and drove it around the block a couple times. Almost a shame that we have to pull it out of the car, but good motivation to get it running so we can drive it again!
Set up some cameras with intervalometers to keep track of our progress. (A good excuse to buy intervalometers, if nothing else.)
Cleaned and power-washed the engine.
That's about it... Next up, selling the engine.

Here's what she looks like now: