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Posted by: sgomes Oct 8 2004, 05:42 PM

After a lot of advice from this board and others I've decided that the endplay on the output flanges can be ignored for now. So..... Let's get this baby back on the road!!!!!!

Here is the B.F.N. tranny mated to the motor. Yep, that's it. Hook two big fat wires to this thing and it goes! No F'n' ignition, valves, carbs, oil, cams, exhaust, etc.....


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 8 2004, 05:43 PM

How many batteries will fit in this thing?


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Posted by: bob91403 Oct 8 2004, 06:36 PM

Are you going to use solid bus bars to connect the batteries together? Any figures on how much it costs/mile to charge them? How many miles do you figure you get before having to replace all those batteries? Curious about the numbers.

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Oct 8 2004, 06:51 PM

hey bob91403 try the electro automotive web site. They sell a 914 specific conversion kit and they have some samples and general info about the running costs of an electric.

http://www.electroauto.com/

Posted by: sgomes Oct 8 2004, 09:35 PM

What he said.... Electro Auto is a great company. By the way, I suggested the 914club be put on his links list. It's right at the top!

Bob - I'm not going to use solid bus bars to connect the batteries. Basically for vibration reasons you want the connections as flexible as possible. I have connectors made out of sheet copper. They can take the amps (500amps or so) but are fairly flexible.

As for cost it's about $2-$3 for a full tank. And a full tank gets me from anywhere between 50-100 miles. It don't pay for any of it though since I charge at work.

YMMV but I expect to get between 15-20,000 miles out of this pack.

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Oct 9 2004, 05:41 AM

I have considered doing an electric build. Are you using electro autos Voltsporsche kit or are you free handing it?

Posted by: sgomes Oct 9 2004, 10:03 AM

A little of both. I started with their kit. Great stuff! Very well thought out and quite detailed. Anybody that can swing a hammer and miss their thumbs could do it. As I went along I thought of improvements so I upgraded this and that and modified some things. They are great to deal with but don't bother emailing them. I don't think they operate the computer much. Phone calls are the way to go. It took me 3 months of working a little at a time after work. One of the motor heads on this board could probably do it in a weekend.

If I ever get hit in the head by a sack of money, I'm going to upgrade the batteries. There is another list I belong to called the EVDL. We've been following the latest battery developments. If you have the money then there are some real scary battery alternatives. Right now it's only the insane wealthy that can do it but that will change. There is a couple of people on the list that have put in Lithium ion batteries. We're all waiting to hear the long term results.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 9 2004, 10:05 AM

oh and I see you're down in Florida. There were a few people on the EVDL that were powering their homes from their electric cars during the recent high winds you experienced.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 01:08 PM

One step forward and about 10 steps back....

First, one step forward... motor and tranny ready to go in


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 01:10 PM

'nother view. That electric motor sticking out there makes this process a bit phalic


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 01:13 PM

... and 10 steps back...

The only thing different this time is the 911 sport mounts. I measured them before the switch and they were only a few thousandths smaller. Where I had about a cm of clearance before now I have none.

Wiskey Tango Foxtrot ... Over?

So it looks like I'll have to move my battery boxes up.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 01:17 PM

Hmmm that's about 24 bolts (2 boxes), a bunch of sealant, and I gotta fab a bunch of spacers...


Not the least of which, I will lose my ability to put the top in the trunk. I know this is a family website but FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKING FUCK!!!!!!!


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Posted by: neo914-6 Oct 10 2004, 02:02 PM

Can't you just space the tranny mount lower to get the clearance? Worth a try before you raise the battery box.
Felix


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 02:26 PM

That's a great idea for the long term. Thanks for the suggestion.

Short term I have about $1000 in batteries sitting on my garage floor that have to get in there and on charge before they die.

I'll have to fab a nice block of aluminum like you have in your pic. I've got to drop the tranny about 1.5 to 2 cm. Perhaps for just today I can add about that much in washers to the 8mm bolts on the tranny mounts.

Posted by: Dr Evil Oct 10 2004, 02:37 PM

Will you still have a clutch? Will shifting be normal?
Pretty damn neat.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 02:48 PM

Yep, clutch is stock. Shifting is normal I just don't do it that often. I like 2nd around town and 3rd on the freeway. (4th if one of you bastards are trying to pass... )

And you, Mr. Evil, are quickly coming up on my list of people to contact. Once this transmission nastiness is behind me, the interior will be needing some work: Dash (or dash pad), seats, etc....

Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 04:05 PM

Ok, so I've been laying under the car staring at the situation. I can't just add a bunch of washers to lower the tranny mounts. The darn things are angled so if I lowered them the bolts won't line up. But it's small enough that the new hole would overlap the hole to mount the spacer to the car. Is any of this making sense?

Anyone remember their high school geometry? Anyone have a suggestion?


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Posted by: Aaron Cox Oct 10 2004, 04:08 PM

click the link in his sig to see pics of the magic he worked on my stuff.
ill find a link to my thread

Posted by: bob91403 Oct 10 2004, 06:01 PM

Any thoughts on hybridising? Could you put a honda generator in and reduce the volume of batteries? Trying to keep the range the same, reduce the weight, and have an on board charge source. Could you use the smaller battery supply for around town driving, and turn the generator on only when you needed the extended range? Most trips are not 100 miles. I realize the generator could not keep up with the draw rate. But, there should be a mid-point, battery volume vs. battery volume & generator, that would show an advantage. Are those glass mat batteries?

Posted by: Mueller Oct 10 2004, 06:12 PM

why cannot you lower the front of the motor/transmission assembly???

Posted by: JB 914 Oct 10 2004, 06:25 PM

couldn't you use the same thing they use for a v-8 conversion? just flip it , so, it doesn't push the tranny back?

Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 07:14 PM

In reverse order:

Joe: I might be able to use it if I knew what it was!

Mueller: Probably could actually. Since the front mounts are so far away I think I'd have to lower it quite a bit though. It seems like the tranny is leaning that way already. I was worried about the gear oil situation if it was all sloshed to the front.

Bob: All great ideas. Basically however I think of range for this car differently. For me, the range is ecentially infinite. I only use it around town and to commute. As you pointed out this is way less than 100 miles per day. I don't make many long distance trips period and even fewer in the 914. How many on here drive their 914 over 100 miles/day? (ok, how many of us would LIKE too... ) I have different cars for different purposes. I have a Jeep to get me off road. I borrow a truck when I need to haul big stuff. And I have an electric to get me around otherwise! (the wife's car is for the long trips and carrying the kid ) And no they aren't AGM batteries. They are good ole floodeds. AGMs don't have very much capacity. Somewhere about 1/4th or less.

Posted by: Aaron Cox Oct 10 2004, 07:57 PM

i drive my 914 100 miles a day, and 200 miles easy someweekend days

Posted by: bob91403 Oct 10 2004, 08:07 PM

100 miles a day? That's a lot of miles. A mixed blessing. Who would want to drive that much a day? And, at least you do it in a teener. Good and bad.

Posted by: neo914-6 Oct 10 2004, 08:11 PM

How about big thick washers on the main bolt above the tranny mount (like the one below the tranny mount)?

Posted by: McMark Oct 10 2004, 08:56 PM

Those tranny mounts are still rubber. Add a couple of washers, I bet you'll still be able to get the bolts in. I understand what you're saying, I think it just too theoretical.

Posted by: JB 914 Oct 10 2004, 09:11 PM

What about this? it is used to push back the tranny for a v-8 conversion.

you could flip it around and keep the stock position. it should drop the tranny down about what you want.

I'm not sure if that is exactly what you are looking for.


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Posted by: Aaron Cox Oct 10 2004, 09:39 PM

well, i should say, WHEN i drive i drive at least 100 miles a day. my car sits in a parking lot outside my dorm m-thurs and goes everywhere on fri, sat and sun i use a tank of gas every week yeesh!

Posted by: sgomes Oct 10 2004, 09:55 PM

Well, thanks again for all the suggestions. I'm sure you guys are tired of hearing me say it but, THIS SITE ROCKS!

End result of me laying on my back under this thing for 20 minutes: I'm going to pull the two interfering battery racks and raise them. It's way more work but it's the right answer. All the contraptions I could imagine to drop the tranny mounts ended up sounding like something that would get me put in the DAPO bin.

Mark, yeah at one point I said F' it. I'm going to just try a bunch of washers. It worked for about 1 cm but that wasn't enough. The bolts were all cockeyed after much more than that and I didn't feel good about it.

You know how it is when you do these things: When you finally decide to do it right rather than all the crazy short cuts, it just feels "right". I'm sure we've all been there. As soon as I started to raise the battery racks I knew I was doing the right thing. Keep the tranny mounted the way it is supposed to be mounted.

Thanks again. I'll post more pics when I get it done.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 11 2004, 11:01 PM

Ok, tonights progess (no pics yet):

Tranny is fully in and torqued down
Shift rod is in
Speedo cable is in (and I noticed a nice little oil leak where the speedo drive comes out yippee!)
Big fat electric pipes hooked up and torqued down
Tach sender hooked up
Over temp relay hooked up

The question of the day is:

After adjusting the clutch cable I have about two threads left. WTF? Is that right?

Posted by: Dr Evil Oct 12 2004, 12:38 AM

Gte a 1" length of pipe that fits right over the threaded part. All of the ones that I have seen have this as a spacer.
HTH

Oh, when ever you are ready for the interior I'll be waiting (as long as it is before next Aug.)

Posted by: Root_Werks Oct 12 2004, 12:07 PM

I wanna see more pics!

Posted by: scruz914 Oct 12 2004, 04:21 PM

Shannon,
Could you cut out a small section from the bottom of the battery box right above the CV joint to gain the clearance? That angle iron looks fairly thick. Or would there be a problem with the CV joint potentially rubbing on the bottom of the battery?

-Jeff


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 12 2004, 07:25 PM

Bingo. I'll post pictures tonight but basically I'm going to add about 1/2" to 3/4" of spacers to raise the whole battery rack up. It will be pretty ugly at first but the clock is ticking and I just have to get it done. Pretty comes later.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 12 2004, 11:19 PM

Well, I've had another setback Sometimes this I think this project is going to kill me.

rant mode

I began the process of putting all the batteries in the car. The care and feeding of the batteries is everything to an electric car. You have to pay as much attention to it as you do with your timing or fuel injection in an ICE car. Without going into painful detail that I'm sure none of you care about, I'll just say that my battery vendor was not honest with me. All 20 batteries were supposed to be a matched set. Ok, maybe not "matched" per se but at least all made at the same time. I noticed right away that the date codes didn't match. I mentioned this to them and they said some kind of nonsense like, "well just right it down on the receipt and we'll come back to it if you have any early failures."

I bought into that thinking well, at least it seems like he'll take responsibility if things go wrong.

Tonight I measured the specific gravity of each cell in each battery. 60 cells!!! The specific gravity gives a measure of the state of charge. If they all had the same "born-on date" then they should all be pretty close. Yeah you guessed it. The batteries that had the October dates were great. The September dates were so so and the JULY dates were nearly dead.

No big deal you say. Just charge up the dead ones and get going. Three problems: 1) I don't have a way of charging small groups so I have to do all of them or one at a time. 2) Batteries that have sit around for that long have sulphated a bit. Their capacity will be less than the others. 3) It's not what I F'ing paid for!!!!

rant mode

So the progress picture tonight is an empty battery box.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 12 2004, 11:21 PM

I'm borrowing this space so that people on the EVDL can see the data.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 13 2004, 11:25 PM

Big goes to American Battery in Hayward!!!!!!!

They stepped up to the plate without any

Jim is delivering 20 brand new batteries tomorrow. No questions asked.

If anybody is looking for some Optimas or whatever for their 914 they should talk to American Battery in Hayward.

Posted by: Root_Werks Oct 14 2004, 09:36 AM

I know the cost would be more, but what about the Gel batteries? Aren't they lighter and last longer?

Posted by: sgomes Oct 14 2004, 11:24 AM

Great question. They are way lighter that is true but they have WAAAYYYYY less capacity. What they are great for is the high performance EV. Something like Otmar's. They can dump a whole lot of current in a hurry and they don't weigh a lot. I went for more of a yugo performance but huge range. My range is three to four times as much as you would get with the same amount of AGM bats.

The EV guys are always talking about the lead to steel ratio. If you want range you want a high lead to steel ratio. If you want acceleration then you want a low lead to steel ratio. My car is refered to as a lead sled. <_<

Posted by: Root_Werks Oct 14 2004, 11:31 AM

Ah, that makes sense now.

Well, as the years progress, so will battery technology. So I would only imagine your 914 will loose wieght over the years.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 14 2004, 12:08 PM

The future is here for the b'stards with money. The Li-ion batteries look really good right now. Crazy energy density. My car would end up lighter than it was as an ICE and get about 300 miles/tank. The cost is scary however. Multiple tens of kilo bucks.

Posted by: Root_Werks Oct 14 2004, 12:11 PM

I guess the other cool stuff is what does an electric car really need? (Save wieght sort of thing). No more gas tank, fuel lines, exhaust. I guess you would have to live w/o a heater. All in all, I would imagine your 914 probably wieghs about 2300lbs with it's current set up? Just a wild guess though.

This is a cool thread.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 14 2004, 12:35 PM

It's even more dramatic with some newer cars. No radiator, water pump, emissions crap, the list goes on an on...

What has been an interesting topic of late on the EVDL is what to do about the new computers. So much of the stuff is driven by that little computer. If you remove the engine and emissions stuff the computer will think you have serious problems and may or may not drive the all electronic dash! No signal from the fuel injection and you may not have a tach as a side effect. Hell the air bags might just decide to randomly fire just out of spite!

I 'borrowed' a lot of the existing 914 wiring to save on running new wires around. That's no so easy with the newer cars.

I'll let you know about the weight in a couple of days when I'm on the road. I'm going to drive it over to the scales to get it weighed. Also going to put it on a dyno to have a look at the torque. It won't be pretty but I'd just like to know where I ended up. Otmar has got some scary 800 ft-lbs or something but mine will be pretty close to a yugo-ish.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 14 2004, 07:14 PM

Yes!!!!!! I've got batteries!!!! All freshly minted on FRIDAY!!!! Yes, they were raw materials on Thursday last week!

All except the back two (for reasons I've mentioned above) are in the car. I'll spend tonight making all the connections.

I'm gonna drive this thing this weekend!!!!!

Posted by: sgomes Oct 14 2004, 07:15 PM

Before:


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 14 2004, 07:16 PM

After:


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 14 2004, 07:16 PM

Front:


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Posted by: Dr Evil Oct 14 2004, 07:44 PM

good on ya! Thats freaken cool.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 14 2004, 10:49 PM

Remember the mantra:

This is not tedious.
THIS is not tedious.
This IS not tedious.
This is NOT tedious.
This is not TEDIOUS.
...


(Had to get the manditory foot in the picture)


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Posted by: Root_Werks Oct 15 2004, 08:18 AM

This rocks! Can you post a pic of the 914 when it is back on the ground?

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Oct 15 2004, 09:05 PM

What guages are you using to monitor the battery pack?

Posted by: bob91403 Oct 16 2004, 02:42 AM

Do you have a regenerative braking system? Are you familiar with Xstatic's 800 BatCap? I'm not sure if it would offer any weight savings, but, the product looks interesting, faster charge and discharge rate, your thoughts? Do you qualify for the federal tax credit, or is that only for buying an EV? Are there any state incentives? And, what's up with 3M? They got 60mil in grants in the '90s, and were promising delivery of EV lithium batteries by the year 2000. Also, have you been able to find any pricing on SAFT's VL 45 E module? How many would you need to replace your batteries? I wish I had gone to EVS-20 last year in Long Beach, EVS-21 is in Monaco. A little too far.

Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:19 AM

IT RUNS!!!!!!!!!!

Tons of progress today.

First the pics, then Ill answer all those questions above.

First up, same shot again but this time with the interconnects.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:22 AM

Amps going back in after a short spin around the block. Number on the DVM is charging volts (140.9) at the moment. Only 8 amps since it was only a short spin.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:24 AM

This is a shot of the alternate alternator. Basically, it converts the 120V battery pack to 12V to charge the little system battery. It's actually somewhere around 13.8V just like an alternator.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:24 AM

These are a couple of relays to keep the car from operating while it's on charge.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:26 AM

CV clearance problem has been solved temporarally. No pics of what I did. Let's just say my other hobby is woodworking.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:27 AM

Motor and controller. The box to the right is the controller. Essentially it's what regulates the current to the motor based on the throttle input.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:30 AM

In the center of the picture is the contactor. It's a big fat relay that closes when you step on the pedal. You can hear it slap from pretty far away. Also shown is the second shunt that allows one of my guages to measure the current leaving the batteries and also returning to the batteries when on charge.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:31 AM

This is the one item on the outside of the car that always catches the eye of someone who knows 914s.


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Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:33 AM

Big Boggs, these are my gauges: Bottom one is an ammeter, middle is a voltmeter, and top is an E-meter. The E-meter is a fancy gas gauge. It tells me the amphours leaving the pack and returned to it on charge.


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Posted by: McMark Oct 17 2004, 12:37 AM

Well done on the plug in the sidemarker hole. Very creative.

Posted by: Otmar Oct 17 2004, 12:46 AM

Running around the block!

Right on Shannon! Another EV up and running.

Looks like you did a nice job of it. Congratulations!

Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:52 AM

Bob,

No I don't have regen. I'd love to add it but it is way more complicated than it seems at first blush. There has been lots of talk about it on the EVDL but for me it comes down to needing a more fancy controller and at 3 to 4 or even 5 kilobucks it's a bit out of the question for now.

BatCap.... neato! No I wasn't aware of them. I'll have to look at them a little closer. It seems to be kinda low density though... 1 lb/Ah.... one of my batteries is about 1/4th lb/Ah. Could be used as maybe a booster or something for those big amp draws... interesting! There is someone on the EVDL that put a huge array of supercaps in his car. He has lithium batteries and they don't like to put out the big amps. No one knows the cost of it though. Some guess in the $20k range.

Yes there is a Fedral credit but I don't think Kalifornia has one any more I also qualify for the "HOV" sticker. High Occupancy Vehicle. Basically means I can drive in the commuter lanes solo. It also means I don't have to pay for parking meters in downtown San Jose... oh boy!

As far as Saft goes, I haven't been able to get anything out of them. They don't want to deal with such small timers. ThunderSky on the other hand will sell to anyone. They are in China and basically will take anyone's money. Quite a few people have been buying Li-ion batteries from them. I just heard the price went up because of some new regulations. Probably from pressure from F'ing oil companies....

Great questions. It seems like you know a lot about all this electric car stuff!

Posted by: sgomes Oct 17 2004, 12:54 AM

Thanks Otmar. That means a lot to me coming from you! If I had the cash I'd be on one of your controllers in a heartbeat. Believe me I'm saving my pennies!

I work not very far from your place. I see on the charging sites map you're listed as a public charging station. Is that still the case? I'd love to drop by and show you the car.

Posted by: Otmar Oct 17 2004, 01:14 AM

Sure thing.
Come by anytime for free electrons. Lock combo is 1914. It's good to keep your cycles shallow as you break in your new batteries.
Double parking is common and I've never seen it be a problem. (since I'm almost always in the space).
I'm out Monday, but some other day I'd love to see it.
Maybe we could get some of the other Palo Alto folks together for a beer at Antonios.

Posted by: bob91403 Oct 17 2004, 04:11 AM

Yeah, I've been doing my homework on it for quite some time. I like the BatCap idea. Because of their rapid charge and discharge capability, they wouldn't suffer the "sag" of conventional wet cells. Maybe you could incorporate them yourself. It might boost your performance and you would not have such a "yugo". I really want to build a three wheel hybrid. Honda goldwing for the rear end, steering rack from a front wheel drive car for the front. Motorcycle engine for highway speeds and charging. Two electrics up front for surface streets, two Lemco MT5115. I want to use a joystick for the two electrics, so it would drive kind of like a modern fighter jets controls. I've been looking at pultruded fiberglass for most of the body. A lot easier than layups. Lots of structural shapes and panels available. My lofty goal is to build a vehicle capable of both, 100 miles an hour, or 100 miles per gallon. Obviously, not at the same time. One nice thing, Lemco might even supply me with the motors and controller. They have programs where they sponsor prototypes. As you've said, it just takes money.

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Oct 26 2004, 08:48 PM

Shannon, are youusing low rolling resistance tires? If so, what are the latest tries and their specs?

Posted by: sgomes Oct 27 2004, 12:30 AM

Man I was thinking of asking that very question on this board or on the EVDL. For the most part tire manufacturers couldn't care less about low rolling resistance. There was a time when a few models existed but I think the SUV craze has pretty much killed any thoughts about better gas mileage. <_<

My theory.... and I could be COMPLETELY wrong on this.... is that much of the rolling resistance comes from sidewall flex. So my plan is to try and get the lowest profile I can find and pump it up as hard as it will go. Am I just completely off base?

Posted by: bob91403 Oct 27 2004, 12:51 AM

They're moving TOWARD low rolling resistance tires. Most of the hybrid cars are now using higher pressure tires. Haven't been able to find much information from manufacturers. Higher pressure than the recomended is not advisable, too much center wear and loss of road surface contact. If you go with lower profile it will be harder, both vetically and horizontally on your suspension. I hope you've done some re-enforcement if you're carrying more weight.

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Oct 27 2004, 08:45 PM

I know speed rated tires are supposed to hold their shape at higher RPM's. Sooooo, might they also be able to maintain their shape under higher pressure?

Posted by: Qarl Oct 27 2004, 09:03 PM

Dude. You rock! Awesome install and thanks for sharing all the details of your work.

Did you figure this out all on your own, or did you follow someone's plan and advice?



Qarl

Posted by: rick 918-S Oct 27 2004, 09:09 PM

This is like reading a foriegn language! I'm kinda creative but you electric guy's are way out there! Coool!

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Oct 31 2004, 08:25 PM

Shannon, have you got any response about the low rolling resistance tires on your EV web?

I am a former Physics teacher and a life time geek, so this type of info gathering, for some sick reason, gives me wood.

Hope all is going well with the battery break-in.

Posted by: sgomes Nov 1 2004, 12:47 AM

Ooops. I haven't been following my OWN thread! Ok, lets see:

Thanks Qarl. It was a team effort. 80% of the work was done by Electro Automotive. They have a kit for 914 conversion. I wasn't happy with some of the choices of parts so I "upgraded" the motor, controller, charger, etc. I also changed the mounting of some of the battery racks as well as added a guage and improved the wiring.

Rick: Thanks for the compliment. Seriously - the Alien is waaaayyyy more impressive.

Boggs: Still trying to get responses that make sense. You know how it is, everybody is an 'expert' I've gotten a lot of soapbox opinions but no one has been able to give me the physics of it. I'm with you. This kind of stuff gives me wood. I have a feeling that a stiff (did I just say 'wood' and 'stiff' in the same paragraph?) sidewall will make things better. I have no proof though. Rolling resistance is surely from flexing of the tire. The fibers move by each other and cause loss of energy. No doubt about that. But is it the fibers in the sidewall or the tread? both? If it is both then what is the distibution? Pumping it up rock hard (there I go again!) I know will keep flexing to a minimum. But as Bob said earlier that this might cause weird tread wear. Although I believe if I stay within the rating of the tire I should be ok. Lots of questions and no answers yet.

By the way a low rolling resistance tire isn't just good for me. It should dramatically improve things for you gas folk too!

Oh yeah, and the break in is going great! I'm having some 'fuel gauge' problems but other than that it feels about right.

Posted by: McMark Nov 1 2004, 01:16 AM

Skinnier is better on the tires, no?

Posted by: bob91403 Nov 1 2004, 01:30 AM

Tires can be stock size, higher pressure, special construction.

Posted by: McMark Nov 1 2004, 03:35 AM

What I meant was: Skinnier tires would be an easy way to reduce rolling resistance. i.e. buying 165s instead of 205s.

Posted by: bob91403 Nov 1 2004, 03:47 AM

Area of footprint does make a difference. Higher pressure reduces footprint. I think I'd go with 195 as a compromise. With 165 you might not have enough rubber on the road.

Posted by: McMark Nov 1 2004, 03:55 AM

I've had 165s, it's no that big of a deal unless your "performance" driving.

Posted by: Otmar Nov 1 2004, 11:48 AM

LRR tires are a subject which is hard to research. Manufacturers rarely have data. But the LRR tires really make a big difference.

From what I hear it's the hysteresis of the sidewall and tread that give the efficiency, that plus less flexing that comes from high pressure. Bald tires roll better than now ones to some extent.
It took adding Silca to the rubber to get LRR without sacrificing wet traction.

I often run 10 psi over the sidewall max. The ride is harsh, but it sure rolls well. I've never been able to wear any radial in the center before the edges were toast, especially on the narrow ones like on my Insight. The insight gains 5 MPG from that extra 10 psi. I also run most of my tires way above 50% of the rated load (but never over the rated load).

Check out http://www.cafeelectric.com/temp/LRR_Silica_Tire_functire.pdf which I found on the web. Tells a bit about it.

hth,

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Nov 4 2004, 05:58 PM

Shannon, if you don't mind saying, how did all of the costs of conversion breakdown? Kit, batteries, tax breaks, extras....?

Posted by: sgomes Nov 4 2004, 11:53 PM

Lets see.... (first make sure the wife isn't looking over my shoulder....)

$1k for the car
$8k for the kit
$1k for batteries
$2k in things to bring the car up to snuff (brake upgrades, bushings, seals, etc....)
$1.8k for what I thought was a rebuilt transmission
$4k to rebuild the fucking thing.... <_<
____________
$17.8kilobucks total

Things to do:

Needs some rustoration -----> $2-4k ish (Mark!)
Needs paint --------------------> $????
Needs interior restoration --> $2k (Mr. Evil!)

Posted by: Dr Evil Nov 5 2004, 12:48 AM

Poof! Did you speak of the devil? Here I am, send me your interior.

Posted by: Root_Werks Nov 5 2004, 11:13 AM

I need to pull my dash and have some evil things done to it.

Posted by: Dr Evil Nov 5 2004, 11:58 AM

Just so you guys know, I have been learning a lot lately about this upholstery biz. I just had my first dissatisfied customer. He was by no means wrong, I just needed to communicate better about what I can do with what. I will be fixing that problem and the customer is a great guy so all is going to be well, but here are the things that I learned and would like to pass onto yall.
1. If your dash core is cracked taht is no problem, but if it is eggshelled badly (brittle original covering that flakes off easy) it would probably be best for you to find a core that is not brittle. (always contact me about my abilities, now that I know their limits )
2. These are vinyle covered dashes so they will not feel like the original plastic(?) coating and thus, will be different.

Everyone of my customers has been thrilled, even this latest one, but I am a perfectionist and wont settle for less than complete satisfaction. I'll be posting this stuff on my thread, too.

The most important thing to take with you out of this is that I work better with a solid core. I can bring a 1 to a 7 on a scale of 1-10, but you must ask yourself if you would be happy with a 7. So that means that I can bring a 5 to a 10, though I hope that I didn't scare you away, but I would rather have no customers thatn unhappy ones or to be unhappy myself. I look forward to the opportunity to work on your stuff.

Alright, enough of the serious stuff. I got a 916 replica headliner to pick up

Consequently, seats and back pads can be in drastically worse shape and be totaly brought back to life. All I need is for the skeleton to be intact.

Posted by: Aaron Cox Nov 5 2004, 12:02 PM

i

i was mikes first customer. and he does good work

Posted by: Dr Evil Nov 5 2004, 12:13 PM

Thanks Aaron, you and Twystd1 are among my biggest and happiest customers. Man, your seats were in bad shape I guess in some cases you can pollish a turd.

Posted by: Chris914n6 Nov 7 2004, 10:03 PM

This may be a stupid question, but why don't EV's use solar panels? I would think that it could extend the distance another 10% or so.

Then you could be charging in the mall parking lot or...

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Nov 14 2004, 07:49 AM

Not a stupid question, but a very common one. The dream would be to have a car that could recharge by itself sitting in a parking lot, but even if solar cells were 100% efficient the light energy that falls on the area of a car in one day is just not enought energy. An option that some have come up with is to have the building they park near covered with solar pannels that they can plug into while they are working.

Posted by: sgomes Nov 14 2004, 12:05 PM

I agree. Not a dumb question at all. Big Boggs is right. There just isn't enough sunlight per square foot to get the job done. HOWEVER, if we all had solar cells on our homes.... then you'd be talkin!!!!! Otmar does exactly that and is able to supply enough juice for his recharging station.

Here is a fun thing to do if you are a really weird person like me. Next time you're out and about try hunting for standard 120V outlets. You will be amazed. I can recharge at any 120V outlet. I've found that EVERY 7-eleven has an outlet outside. Most supermarkets have at least one (probably for vending machines or the old horse/car rides they used to have.) Motels and hotels all have them (probably for RVs and such.) ALL apartment complexes have them. etc etc etc. I would bet that everywhere I go I'm within 1000 to 2000 feet of a "recharging station."


By the way, the solar panel question is the number two question I get EVERY time I go out. What is the number one question?

"Have you thought about putting a generator on one of the wheels? I bet that would increase your range by 10% or so..."

It's not a dumb question but it does explain why there are so many people that truely believe in UFOs, perpetual motion machines, and zero-point energy. It takes some high school physics to understand why it will make things worse instead of better but it seems NO ONE I've met yet gets it.

Posted by: neo914-6 Nov 14 2004, 01:32 PM

Shannon,
Here's a car you may want when you win the Lotto...
Chrysler Crossfire electric: 6 speed allowing speeds over 90MPH, 100 mile range, 168 volt - 25 kw. It was shown at the SEMA in LV. Their website is www.whistlerinvestments.com. I wonder what they did with the Benz engine...
Felix


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Posted by: neo914-6 Nov 14 2004, 01:33 PM

batteries...


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Posted by: sgomes Nov 14 2004, 02:14 PM

You gotta love their dash gauges!!!!!!



Looks like a super nice conversion otherwise. I'll have to read up on the details. Their website seems to be down at the moment.

Posted by: neo914-6 Nov 14 2004, 04:06 PM

Shannon,
no price so didn't ask...
I'll scan the brochure later, I'm in the middle of cleaning out my garage (all right so I came in for a break). They also have a Mini cooper, and PT Cruiser...
Felix

Posted by: Otmar Nov 14 2004, 05:12 PM

Whistler Investments

You know,
the EV industry brings out all types.

http://www.stocklemon.com/articles/09_09_04.html before you open your wallet.

Posted by: redshift Nov 14 2004, 05:16 PM

What an asshole!


M

Posted by: airsix Nov 14 2004, 11:01 PM

Um... Isn't that exactly like going around siphoning gas? If you don't pay the bill and don't have permission it's stealing.



The fact that no one gets it is confirmation of my greatest fears. Scary, isn't it?

-Ben M.

Posted by: sgomes Nov 15 2004, 12:25 AM

Permission is the key. I hope I didn't give the impression I suit up in some kind of ninja outfit and run a quarter mile long extension cord!

It's great advertisement for the cause. Most people are quite excited to help out and learn about electric cars at the same time. The cost is a joke.

Posted by: bob91403 Nov 15 2004, 03:24 AM

Yep, solar cells would work, if you only drove it once a week. Large panels and a charging/storage station at home make more sense. They're much more efficient when they're angled correctly to the sun. You could add a small gas powered generator, but it would not keep up with the draw. It would replace some battery weight and provide an additional charging source though. I can't wait 'til we can all convert our cars to hydrogen. It's a great way to store energy. Simple, relatively low cost for conversion. You can use wind, solar, geo-thermal, or any source you care to name, to make electricity and produce hydrogen from plain old water. Burn it, and it turns back into plain old water. There's even a, very safe, solid storage system available. The Governator has the right idea. He had his Hummer converted. Now all we need is distribution (pumps at the gas stations). Screw foreign oil!

Posted by: redshift Nov 15 2004, 03:28 AM

What about windmills? Or a pendullum?


M

Posted by: redshift Nov 15 2004, 03:53 AM

By the way, the cells you hear refered to in the news are NOT converting water into hydrogen, they are PUMPING HYDROGEN RAW.

Where do they get that hydrogen? BURNING NATURAL GAS! LMAO!

Yes, it's idiocy, and true.

Google Shell Hydrogen D.C. Pumping station... oh hell...

http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=hydrogen-en

No thanks.


M

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Nov 15 2004, 08:12 AM

If we caan develop a safe hydrogen distribution system we will be in business. Unlike batteries that lose 1/3 of the energy when they are either charged or discharged, and loose charge over time, and need to be recycled. Hydrogen can be collected by splitting water by any electrical method and then can be stored indefinately without any energy loss until it is needed. Sweeeeeeet.

Posted by: Otmar Nov 15 2004, 01:04 PM

Sorry Boggs,
Despite the media hype, hydrogen actually has very poor efficiency.

Take a look at this chart:


You can catch the whole report http://ilea.org/
It's called carrying the energy future.

I think the numbers in that report are even optimistic for hydrogen. I've seen other comparisons that put hydrogen at 1/4 the efficiency of a pure battery EV.

For what I believe shows the future of EV's, have a look at http://www.acpropulsion.com/

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Nov 15 2004, 02:55 PM

Wow.... Do those %'s represent discharge efficiency or combined charge/discharge efficiency?

In other words, if I have 100 units of enery to put into one of these systems, how much would actuall get to my rear weels?

Posted by: Otmar Nov 15 2004, 03:06 PM

It's electricity in to electricity out IIRC.
Pretty poor.

Posted by: lapuwali Nov 15 2004, 03:47 PM

Those numbers assume you're using hydrogen to generate electricity, however. A better use of hydrogen for vehicle power is to burn it in an internal combustion engine. Personally, I'd strongly prefer a hydrogen-burning IC engine to any form of electric only because I like the things. The characteristics, the noise, etc. A lightly-muffled V12 burning hydrogen would be a lot more fun than any electrically propelled car (though it wouldn't fit in a 914 every easily...)

IMHO, use a wave-powered generating station to generate electricity to extract H2 from seawater that I can burn in an IC engine that has nothing more than a NOx converting catalytic convertor and you're looking at a very clean future that's still has room for marvellous sounding engines.

Posted by: Otmar Nov 15 2004, 04:02 PM

That's true.
But if you burn H2 in a combustion engine you get half the efficiency of a already poor fool cell.

Many of these ideas seem so wonderful until you do the math. Until then, they make great stories for Popular Science and the like.

Wave power might be feasible, and I'd love to see it done. But I'd hate to see all that good electricity get wasted with the H2 conversion processes. I think it's hard to beat the economics of wind power these days and I forsee lithium batteries contiunuing thier trend which should make them economical for transportation.

Gotta agree with you in the cool sound and feel of internal combustion.
In a very different way it's also sweet to hear the belt and brushes whine as my motors put out 1000 ft/lb of torque.

Posted by: trojanhorsepower Nov 15 2004, 06:31 PM

Harold Miller would like to suggest, if that is a Curtis controller, you consider moving it. In his considerable experience they are water sensitive. He thinks you did a great job on your conversion and would like to congratulate you on a job well done.

Looks cool to me to.

-Pete

Posted by: airsix Nov 15 2004, 07:28 PM

The part most people don't realize though is that more electricity is consumed in the production of the hydrogen than you can extract from it. Hydrogen is NOT an energy source. It's just a storage medium.

-Ben M.

Posted by: lapuwali Nov 15 2004, 08:16 PM

Frankly, so is nearly everything else. The only actual energy sources on this planet are solar, geothermal, and nuclear. All others can eventually be traced back to those sources. A fossil fuels are just a storage medium for solar power that fell on the planet millions of years ago.

People seem to be too hung up on efficiencies. Generating electricity from solar (or any of its proxies: wind, hydro, wave) is essentially free, in that it costs the same to generate 100 GW as it does to generate 1W, it just takes a lot more time or area to generate the former. Cars can't reasonably run on direct solar or geothermal, and we're not likely to see nuclear powered cars in the lifetime of anyone on this board. So, we're stuck with using one of the "storage mediums", and their attendant inefficiencies.

Posted by: redshift Nov 15 2004, 11:00 PM

Oh BS! Walt Disney told me I was going to be driving my own helicar to the mall..

Hydrogen is just a big fat isotope!

I was honestly shocked when I started paying attention to hydrogen/fuel cell claims... especially when I found out where the hydrogen was coming from... lmao..

How can we not use oil?

How can we appear to not use oil?


M

Posted by: sgomes Nov 16 2004, 01:54 AM

Pete, I assume that comment was meant for me. It looks like the thread has been hijacked. Thank you and thank Harold for me.

Yeah I don't much like the position of the controller either. The original intent of that position is cooling. Eventually I'll have a Zilla controller mounted someplace else.

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Nov 16 2004, 06:42 AM

Shannon, getting back to your project......how is it progressing?

Now that you have had some time to break things in, what are the performance specs?

This is really cool to be able to directly ask someone doing the exact conversion I am looking into for myself.

Thanks

Posted by: type11969 Nov 16 2004, 12:16 PM

http://www.oceanpowertechnologies.com/

I'm working on it . . .

Posted by: Brad Roberts Nov 16 2004, 03:01 PM

Happy Birthday Shannon..


B

Posted by: Otmar Nov 16 2004, 04:46 PM

Hey yeah!
Happy birthday.


Sorry about the detour.

Posted by: Flat VW Nov 16 2004, 06:23 PM

Note on H2,-
-
I have some fuel cell experience and the essence of the problem with H2 relative to "good old gasoline" comes down to storage space (the gas tank). "GOG" is hard to beat in regard to it's "density", with H2 plan to stop for fuel a lot.

Posted by: Brando Nov 16 2004, 07:59 PM

for those who love the idea of an IC engine... don't worry, Bio-Diesel is on the way

Shannon, your conversion is awesome! I'm just suprised at how much you have to sacrifice to have an 'energy efficient' vehicle. But even then you can't drive more than a 100 miles or so on one 'charging'. That's ¼th of the efficiency of gasoline, considering that (all highway) mileage for gasoline in our cars is somewhere upwards of 400-450 miles to a full tank.

Have you considered other forms of electric generators on your car? Besides the brake-recharging ($$$)...

I would say cold-fusion or nuclear fission, but i doubt either one of those are feasable

Posted by: BiG bOgGs Nov 16 2004, 08:09 PM

Brando, actually the electric car is very efficient, just not very energy dense. I believe earlier in the thread someone said it took about 2-3 bucks to recharge after about 50 miles of driving. Not bad for price efficiency any ways.

The long fill up tim e sucks too. Can't get too far on one charge and takes a while to fill back up. Ahh, the price of living on the edge of technology.

Posted by: neo914-6 Nov 17 2004, 02:54 AM

Here's the Electric Crossfire and PT brochure. Backers are probably crooks but somebody built a nice conversion.


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Posted by: sgomes Nov 17 2004, 09:38 AM

Wow! It's getting so I can't keep up with my own thread!!!! Sorry for being away for a bit. Had a little birthday there and somehow I just didn't find the time to get on the 'puter.

thanks for the birthday wishes and thanks for the compliments on the conversion. The status at this point is that it's back in the garage for a bit. I'm having intermittent drop outs. Push on the pedal and absolutely nothing happens. It seems to repair itself in a few seconds but as you can imagine that doesn't impress me. So it's back to the (we don't have a smiley for poking around with a DVM)

As far as the efficiency goes... it doesn't have anything to do with how far I can drive on a "tank" It is waaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more complicated than that. I've cruched the numbers in all kinds of differenct ways. The value that I come up with that is the most satisfying is around 80mpg equivalent. That is to say, all things together my car is the equivalent efficiency wise of an 80mpg ICE car. But before you get your panties in a wad trying to debate this number, let me just say there is a whole lot of guess work you have to do about oil/ng/coal/etc - to - electricity conversion efficiencies and powerline transmission losses and oil tanker gas mileage blah blah blah blah..... It's ok to say we may never know the correct number. If you want to get basic about it then just look at the watts in vs watts out. I'll let you crunch the numbers but this is where the electric car blows away the ICE car. It's really scary when you realize how many "watts" are in a tank of gas. You'll be very upset that you can only go 300-400 miles per TANK!!! If I could get that many watts in a tank..... oh my!

One last comment on the Electric Crossfire. I've seen this car before. REALLY nice job. Only one observation... It uses a Cursit controller!!! Wow. After all that work and they put probably the worst motor controller on the planet in there!!! I'm sure Otmar would have some words about this....

Thanks again everybody. I'm very confident I would not have gotten to this point without all the love here

I'll keep ya posted when I get it back on the road. Probably this week if it's not something serious. (and I don't think it is)

Posted by: Otmar Nov 17 2004, 01:33 PM

Sure, one of the reasons is that I refused to sell them controllers. It's rare that I fire customers, but sometimes you have to.

As a experienced EV converter I could poke holes all over that design, but I will say it is pretty.
As for your intermittant problem Shannon, I'm assuming you have it set up in the normal Electro Automotive way where the main contactor clicks every time you hit the pedal. If that's the case then you probably need to check your Potbox and microswitch adjustment. It could be turning on the controller after the potbox has gone over 150 ohms. This would cause the controller to think your accelerator pedal is stuck on and therefore not allow you to drive...

Solution: Adjust the microswitch to switch on as early as possible when you push the accelerator, then adjust the pot on the shaft to give you 5K ohm as late as possible. Then verify that the microswitch clicks well before you hit 150 ohms on the pot. That should fix it, it's a common issue.
All measurements are with the pot unplugged from the controller.

hth,

Posted by: sgomes Nov 18 2004, 09:34 AM

Um, WOW! Now THERE is some information I would have liked to hear about sooner! Thanks Otmar.

I've always wondered if everyone has the contactor click in every time you push the pedal. I'm assuming from your comment that you have yours closed as soon as you turn the key? I've always assumed this was a safety issue. I would much rather not have the contactor operating so much. Is there a safe way to have it closed all the time while the car is on?

Posted by: Otmar Nov 18 2004, 10:28 PM

Hey Shannon,
Glad I could help out.

On the Zilla the contactor turns on when the key is turned to the Start position, and stays on until the Key is turned off.

But the Zilla also has two microcontrollers keeping watch on each other hundreds of times a second through an isolated interface. Either micro has the ability to shut down the car if something goes wrong. Other controllers don't do that.

If your Curtis were to fail in a full power on mode, your ability to shut off the main contactor is what will keep you running over the marching band in the parade, or the crowd in the crosswalk. Therefore it makes good sense to have it shut off if when you lift the throttle. Some people run the Curtis "always on" with only the key controlling the contactor, and it is nicer on the ears, but it also is a risk. It may take a long time for the driver to think of turning off the key in a emergency.

So those are the issues about it as I see them....
Experiment at your own risk.

Posted by: sgomes Nov 22 2004, 09:10 AM

Weeeeellllllll... it isn't the potbox Otmar. I took it out of the car and put it on my bench at work. The arm isn't even in contact with the microswitch by the time it gets to 150 ohms. In fact after this is all done I'm thinking of adjusting it in the OTHER direction! The pot never made it to 5k!

So, back to the drawing board. I drove it around town a bit yesterday and it didn't cut out once. I don't know if I should be happy or sad. I'm going to drive it to work this morning so if anyone sees a yellow teener on the side of the road on 85 .....

Posted by: sgomes Nov 22 2004, 12:22 PM

I made it to work without any drop outs BUUUUUTTTTTTT just as I was rounding the last corner the contactor stuck closed. Lucky for me the controller was still listening to the potbox and the throttle didn't stick on. So, I guess I've narrowed down the problem. It's somewhere between the potbox and main contactor. WHEW! That means it ISN'T the controller (i.e. big kilobucks)!

Posted by: Otmar Nov 22 2004, 12:46 PM

Have you got a snubber diode on the coil of your contactor?
It's possible you've burned the contacts of the microswitch, lack of a snubber diode on the contactor would make that happen pretty quick.

Posted by: bondo Nov 22 2004, 01:50 PM

On my citicar I wired the contactor on with the key, but added a big red emergency stop button to the dashboard. Best of both worlds. Of course with the citicar the motor is weak enough that just leaving the parking brake on was enough to keep you from moving faster than a crawl, so I never really worried about it. On a more powerful car you NEED a way to stop it fast On the Cal Poly EV club's mazda, we have a big fat anderson connector with a lever that unplugs it. It's set up with two cables that pull the lever, one on the dash and one right in front of the windshield. We had to use it once, when the curse-it controller failed, and the contactor (unbeknownst to the current club members) was only rated for 48 volts. It tried to break 144v at high current and couldn't. The car went backwards about 10 feet (with the driver hard on the brakes) before someone caught up with it and pulled the cable.

Posted by: LongARM Aug 22 2005, 04:12 PM

very nice story...
Thank You

Posted by: snflupigus Aug 22 2005, 09:29 PM

I want to hear it go!

Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 09:56 AM

Waiting for the rain to stop and for things to warm up enough to work on the car some more. Figured I should at least up date the ol' progress thread a bit. A LOT has happened since the last update.

Photos photos photos.....

First up. I made the BIG plunge and upgraded my controller to a Zilla!!!! For those of you who don't know, our non-club's non-member Otmar makes a living selling his own design. It comes in two parts: the Zilla controller and the Hairball brains.

The Zilla


The Hairball


It's a sweet design and a massive upgrade from the crappy Curtis control(?)er. Pretty similar to going from a four to a six. Those who have seen Otmar at the dragstrip will understand.

Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:07 AM

First thing to do was find the controller a better and DRYER place to live - the trunk!

The trunk was in bad shape. I don't have a good before picture but here is a colorful picture of what the whole trunk looked like:


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:10 AM

It was a multi-step process. The usual, grind, sand, clean, prep the surface (etch), rust converter (the red stuff), prime (the white), paint.

In progress:





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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:12 AM

Prime.....


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:14 AM

Paint (yellow is faster!)

Yes, it's a rattle can paint job. You pros, CWs, etc can kiss my


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:17 AM

To mount the Hairball I needed to fab a couple of brackets.


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:18 AM

In place


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:20 AM

The Zilla got a donated heat sink to sit on. It fit perfectly!!!


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:21 AM

add some holes for the little wires....


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:22 AM

before...


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:23 AM

After....


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Posted by: Joe Sharp Jan 7 2006, 10:25 AM

Hows the baby?
:PERMAGRIN: Joe

Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:25 AM

"just" add wires....


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:27 AM

oh my god! It's water cooled!!!!


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:29 AM

Guess that means it needs a radiator...


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:31 AM

Please. Out of respect don't laugh at my fabrication skils. A little and




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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:33 AM

and mounted...

It looks like it hangs down more than it actually does. It's higher than the bottom of the transmission.


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:37 AM

Meanwhile... at the other end of the car - out with the old and in with the new! Thank you JWest!

Seriously, 30 minute job.


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:38 AM

Nice...


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 10:43 AM

Hey Joe. We've decided she's gonna get tubes in her ears. Lots of debate and lots of questions later we've decided to give it a try. Very scary for daddy. Her operation is on Monday. Prayers and thoughts would really be appreciated.

Here she is helping me with some wiring....


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Posted by: Joe Sharp Jan 7 2006, 10:49 AM

Gosh its been awhile!!! You got it brother. All the best.
:PERMAGRIN: Joe

Posted by: serge914 Jan 7 2006, 10:50 AM

Looking Great

Dont forget to upgrade your signature.

Posted by: jd74914 Jan 7 2006, 11:46 AM

QUOTE (sgomes @ Jan 7 2006, 11:43 AM)

Hey Joe. We've decided she's gonna get tubes in her ears. Lots of debate and lots of questions later we've decided to give it a try. Very scary for daddy. Her operation is on Monday. Prayers and thoughts would really be appreciated. Here she is helping me with some wiring....

Nice upgrades and don't worry too much about the tubes. My littlest brother had them put in and it was just a quick operation. The worst part was that he had to go under for them to do it Anyways, i'll send a prayer for her

Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 12:02 PM

Thank you very much for the thoughts and prayers. They said the actual operation takes less than 5 minutes per ear! Still, my wife, the nurse, let me know in gorry detail what they do to put them out. yeah...didn't need to know that.

Oh and thanks for the reminder Serge. Done and done.

But wait! there's more!

Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 12:05 PM

a little more of "out with the old and in with the new". Thank you AGAIN JWest!

old.....


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 12:05 PM

New!


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 12:07 PM

Installed. Could NOT have been easier! Had to do the other side too. The pictures are the same. The PO must have had a fun time puting those things back on. He added big fender washers, welded, bondo'd, and then topped it with seal-the-water-against-the-metal-and-cause-a-bunch-of-rust fiberglass! Genius!


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Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 12:14 PM

And here is the reason I'm waiting for things to dry out and warm up.

Yeah who would have thought to look THERE for rust! Of all places

Actually it probably looks worse than it is. I pounded on it with a screwdriver and it's pretty solid. The outter clamshell looks fine too.

Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 12:20 PM

Oh! and I forgot! I'm finishing up the software for my new on-board touch screen computer!

Thank you to the photoshop guru's that helped me with the image editing! (Ted, Sean, and Paul!)

Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 02:31 PM

Couldn't resist...



and if you can't make it out from the picture, Just be glad you don't have to browse the club website in 320 x 240 monochrome!!!

Posted by: James Adams Jan 7 2006, 04:32 PM

QUOTE (sgomes @ Jan 7 2006, 01:05 PM)

Thank you AGAIN JWest!

You're welcome - glad you liked the products!

Posted by: bd1308 Jan 7 2006, 05:43 PM

what are the specs of that comp?

I was looking to get something JUST LIKE THAT.

b

Posted by: sgomes Jan 7 2006, 09:49 PM

specs???

It's my own design! You did ask for specs though..

Dual processor 7.3728MHz each
16Megs of Flash max
Dual display
2x 320 x 240 mono with touch screens
57 key keyboard
3 serial ports
3 Fan speed control ports
Clock/calendar w/battery backup
Temperature sensor
11kbit mono audio out
+some other stuff

Options:
Ethernet port
USB2.0 port

runs on 3-30Volts


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