Out of Hibernation

The long cold rainy season has finally ended here in the Pacific Northwest. Clear skies and temperatures in the 70's (24 C). After much spring maintenance and such, it is time to start back on the EV Cruiser.

Last fall, one of the last thing I did was to purchase a (used) electric power steering pump off a Toyota MR2. I just need to figure out how to fit in in with the minimum of hassle. Welding will be involved - so much for the minimum and hassle parts.

Ceramic Heater Installation

Over the past few weeks I removed the A/C and heater housing and put in a ceramic heater. The weather here is mild in the summer - low humidity and temperatures rarely above 26C (79F) - so the decision to remove the A/C was made long ago.
Here is a photo of the plenum before the ceramic heater was put in. Taking it out meant removing the steering column and the entire instrument panel. Not fun, but certainly a learning experience.




Here is the original insides. There was evidence of a mouse having lived in there! It apparently come in through either the external or internal intake (recirculation intake) and made a comfortable nest next to the A/C evaporator. I don't know how long it had been abandoned. A spray down with bleach-water was in order, followed by a thorough vacuuming.




Following several examples of what others have done, I purchased an in expensive ceramic heater from local hardware store for $30. And promptly disassembled it.




The actual ceramic heater element is quite small compared to the heater core from the PT Cruiser. It is mounted on a plastic fan housing. I decided to keep the housing, sans fan, and mount it in the location previously occupied by the evaporator.












Once it was all back together, the baffle that shunts the air to the non-existent heater core was permanently closed. I plan to repurpose the dash knob that had been attached to it as a thermostat instead,




The wires go out through the evaporator drain. I'll orient the drain tube upwards when it is finally installed. The openings for the evaporator and heater core were plugged.

Transmission Adapter

Here are some photos of the transmission adapter I had manufactured. It's one of the more expensive parts being put into the car.

Since the original donor vehicle had an automatic transmission, I had to purchase a new clutch disk. These are surprisingly hard to find for a PT Cruiser. Most parts dealers only want to sell an entire clutch along with the disk. It's understandable why - the effort involved in removing the transmission from the vehicle is so great that the added cost of replacing the entire clutch would be worthwhile. Not so any longer. We've had the motor and tranny in and out more times than I care to remember during the engine mount fit checks.

The clutch disk was intended for a Dodge Neon, which has the same transmission as the PT Cruiser.

Slight Delay

We built this chicken tractor over the long weekend. It will be mainly for housing the occasional broody hen, though it now houses a few chicks.

What was in the box

In the box was a bracket. It and a few other engine mounting parts were inadverntenly still attached to the internal combustion engine when I sold it. When the engine was removed. the part is neatly snuggled into position. Unlike the colored drawing below, everything was black with grime.

Here is the bracket in the car. Temporally, as it will need to be modified for the electric motor mounting.

Once that blocking issue was out  of the way, we put the motor into position for fit checks. Next step is to design the passenger side engine mounting adapter.

What's in the Box?

This came the other day. I can safely say the contents were undamaged. What happened to the other packages it came in contact with is in doubt. I'll post a photo of the item soon.

It's getting warmer, barely. Time to start working on the EV again.

Bellingham EV Workshop

Yesterday I attended a local workshop at the RE Store in Bellingham - Introduction to DC electric vehicle conversion. Though I am beyond the point of needing an introduction to the topic, I am glad I was able to attend. In addition to conversions, motors, controllers, and batteries, we discussed the possibility of starting a local EV group.

The two speakers were Jack McKee who converted a VW Rabbit Pickup a few years ago, and Eddie from Mac & Mac Electric who has converts cars as part of his business (http://www.electricvehicleswa.com).

Attack of the Killer Wires

So there was this odd antenna that I knew I did not need. I thought it was for a satellite radio that is no longer in the car. It turns out that it was part of the alarm system. I obviously wasn't a factory install job. Almost pro. Well, this is what it looks like now:

It reminded me from the scene in Brazil, when Sam Lowrey returns to his apartment and finds the what the Dept of Works has done to the place.

It is still dangling by two wires - those I will have to splice back together when I cut this thing out.

Battery Boxes & Other News

The battery boxes are almost complete. Time ran out on the last day of welding class with only a few welds to go. Bummer. I'll have to borrow a welder...

We have a good number of parts on order. I'll post when they start arriving.

I still haven't located a used clutch disk, though I have found a list of automobiles that used the same, or at least a very similar transmission. That increases the pool of discarded clutch disks to pick from (quantity is still zero, unfortunately).

Crossing the Rubicon

There's no turning back now. The floorboards have been cut to receive the (yet to be built) battery boxes.

I used a metal cutting blade on the circular saw to cut most of the straight lines. It could not reach into some of the corners, nor did it cut deep enough to cut the reinforcements below the floor. For the final cuts I used a reciprocating saw.

A close-up of of the rear cut:

And one of the front cut: