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:

Bracket? What Bracket?

The mounting bracket on the A/T doesn't fit the M/T, and the used M/T didn't come with one. So now part of the project is blocked until I track down the part. I can't test fit the transmission until then.

Little stumbling blocks like these are never fun.

I've gotten the adapter plate, but I've held off ordering the motor & controller until I am ready for them - which basically is when I find a bracket.

I've sent a email to the guy I bought the MT from (off eBay) with the hope that he still has the car around. The local Chrysler dealer can probably order one, but I don't want to pay retail for a new one.

Wish me luck.

Motor Out!

The motor is out. Via Craigslist I was able to arrange selling all of the ICE components sold to a single buyer. It will be absorbed into another PT Cruiser some day. The car had a 2.4 liter DOHC engine. It is a tight fit with the automatic transmission - I would not want to have to work on one of those.

Most of the stuff that came out before the engine:

And a pic of the engine on its way out:

On the right side of this photo you can see the manual transmission. It has a red adapter plate on it for a test fit. More on that later.

Toxic mess

Yesterday we removed the fuel tank. Today, I drained it the best I could. The shop manual says to drain it out the filler tube fitting. There is a one-way valve there, so I had to hold it open with a screwdriver. An overall messy and smelly affair.

I am seriously considering never purchasing another gas powered vehicle. Ever. There a just too many oily, toxic chemicals to deal with. Though, the converted EV will still have power steering and break fluids, plus transmission oil.

By the way, there was more than two gallons of gas left in the tank. The light on the fuel gauge had come on shortly before we pulled it in the garage. I could have made a couple of trips to town...

The pile of detritus is getting larger - we will post a photo soon. The engine and transmission are still in the car - there isn't much else in the front, except some hoses and wires hanging about.

Goodbye Mr Radiator

Made some progress today, despite some setbacks. First, we jacked up the front of the car - front passenger side first. Big mistake. Once it was nearly up on the jack, fluid started pouring out from underneath the car. I knew it had a leaky head gasket, but this was a bit out of proportion to what I was accustomed to seeing, but of course that is what i thought it was at first. Only a mild panic ensued:

We had taken the hood off yesterday, and the windshield washer nozzles are on the hood - we left the disconnected hose dangling. It is on the driver (left) side. The
reservoir is high on the passenger side. Jacking the passenger side first put the end of the hose below the reservoir. The one fluid I didn't need to drain...

We also drained the antifreeze, removed the battery, radiator, A/C condenser, and the two front wheels. Here is what the front end looks like now:

Oh, and one more disaster. One of the lug nuts had been put on incorrectly. It was extremely hard to remove. The stud is completely stripped. grrr...

Parts For Sale

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/pts/2420566596.html

Layout Changed

I've updated the layout of the blog a bit. There is a new section on the right called "What's Done". It lists, by date, what has been done so far.

The Fun Begins

Well, the car finally made it into the  garage on Memorial Day. We've taken out the front seats. Each had two sets of wires, one for the seat heater, and one presumably for the seat belt alarm. Next up are:

• Removing the hood
• Jacking up the car
• Removing the rug (and a bunch of interior trim to get it out)

The manual transmission arrived yesterday. This PT Cruiser has an ailing automatic (needs a solenoid pack). We will be clutchless when all is said and done - so I wont need to put in a clutch pedal. That will save time, money, and weight.

First Things First

We have almost finished cleaning the garage - a task that I had been putting off while we remodeled the old farmhouse and cleaned up the outbuildings. With hope, the car will be moved into the garage tomorrow.

Today my son and I took out the headliner. Probably not the first step in most EV conversions, but more than necessary for this one. It seems a former owner had more than a passing interest in air fresheners - the headliner is a magnet for odors and even after a full month of airing out the car it still has a strong perfume like odor. Hopefully direct sunlight and fresh air will do the trick. If not, we will be learning how to replace the headliner fabric...

EV Component Selection

I have been narrowing down the candidates for the major EV components. Nothing is set in stone yet - final selection could easily change.

I am still up in the air about batteries - more on those in another post.

Motor	NetGain WarP-9
Controller	NetGain WarP-Drive
Battery	AGM
Battery	Lithium