Saga of an EV Wannabe by Bill Kuehl

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Part One First 1974 Ford Pinto Electric Car Conversion

Part Two 1973 Honda Civic EV Conversion and EAA Road Rally

Part Three Lectra Motors, EAA Rallies and Pontiac Fiero EV Conversion

Part Four Sports Car Club of America Auto Cross Race in Las Vegas

Part Five Los Angeles Clean Air Car Road Rally in Anaheim

Part Six 1994 Hyundai Excel EV Conversion Project for Bill Yule

Part Seven EAA Annual Electric Car Road Rally in Sunnyvale

Part Eight Palm Springs Electric Car Classic Road Rally

Part Nine Summary and EV Conversion Tips

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Introduction:

by Stan Hanel, Editor “Watts Happening” Newsletter, Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association

The “Saga of an EV Wannabe” began as a series of practical EV conversion tips written by Bill

Kuehl, who was a co-founder, former president, and current Secretary/Treasurer of the Las

Vegas Electric Vehicle Association (LVEVA), a local chapter of the international non-profit Electric

Auto Association (EAA). The series recounted some of his thirty years of experiences as part of

a small group of pioneers who believed they could convert gasoline vehicles to roadworthy

electric battery-powered vehicles. Many of these pioneers, like the electric-powered “horseless

carriage” inventors from the late 1800s, were first inspired to revisit this alternative form of electric

vehicle propulsion after the OPEC Oil Embargo of 1973, a U.S. fuel crisis that created long lines

of car owners at gasoline pumping stations, anxiously waiting to refuel their cars from scarce local

supplies of available gasoline.

This series of articles was originally published in LVEVA monthly newsletters during the late

1990s, then republished as a series starting in 2003 and again from 2008 to 2009. With the

recent rise of gasoline prices to new record highs exceeding $4 per gallon during the summer of

2008 accompanied by the emergence of new lines of car owners at local gasoline service stations

chasing low fuel prices, Bill Kuehl’s story is once again relevant. His lifelong commitment to

enabling EV conversions continues to hold many insights and helpful hints for the “do-it-yourself”

EV builder. Bill Kuehl has converted over 200 gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles during the

last thirty years. He also likes to compete with his electric vehicle designs in electric car racing

events. Bill holds performance records for both -mile electric vehicle drag racing and electric

vehicle endurance road rally competitions. Bill is one of the few electric car builders to exceed

100 miles of range using lead-acid golf cart batteries to propel his electric 1973 Honda Civic

conversion during an EAA road rally competition in 1985, something that the automotive industry

is still trying to achieve with advanced battery technology at this present time.

Terminology and Definitions: Bill Kuehl starts the first part of his “saga” by using readily available

lead-acid (PbA) storage batteries to power his electric vehicle system. These rechargeable

chemical storage batteries contain energy as electric power that can be discharged to a load,

such as an electric motor, over time. The unit of measurement for the energy capacity of these

batteries is “watt-hours” where “watt” defines the amount of electrical power available in terms of

potential voltage (“volts”) and electrical current (“amperes” or “amps”) that can be discharged to

the electrical load over time (“hours”):

Energy Capacity of storage battery = Power (Watts) * number of discharge hours (h)

where Power = Watts (W) = potential voltage * electrical current = volts (V) * amps (A)

Battery packs with multiple batteries that have sufficient energy storage capacities to provide

power to an electric vehicle are measured in thousands of watt-hours or “kilowatt-hours” (kWh).

Individual batteries can be connected in series, parallel or series-parallel combinations to provide

scalable energy packs that deliver power through different relationships of potential voltage and

current to the load. For an electric motor, adding more current by connecting several battery

packs in parallel provides more current flow to the motor, also making the armature turn harder

(more torque). Higher voltage from multiple batteries connected in a series battery pack pushes

electric current to the motor at a faster rate, forcing the motor armature to turn faster under its

magnetic field (more speed). Electric vehicle (EV) motor performance specifications are shown

on “torque-curve” diagrams that define the relationship between torque and speed of each

individual motor as electrical power in the form of voltage and current are applied to it. Units of

measurement for torque are “foot-pounds” (ft-lbs.) or “Newton-meters” (Nm). The unit of

measurement for electric motor armature speed is denoted as “revolutions per minute” (rpm).

Enough torque must initially being generated by the battery pack and electric motor to overcome

the weight of the EV as well as any rolling resistance from the tires and internal mechanical drive

train. Scalable electric motors are very good at providing almost instantaneous torque that can

move a full-sized electric vehicle from a standing state of inertia into a quick burst of acceleration

if enough voltage and current are available.

Once the vehicle starts accelerating, overcoming inertia and rolling resistance, the electric motor

itself does not need as much electrical power to keep the electric motor armature turning at

higher rates of speed. However, at these higher speeds, all vehicles run into additional wind

resistance from the air that will attempt to slow down vehicle speed and overall performance. At

each point along the electric motor’s “torque-curve” power specifications, an electric vehicle

designer must decide if it is more efficient to increase electric motor speed by providing more

current to the electric motor with less voltage or add more voltage to push through less current to

the motor at a faster rate of speed. A motor speed “controller” can govern the amount of current

and voltage applied to the electric motor throughout this dynamic acceleration range. For best

efficiency, an electric motor and its related motor speed controller are designed to perform

together with the battery pack source as one inter-related symbiotic package. Expanding the

electric vehicle design to also include mechanical gear shifting, in conjunction with an electrical

battery pack and the electric motor power train, can provide optimal acceleration performance

that rivals or exceeds gasoline-powered vehicles.

Bill Kuehl’s saga of EV conversion, experimentation and discovery begins…

Part One: 1973 OPEC Oil Embargo and First 1974 Ford Pinto EV Conversion

Way back in the 1970s, when the price of gasoline was about 33 cents per gallon, nobody

thought much about putting gas in their cars. Then came the OPEC oil embargo in October

1973. Gas prices rose dramatically to around $1.50 per gallon, gasoline supplies became limited,

and long gas lines at the pump slowed everyone’s schedule each day for several weeks. Gas

station owners tried to work out fair transactions with consumers by only allowing them to pump

10 gallons during each fill-up. Another solution was to use license plate numbers to restrict fillups

to odd or even days of the calendar week. Sitting in line one day, I began to see a way to

drive a car without having to put gas in it all the time.

After I graduated from high school, I had joined the Air Force and was trained to be a Jet

Mechanic. At 19, I bought my first car and had to do some work to get it running right. Other

guys in my squadron needed help repairing their cars and I soon started gaining a lot of

experience. In later years, I became a master mechanic and opened my own automotive repair

shop here in Las Vegas.

I knew that I could get a surplus aircraft starter/generator that I could use as a motor to somehow

propel a car. I checked around and found one from the Lincoln Surplus Center in Nebraska for

$179.95. Now I had to save up the money to buy it. Meanwhile, I also had to get a car that I

could use for this project. I checked used car lots, but they wanted too much money. I went to

several car auctions and found one that had a blown engine but a good body. I bid on it and got it

for $325 – a 1974 Ford Pinto.

As the next couple of months went by, I removed the engine, transmission, and all the other parts

that were not needed for my conversion. I cleaned out all the oily gunk on the chassis that was

deposited there by the gas engine. During this time, I saved the money to buy the surplus aircraft

starter/generator, a GE 2CM77. I ordered it along with a coupling to fit the spline on the motor

shaft for total cost of $195.

By now, I had removed the transmission and gotten a two-foot square piece of 1/8-inch thick steel

plate that would fit over the front of the transmission housing. I would use this plate to attach the

motor and I would also have to figure out how to join the motor shaft to the input shaft of the

transmission.

The splined coupling that I got with the motor had two lug ends on it that were -inch wide by -

inch high on the far end that was 2 inches across with -inch hole in the center. I took the clutch

disc and cut out the center part that fit the input spines on the transmission shaft. I then cut two

vertical slots on one side of it to match the motor coupling land ends in order to slide both pieces

together, making a connection assembly from the motor shaft to the transmission shaft.

Next, I propped up the transmission on the tail shaft and took measurements from the center of

the pilot shaft to each of the outside transmission mounting holes. Then I made a template out of

cardboard and measured on it for the position of the hole to be cut out so that the center of the

motor shaft could go through and match up to the transmission input shaft.

I cut out the hole and checked to see that it was OK. I then put the template on the steel plate

and cut out the hole for the motor shaft to go through. Next, I marked the motor mounting holes

on the steel plate installed the bolts to hold the motor to it. Then I placed the motor and plate on

top of the transmission and lined up the lugs on the motor coupling to the slots on the input

coupling. Turning the motor armature by hand, I checked to see that both the motor shaft and the

input shaft were turning straight with each other. I had to move the motor slightly to get the shafts

to turn true and then clamped the steel plate to the transmission housing. I then hooked up a 12-

volt battery to the motor to spin it around and see if both shafts were running true.

Then I drilled out all the outer transmission mounting holes, installed bolts, lock washers and nuts

to secure the steel plate with the motor on it to the transmission. Later, I hoisted the electric

motor and transmission assembly and lowered it into the front end of the vehicle. I position the

assembly with the transmission going back under the body to be reattached to its original mountin

on the chassis cross member.

The front of the assembly was temporarily supported by a length of angle iron from the sides of

the frame under the motor. A metal support mount was built on each side of the steel adapter

plate so that the original mounting arrangement was used on the frame to hold the motor

assembly in alignment, in the same way as the gas engine was originally installed. Two round

rubber mounts were used to fasten the metal supports to the cross frame. The angle iron support

under the motor was removed allowing the motor to be supported by itself on the adapter plate.

I used four 12-volt starter batteries to power the motor. I got cables and hooked up the four

batteries in parallel for 12-volts as a beginning. I put a Ford starter solenoid on the negative

cable and also on the positive cable. I put an on/off switch in the dash to turn the solenoids on

and off at the same time. I ran two cables to the motor from each solenoid, connecting the

negative battery cable to one motor connection and the positive battery cable to the other motor

connection.

I got in the car and, with the transmission in neutral, I turned on the switch and the motor started

rotating. I turned off the switch and waited until the motor stopped rotating. I then put the

transmission in first gear, turned the switch and the car started moving down the driveway and

out on the street getting up to 6 miles per hour. I turned off the switch, pulled the shift lever out of

first gear towards second gear and, when the motor rpm came down, pushed the shift lever into

second gear. As I turned the switch back on with the motor still spinning slowly and the car still

moving, the Ford Pinto accelerated up to 10 miles per hour. I went around the block and back

home but knew I had to get it up to a higher speed in order to drive it on the road. I charged up

the batteries and then figured out a different battery hook-up.

I left batteries 1 and 2 connected in parallel and batteries 3 and 4 connected in parallel. I

installed two more solenoids, one between the negative terminals of the battery bank consisting

of batteries 1 and 2 and the battery bank consisting of batteries 3 and 4. I installed the other

solenoid between the positive terminals of the battery bank consisting of batteries 1 and 2 and the

battery bank consisting of batteries 3 and 4. Next, I installed another solenoid on the negative

terminal of the parallel bank of batteries 1 and 2 and put a cable and another solenoid to the

positive terminal of battery 3. I also installed another solenoid from the positive terminal of

battery 1 to the motor.

I then installed three separate switches to activate the solenoids in different combinations. I used

my first switch to turn the solenoids on/off from the positive and negative terminals of the battery

banks to the motor. My second switch turned the solenoids on/off between the parallel bank of

batteries 1 and 2 and the parallel bank of batteries 3 and 4 to create 12-volts in parallel using all

four batteries. The third switch turned on/off the solenoid between the series connection of

parallel battery bank 1 and 2 added to parallel battery bank 3 and 4, creating a total of 24 volts

from this series-parallel arrangement. Each 24 volt series string only employed two parallel

strings, providing twice the voltage but only half the current compared to the 4-battery parallel 12-

volt configuration.

To make the motor run, the second switch was turned on first, making all four batteries into a

parallel 12-volt configuration for maximum current to the motor that would also enable maximum

torque from the motor to the wheels. When the motor was running up to speed, the second

switch was turned off and the third switch turned on to connect the batteries in series and provide

24 volts to the motor, decreasing unnecessary torque but increasing the speed of rotation of the

motor in order to accelerate the wheels even faster.

When trying this arrangement on the road, I got 6 mph using the 12-volt configuration and 11 mph

using the 24-volt configuration in first gear. In second gear, I got 19 mph with the 24-volt

configuration. This was still not fast enough to drive the vehicle on the road, so I headed back

home and recharged the batteries.

A schematic of the 24-volt series parallel circuit with solenoids and switches is shown below:

Schematic 1 Note: Switch 2 is “On-Off-On” with center position neutral

To enable 24-volt Series-Parallel Circuit:

1. Turn Switch 1 “ON” to energize Solenoid 1

2. Switch 2 latched in 24-volt position to energize coils on Solenoids 2, 3 and 4

My next “series-parallel” design was to increase from 24 volts parallel to 48 volts series (Note:

See 48-volt circuit position of Switch 2 in Schematic above and follow-up circuit schematic

below). This time, I connected batteries 1 and 2 in series for 24 volts and connected batteries 3

and 4 in series for 24-volts. I put one solenoid between the negative terminals on batteries 2 and

4 and one solenoid between the positive terminals of batteries 1 and 3. I also connected one

solenoid between the negative terminal on battery 2 and the positive terminal of battery 3.

Another solenoid was connected between the positive terminal of battery1 and the positive

terminal of the electric motor. I also retained the solenoids running from the negative and positive

terminals of the electric motor to the positive and negative terminals on my battery bank.

I used my first switch to turn on the negative terminal solenoid to the motor. Instead of two

switches for 24-volt and 48-volt configurations, I used on switch that could be positioned in two

direction with the center position off (ON-OFF-ON). Position the switch in one direction turned on

the positive solenoid to the motor along with turning on the two solenoids to parallel the two

series banks of battery pair 1 and 2 with battery pair 3 and 4 for a total of 24-volts. Positioning

the switch in the other direction turned on the solenoid between the negative terminal of battery 2

and the positive terminal of battery 3 as well as routing the positive terminal of battery 1 to the

electric motor positive terminal for a battery series total of 48 volts. A schematic of the 48-volt

series circuit with solenoids and switches is shown below:

Note: Schematic 2 showing 48-volt part of combined series-parallel circuit

During operation, the first switch turns on the solenoid connecting the negative terminal of battery

4 to the negative terminal of the motor and stays on all the time. The second switch is positioned

in either the 24-volt position or the 48-volt position depending on driving needs.

The following circuit schematic shows how all six solenoids can be used to switch between a 24-

volt battery bank configuration and a 48-volt battery bank configuration:

Note: Schematic 3 is a combined overview of the connections for all six solenoids based

on the switch hookup shown in schematics 1 and 2

1. Turn Switch 1 “ON” to energize Solenoid 1 and allow current flow to Motor negative “-“

connection while driving.

2. Turn Switch 2 to the “24-volt” position to energize solenoids 2, 3 and 4 while leaving

solenoids 5 and 6 “open circuit” for 24-volt operation.

3. Turn Switch 2 to the “48-volt” position to energize solenoids 5 and 6 while leaving

solenoids 2, 3, and 4 “open circuit” for 48-volt series operation

To provide some form of instrumentation to monitor my electrical circuit, I bought a voltmeter with

a scale that indicated 0 to 50 volts, an amp-meter with a scale indicating 0 to 50 amps, and a

shunt resistor with one end connected to the meters and one end connected to battery pack

ground (negative terminal). I mounted the meters to the dashboard of the vehicle.

In road testing this configuration, I got 11 mph in first gear at 24 volts and 19 mph at 48 volts. In

second gear, I got 25 mph at 24 volts and 36 mph at 48 volts. My road testing with this

configuration was short-lived as one solenoid was destroyed on my first attempt. I replaced it but

another solenoid burnt out on my next try.

I found out that when the switch was first turned on, the motor drew a very high current of 500

amps but, if the switch was turned off with a high DC current draw, it would cause the contacts to

act like an arc welder when the points opened. The high electric current would jump the gap

while burning and pitting the surface of the solenoid’s internal electrical contacts. These contacts

could also fuse shut over time due to the heating of their surface areas.

Also, three of the four starter batteries lost their charge capacity and were no longer any good.

Their internal storage plates and electrolyte chemistry had been damaged by the high current

draw. I needed to get some 6-volt deep cycle golf cart batteries that would take a heavy

discharge and be able to charge back up again time after time. I found out where to get some

rugged 6-volt deep cycle batteries and also got their size specifications in width, length and

height. This design change would also increase my battery pack count to eight batteries instead

of four as well as add extra weight to the vehicle.

I removed the electric motor and transmission from the 1974 Ford Pinto so I could re-install the

clutch assembly into the system. I now needed to be able to disengage the clutch in my next

attempt to get the Pinto to drive as an electric car. I had to get an adapter plate built on which to

mount the electric motor that would also fit onto the transmission bell housing. Also, a coupling

had to be built that would fit the motor shaft and have the flywheel installed on it along with the

clutch. While waiting for the adapter plate and coupling to be built, I started constructing my

series-parallel controller.

I also built eight new battery supports from 1 -inch x 1 -inch x 1/8-inch thick angle iron. The

first supports were built to hold four 6-volt deep cycle batteries in the front of the Pinto, across the

top of the vehicle frame, just behind where the radiator was normally mounted. The next four

angle iron supports and batteries would be located in the trunk of the Pinto. After I got the electric

motor, clutch, and transmission re-installed back into the car, I purchased the eight 6-volt deep

cycle golf cart batteries. I installed four batteries in the front of the vehicle and four batteries in

back.

To interconnect the batteries, I had to get fifty feet of 2/0 welding cable, as well as the lugs that

could be crimped onto the cable to fit the battery terminal posts. I cut each cable long enough to

reach from the positive post on one battery to the negative post on the next battery, and then

crimped a cable lug on the ends of each interconnect cable. I also had to figure the lengths of the

cable running from the front batteries to the back batteries as well as the lengths running to the

electric motor and controller.

I had designed my electric motor drive system to work from either a 24-volt series-parallel battery

pack configuration or a 48-volt series-only battery pack configuration. Now I had to build a seriesparallel

battery system controller that could switch between configurations without damaging

mechanical contacts as high amounts of current passed through the electrical motor system. I

used two contactors instead of solenoids, each rated at 200 amps with 12-volt operating coils and

two diodes with a “Peak Inverse Voltage” (PIV) rating of 400 volts. I controlled the contactors with

a two-position foot switch.

The first foot switch position engaged contactor 1, allowing the current to flow to the motor from

the front bank of 24-volt batteries and rear bank of 24-volt batteries in the direction regulated by

the two diodes. The battery pack was supplying 24 volts from two parallel banks of four batteries

each to the motor. The second foot switch position engaged contor 2 with changed the current

flow in series from negative to positive on the front 24-volt batteries through the second contactor

to the negative terminal on the rear 24-volt battery pack out of the positive terminal on the rear

battery pack of the motor, supplying it with a 48-volt series configuration. As the second

contactor was engaged, the two diodes were “reverse-biased” and no current flowed through

them.

The following circuit schematic illustrates the current flow in this controller that switches between

series and parallel battery banks:

Schematic 4

When operating this system, I would put the transmission in first gear with the clutch in, then push

on the first foot switch to supply 24 volts tot the motor, let the clutch out, let the motor pull the car

up to its highest rpm for that voltage, and then step down to engage the second switch that would

supply 48 volts to the motor and let the motor speed up to its highest rpm for that voltage and

current draw.

When shifting to second gear, I would hold down my right foot on the foot switches, push the

clutch with my left foot, shift up to second gear, let the clutch out and let the motor rpm increase

while accelerating the vehicle to its highest rpm and speed for that voltage/current draw. In first

gear, the top speed was 25 to 35 miles per hour with a range of about 40 miles. In second gear,

the top speed was 45 to 50 miles per hour with a range of 25 miles.

I also monitored the amp-meter on my dashboard while driving. Anytime the motor amperage

draw was above 200 amps, and I wanted to slow down or stop, I would first push the clutch in.

This would unload the motor, allowing it to increase its rpm and cause the amperage draw to

diminish far below 200 amps. I would then release my right foot off the switches, opening the

contactors at a point of lower amperage which would also diminish the chances of arcing across

the contact points in my contactors so as not to ruin any more of them.

I drove my electric Ford Pinto through the summer and fall of 1980, using a power supply

consisting of eight 6-volt batteries for a total of 48 volts. This electrical system served me well on

my daily commute back and forth to work from 3:30 PM to midnight, a round trip of 16 miles.

However, when the cold winter weather set in one night while I was coming home from work in

November, my batteries ran out of current when I was only two miles from home. I had to park by

the side of the road for about 15 minutes until the batteries recovered some of their energy. Then

I crept along at 10 miles per hour for another mile and the batteries lost energy again. I waited

another 15 minutes and stated out again slowly. At that point, the road had a slight down grae

and I was able to almost coast all the way home. I drove the last two blocks at 5 miles per hour

but could not get up the driveway. I walked into my house, waited 30 minutes, then came out

again and finally drove the Ford Pinto up into my driveway.

I hooked up my battery charger, assuming the batteries had not been fully charged the night

before. The next day, I checked out my batteries and they indicated that they were fully charged.

I went to work that afternoon and the car ran fine. When I got off work at midnight and started

driving home, the batteries behaved the same way as the previous night. As before, they lost

energy about 2 miles from home. Once again, I had to wait 15 minutes for the battery pack to

recover some of its energy so I could drive further down the road. I had to stop two more times

before I made it home. Good thing it was on a Friday, as I had to figure out why the batteries

were not holding enough charge to get me home so I could return to my commute on Monday.

Then I remembered that a battery does not have as much energy capacity in cold weather. I

needed to double my battery capacity. The next morning I went down and purchased eight more

6-volt golf cart batteries. I installed four more in the front and four more in the back. I wired these

in parallel with the other batteries to create a 48-volt system with double the current capacity.

On Monday, I went to work at 3:30 PM and got off again at midnight. I drove home with no more

stops! HOORAY! I drove this car for 3 years, back and forth to work with a daily range of 16

miles.

Then in 1984, my workplace location changed and I had to double my range, driving 16 miles to

work and 16 miles back home. I could not do this with just the 48-volt system in the 1974 Ford

Pinto, so I had to think about building another electric vehicle with a longer range…

Part Two: 1973 Honda Civic EV Conversion and EAA Road Rally

I started looking around to find another car that I could convert. I also wanted to find a good

motor and transistor controller for my next project. This was in July 1984.

I found a Prestolite motor and a Russco controller that I could get from California. I also found an

adaptor plate and a coupling from the same place. The new Prestolite motor would cost $750.

The new Russco controller would cost $595. The adaptor plate and coupling would cost $250.

I found a 1973 Honda Civic at a car auction, bid on it for $235, and won. The engine ran but had

a rod knocking in it. Fortunately, I did not need the engine for the conversion. I drove it home

from the auction and started pulling out all the gas-powered parts.

This car was configured for front wheel drive with a four-speed manual transmission. I called

Russco Engineering and ordered the Prestolite motor, adaptor and coupling. That was all I could

afford to pay at the time, but also put in an order for the Russco controller to be paid at a later

date.

I pulled the whole motor, transmission, and front drove assembly out of the front end of the car.

I then cleaned the body, removing the dirt and grease left out there by the gas engine. I removed

the gas tank and cut out the opening in the back where the spare tire was normally stored. I

measured for placement of the batteries in the front and found I could only fit four in there. I

measured inside the back of the vehicle and found I could fit twelve batteries in that location. I

had to take out the back seat in order to make room for all twelve.

I built supports to fit four batteries in the very back where the spare tire and gas tank were

located. I built supports for four more across the back seat rest. I had planned on having a 96-

volt drive system for the motor. The controller I would be getting would work up to 120 volts. I

was thinking that, at a later date, I could increase the voltage from 96 to 120 volts.

I received the Prestolite motor with the adaptor plate and the coupling installed on it. I placed the

flywheel and clutch back on the motor coupling, installed the electric motor assembly back on the

transaxle, and then reinstalled the whole front end assembly into the car. I had this done by the

end of August 1984. I then finished making the front four battery racks, paid for the Russco

controller, and received it by September 1984.

During the last two weeks of September 1984, I took vacation from work to complete my project.

I took all 16 batteries out of my original commute car, a 1974 Ford Pinto, and installed the

batteries in the Honda Civic – four batteries in front and the remaining twelve in back.

I made up new 2/0 cable to be installed on the battery posts and ran 2/0 cable to the back

batteries. I installed the controller in front under the hood on the right fender. A potentiometer

was installed on the right inside the fender and the cable from the accelerator pedal was

connected to it.

I installed a cable from the positive post on battery number 16 (located in the back of the vehicle)

to a 500 amp fuse that was installed up front under the hood of the car. A contactor was

connected to the fuse and another cable was installed from the contactor to the positive terminal

of an amp-meter. The negative terminal of the amp meter was connected to a series shunt rated

at 500 Amps and 50 millivolts. The shunt helped protect the amp-meter components from excess

current fluctuation.

The other end of the series shunt was cabled through to the B+ connection of the Russco

controller and to the S1 stator field winding terminal on the motor. As the original Honda engine

ran backwards from engines built in the United States, the electric motor had to run counterclockwise.

A cable was connected from the S2 stator field winding terminal on the electric motor

to the A1 armature terminal.

I next installed a cable from the negative post on battery number 1 (located in the front of the

vehicle) to the negative battery terminal (B-) on the controller. I installed a cable from the

negative motor terminal (M-) on the controller to the A2 armature terminal on the motor.

As noted before, the Honda engine ran in the opposite direction as engines built in the United

States, so the wiring on the electric motor had to be installed so the motor would turn in a

counter-clockwise direction.

The two armature terminals, A1 and A2, as well as the two stator field winding terminals, S1 and

S2, were wired beginning from the negative motor terminal (M-) on the controller to the A2

armature terminal on the electric motor. A cross cable was installed between the S2 field terminal

and the A1 armature terminal. The S1 field terminal on the electric motor was connected to the

positive terminal of the battery pack that was also connected to the B + connection of the Russco

controller. This wiring arrangement allowed the motor to turn counter-clockwise:

photo5

I had bought a “0-500 scale” amp-meter and installed it in the car’s dashboard (as shown in the

diagram above) so I could see how much electrical current draw (amperage) was being pulled out

of the batteries and controller by the motor as I was driving down the road. Using the amp-meter

as the guide, I would be able to back off on the accelerator pedal to draw the least amount of

amps to keep the car moving at a constant speed, especially when I reached speeds of 35 mph in

first gear or 60 mph in second gear on the highway. I also bough a voltmeter scaled from 0 to

150 volts and installed it on my dashboard so that I could monitor my battery pack voltage while I

was driving.

As soon as all the components were completely installed in the car, I took it out for its first test

drive. I had previously used my wife’s car to drive around and explore the surrounding area,

plotting a five mile test course that I could use to drive my electric car in order to determine my

range on a single battery charge.

After driving around this five-mile course eight times, the batteries were getting low on charge. I

headed home and recharged them. 40 miles on a single charge wasn’t bad for these old

batteries that I had used out of my Ford Pinto. Now I could get to work and back every day on my

32 mile round trip commute.

I knew that in a couple of months, the weather would get cold and these old batteries would not

be able sustain this range during the colder temperatures. I planned on getting another set of

new batteries before then. In October 1984, I purchased sixteen new 6-volt golf cart batteries

and installed them in the Honda Civic.

One night in November, after coming home with 32 miles on the batteries, I continued driving

around on my 5-mile test course to see what my total range would be with the new batteries.

After going around four times for an additional 20 miles, I noticed a drop in acceleration. Not

wanting to run the batteries all the way down, I went home and plugged in my charger to recharge

the pack fully. The Honda Civic ran fine all that winter and into next summer. Normally, I could

drive back and forth to work on my Las Vegas commute route for two days before recharging my

batteries-- a total of 64 miles.

In September 1985, I towed the Honda up to Sunnyvale, California to drive it in the Electric Auto

Association’s annual road rally. The course that they laid out was 6.3 miles. The start position

began in the Hewlett Packard Corporation parking lot. The route circled the city streets and

wound its way back to a stop position at the same location.

The rally started at 10 AM and, with an hour break from 12 noon to 1 PM, it continued to 4 PM

that afternoon. Each entry could run as many times as they had current in their batteries to make

complete runs. No battery charging was allowed. The completed runs for each entry determined

their total mileage for the rally. My total for the rally was 100.8 miles on one battery charge.

Part Three: Lectra Motors, EAA Rallies and Pontiac Fiero EV Conversion

After driving my converted 1973 Honda Civic EV back and forth to work for a couple of years, I

heard about an auction that was being held at the Clark County Motor Vehicle Department that

included some electric vehicles. I checked on the date of the event but found that the auction

was already over. However, I was given the name of the buyer of all the electric vehicles and

contacted him. He took me to a storage yard where he housed four electric cars and two electric

pickup trucks. I was interested in getting a pickup and a car. The pickup was converted from a

1980 Datsun and the car was converted from a Datsun 310. I offered $1,000 for each. He

counter-offered $2500 for both and I accepted.

After checking over the pickup and finding everything was intact, I pulled out all the old batteries

that, by now, were not salvageable. The pickup used 18 six-volt golf cart batteries to make up a

108-volt DC motor drive system. I purchased 18 new batteries and installed them in the pickup.

The truck ran fine after that there was no need to do any further work on it. I did have to get a

charger made to charge the batteries. I built a full wave bridge rectifier to charge the battery pack

from my 120-volt AC house power. I also had to get a separate 12-volt DC battery and 12-volt

battery charger to run the 12-volt DC electrical system in the pickup.

Once I had the pickup running, I got it registered and insured and started driving it to work. After

the batteries were broken in, I took it out for a run on a weekend and got 60 miles driving on a

single charge. I had no problems driving to work and back home with it.

I checked out the Datsun 310 car by connecting some jumper cables from the pickup truck

battery pack’s positive and negative terminals to the car battery pack’s positive and negative

terminals. The motor ran and the transmission moved in gear. The batteries in the car were also

depleted but everything else seemed to work. I found out that these electric vehicles were built

here in Las Vegas by Lectra Motors, Inc. I also found a guy who had bought the original gasoline

engines out of these cars. He later sold some of the same engines to people who had bought the

electric cars and wanted to change them back to gas cars. He was interested in selling some

electric motors and controllers as well as other wire harnesses and parts that were taken out of

the electric vehicles. I bought six electric Prestolite motors and six Cableform controllers from

him for $1200. He also threw in all the extra electric car parts that he still had. Now I was really

interested in doing more electric vehicle conversions!

Since 1984, I had been going up to Sunnyvale, California, to the annual Electric Automotive

Association (EAA) rally that was held in September of every year. I always was able to talk to

several people there who were also doing electric conversion on their cars. In September of

1986, I towed the electric pickup truck to Sunnyvale, California to run in the rally. I also took two

motors and two controllers along to try to sell. I sold one motor for $400 and one controller for

$200 to one guy and another motor for $200 to a second buyer, both wanting to do their own

electric vehicle conversions.

That year, the rally had two courses that we could run with our electric vehicles. One was a 4-

mile course going around on city streets and the other was a 15-mile course from Sunnyvale to

Milpitas and back. I had to carry a passenger along with me on each run in order to give free

educational rides to the general public as were racing around each course during the rally.

I first picked the 15-mile course and drove the pickup truck four times on this 15-mile route for a

range of 60 miles as was as 5 times around the 4-mile course for an additional 20 miles, resulting

in an overall total range of 80 miles on one battery charge. The next day on Sunday, the EAA

hosted an awards brunch for the winners who drove the furthest on each course. Another person

who had a converted Saab also drove the 15-mile course for 60 miles. He was awarded first

prize because he drove the circuit 5 minutes faster than me. I did not know that it was being

timed. The extra runs I made on the 4-mile course did not count.

On each of the runs, I talked with each new passenger about electric vehicles. One of my riders

wanted to get a motor and controller to do a conversion. He was from Sacramento, California,

and was just visiting San Jose that weekend. He got my phone number and address then

contacted me two months later. He drove from Sacramento to North Las Vegas to pick up an

electric motor and controller to do a conversion himself. This guy had a friend who also wanted

to get a motor and controller to do his own conversion, as well. I had three motors and four

controllers left. His friend came down from Sacramento a month later and bought two motors and

two controllers. Now I just had one motor and two controllers left. Early the next year, I sold a

motor and controller to a local guy here in North Las Vegas and then had only one controller left.

The following year, I went to the next EAA rally in Sunnyvale and met a guy who was interested in

converting to electric. I told him I had an electric car that needed new batteries. He was

interested in it, got my phone number, contacted me later, arrived in North Las Vegas with a

trailer, bought the electric Datsun 310 from me and hauled it back to San Jose.

Each year that I went to the EAA rally in Sunnyvale, California, I talked to several people who

wanted to convert to electric. I was able to give them information on parts and also help them by

mail or by phone when they had questions about their conversion projects. Over the next four

years, I would alternate between driving the Honda or the Datsun pickup truck. I finally just

parked the Honda and drove the pickup all the time on my daily commute.

In 1991, I had seen a Pontiac Fiero going down the street. It was a “sporty-looking” car and I

thought it would make an excellent conversion. I started looking around to purchase one. Most

used car lots wanted too much money for a Fiero. I found an ad in the newspaper that had one

for sale as the owner was moving to Hawaii and was selling everything in Las Vegas before

moving. I checked it out. The car was in very good running condition. It was a 1985 Pontiac

Fiero, white in color and had a transverse four-cylinder gas engine mounted in the rear. It was a

two-passenger model with a 5-speed manual transmission. I bought it and drove it for a couple of

weeks before starting the electric conversion.

As I drove the car, I recorded a table of the car’s speed in each gear in 5-mile increments (for

example: first gear at 20mph, 25 mph, 30 mph; second gear at 20 mph, 25 mph, 30 mph, 40 mph,

50 mph, 55 mph, 60 mph; and third gear at 50 mph, 55 mph, 60 mph, 65 mph, etc.) I used the

tachometer reading at each speed to determine the engine speed in revolutions per minute (rpm)

at the different vehicle ground speeds (mph) in each gear:

Vehicle Gear Ground Speed (mph) Motor Speed (rpm)

1 20 3600

1 25 4500

1 30 5400

2 25 2500

2 30 3000

2 35 3500

2 40 4000

2 45 4500

2 50 5000

2 55 5500

2 60 6000

3 50 3200

3 55 3600

3 60 4000

3 65 4800

I would now be able to use these figures to know what the electric motor speed should be in

relation to the vehicle ground speed. The electric motor that I would be using in the Fiero would

be an Advanced DC Model 4001 8-inch diameter motor. This motor speed of this model is rated

to 6500 rpm.

I started taking out the gas engine and related parts that were not necessary for the electric

conversion. I found out that I could disconnect the wires, gas line, water hoses, MacPherson

struts, and brake lines. After unscrewing four bolts from the sub-frame under the back of the

vehicle, I could lift the body up, and the whole engine, transaxle, tires and sub-frame would be

sitting there on the ground. I could then pull them out from under the body of the car.

This made it fairly easy to work on in order to get the gas engine taken out. I also removed the

exhaust pipes and muffler. I only needed to remove the clutch and flywheel from the gas engine

to adapt these parts to the electric motor. Before removing the flywheel, I measured the space

between the engine block and the flywheel. This distance had to remain the same when the

electric motor was assembled on the adapter plate and the flywheel was put back on to maintain

the proper clearance for the throw-out bearing.

I ordered the 8-inch Advanced DC electric motor from KTA Services along with the adapter plate,

space plate and motor coupling. While waiting for the electric motor, I removed the gas tank and

gas lines. The gas tank was in the center of the body, located under the uni-body between the

driver and passenger seats. In addition, I removed the radiator and water pipes running to the

back of the vehicle as well as the plastic compartment where the spare tire was mounted. I also

cut out the metal panel where the spare tire section and radiator were mounted. I cleaned out the

back of the car body, removing any dirt or grease that had been deposited by the gas engine.

I measured this new space to determine placement for the 6-volt deep-cycle golf cart batteries I

would need. I found I could install six batteries in the front of the vehicle, four batteries in the

compartment above the electric motor, and six batteries in the back storage compartment. This

total of sixteen 6-volt batteries would give me a source of 96 volts to run the electric motor.

There was a space over the transmission where I could mount the motor speed controller

alongside the batteries. The regular 12-volt starter battery was left mounted in the right front side

of the motor compartment to continue handling all the 12-volt systems of the car.

When I received the electric motor along with the adaptor plate and coupling, I assembled the

parts together and installed the flywheel and clutch to the coupling. The electric motor assembly

was then put back into the sub-frame and bolted to the transmission housing. Next, the complete

drive assembly was put back under the car and bolted in place.

I had to make a motor mount to support the end of the electric motor. The original support for the

gas engine could not be used. A length of square tubing had to be fit between the rear body

frame and front sub-frame member, underneath the motor. A motor clamp went around the motor

and the bottom support on the clamp was bolted to the square tubing.

Next, the battery supports were built and installed to hold the four 6-volt golf cart batteries that

would be mounted over the electric motor. I cut out the rear luggage compartment between the

frame, built battery supports and installed them to accommodate six 6-volt golf cart batteries in

that location. I also build and installed battery supports for the six 6-volt batteries that would be

mounted under the front hood of the car.

I purchased 16 Trojan model T-105 batteries from a battery shop. I also purchased 50 feet of 2/0

welding cable and 36 cable lugs. I bought a General Electric TQD-200 circuit breaker, Albright

Model SW-200B Main Contactor, and a 500 amp fuse from KTA Services. I also purchased a

Westberg panel voltmeter (50-150 volt scale) for measuring propulsion battery voltage and a

Westberg panel ammeter (0 to 500 amps scale) with matching shunt resistor to measure

propulsion battery current.

I installed the batteries in a series setup, starting with the negative terminal post of the battery

located just above the field winding terminal of the electric motor. I left the negative terminal post

unhooked but then connected cables from the positive post of that battery to the negative post of

the battery two just behind it. I then connected from the positive post of battery two to the six

batteries in the rear of the vehicle, “daisy-chaining” the terminals by going from the positive

terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of the next. I routed my battery/cable chain back

towards the motor and connected the two batteries mounted in the compartment above the

motor, ending up at the positive terminal of the tenth battery. I had to make a longer cable to

extend from the positive terminal of the tenth battery to the negative terminal post of the eleventh

battery located under the hood in the front of the vehicle. I continued connecting the remaining

five batteries in the front of the vehicle in series, ending with the positive terminal post of the

sixteenth battery unconnected.

I installed the circuit breaker under the hood alongside the front batteries and installed a cable

from the positive post of the sixteenth battery to the circuit breaker. The Albright SW-200B Main

Contactor was installed in the back of the vehicle, alongside the frame. I took the Russco motor

speed controller and the pedal potentiometer out of my old Honda, installed the controller over

the transmission in the back of the Fiero and hooked the “pot box” up to the accelerator cable.

A long cable was installed from the GE TQD-200 circuit breaker in the front of the vehicle to the

main contactor in the back of the vehicle. A cable was installed from the Contactor to the first

armature terminal (A1) on the electric motor and a second cable installed from the main contactor

to the Russco controller’s battery positive (B+) connection terminal. Another cable was installed

between the second armature terminal (A2) on the electric motor and to the second stator

terminal (S2) on the electric motor. Another cable was installed from the first stator terminal (S1)

on the electric motor to the Russco controller’s motor negative (M-) connection terminal. The

next cable was installed from the Russco controller’s Battery Negative (B-) terminal to the 500-

amp fuse. The fuse was connected to the shunt resistor and the last cable went from the shunt

resistor to the negative post on the first 6-volt battery of the 96-volt series battery pack.

A 12-volt wire was hooked up from the ignition switch to the Albright SW-200B Main Contactor

coil. As the ignition switch was turned on, the Main Contactor coil was energized and its contacts

engaged. As the accelerator pedal was pushed down, the motor started turning. The

transmission was shifted into first gear and, as I stepped on the accelerator pedal, the car started

moving.

After driving the Fiero for a few months, I decided to upgrade to a 120-volt system by increasing

the size of my battery pack. The Fiero was a lot heavier than the Honda, so the performance was

poorer, especially during the winter months. I bought a Curtis 1221B motor speed controller rated

at 400 amps that could be used on a 72-volt to 120-volt battery system. I bought four more 6-volt

golf cart batteries and had to install two of them in the back of the Fiero and two of them in the

front under the hood.

After getting this new arrangement completed, it seemed to be working out fine. Next summer,

when the temperature outside got hot (110 degrees-plus in Las Vegas), I found out that the Curtis

1221B motor speed controller was also getting hot and, because of its internal thermistor sensor,

the controller was being triggered to work in thermal cutback mode to protect its internal circuitry.

This mode drastically diminishes the power that the controller is allowing to pass from the

batteries to the electric motor, causing the Fiero to drive much slower. This mode will persist until

the temperature inside the controller drops back down to a normal operating level as measured

by the thermistor.

I would leave for work in the afternoon at 3 PM during the heat of the day. I would normally drive

about five miles and then have to stop for a traffic light. At that point, the Curtis 1221B controller

and the electric motor would not have any air flowing over the components to dissipate the heat

buildup and the controller would go into thermal cutback mode. When I stepped on the

accelerator pedal to move forward, it would cut the current draw down so much that the car could

just slowly pick up speed. Only until the Fiero finally reached about 22 mph would there be

sufficient air flow to cool both the motor speed controller and the motor back down enough to

come out of thermal cutback and allow normal power to resume flowing to accelerate the car.

I knew that when I was driving the electric pickup truck with the Cableform controller, there was

no internal thermal cutback protection mode. Since I still had one Cableform controller left, I

decided to change out the Curtis controller and install the Cableform controller during the summer

months. The car ran fine through the heat of the summer days without any further problems.

Part Four: Sports Car Club of America Auto Cross Race in Las Vegas

On February 27, 1994, I took my 1985 electric Pontiac Fiero out to the Las Vegas race track

along with two other electric vehicles belonging to Jan Himber ( a 1981 Lectra Motors 2 + 2) and

Al Sawyer (1980 Lektricar pickup truck). All three of us participated in the Sports Car Club of

America (SCCA) Auto Cross Race.

We arrived early at the track to get our feet wet racing (our tires squealed)! Upon arrival at the

track, we had to get our cars registered. The rental cost to the SCCA for the track that day was

$1200. Each member of the SCCA was charged a $10 entry fee and non-members were

charged a $15 entry fee. SCCA liability insurance coverage for the event was $1,000,000 and

this insurance coverage had cost the club $1,000 annually.

The three of us all paid the non-member fee of $15. Our cars had to be technically inspected and

prepared for the auto cross race. All loose items in the passenger compartment and trunk,

including wheel covers and trim rings, had to be removed. Al’s technical inspection revealed a

12-volt battery that was not tied down. We solved it by tying a fiber strap over the battery to

secure it to the car body. The electric cars were put in a class by themselves and assigned a “red

dot” designation.

Each driver was required to wear a helmet when we drove the course. The SCCA furnished a

helmet for each of us. We were required to walk through the course to give us an idea of what

the driving would be like. We attended a mandatory drivers’ meeting prior to the race where the

SCCA chairperson explained the procedures used by the organization for their races.

There would be three classes of car runs that were identified by green, red, or blue dots that

would be placed on the windshield of each car. We were in the Red class. The Green class

would run their cars first around the course. The Red class rested. The Blue class worked the

course as observers at each turn to watch for any pylons that were knocked over or hit by the

race cars as they went past. Each pylon that was knocked over cost the driver a one-second

penalty. As we watched the Green class cars running the first race, the times of the different cars

to run each lap varied from 55 to 69 seconds.

When it was the Red class turn, I went onto the course first, then Jan second and Al third. While

running my electric vehicle through the race course, I noticed a heavy current draw on the

batteries as I had to accelerate out of every turn with full power in order to pick up as much speed

as possible between turns. I also had to brake hard before entering each turn.

The timer for the course started halfway through the first turn, so I accelerated with full power to

get a flying start around the turn. Keeping full power on around the first left curve, I went towards

the second curve to the left and applied full brakes to slow down to make a left 90-degree turn

(2nd turn) and a right 90-degree turn (3rd turn), then full power for a short distance and hard

braking towards a 90-degree turn to the right (4th turn), followed by a 90-degree turn to the left (5th

turn).

The next part of the course required full acceleration around the back side of the banked oval

track, then hard braking to go around a left horseshoe turn (6th turn), followed by another

sequence of full acceleration and hard braking to go around a right horseshoe turn (7th turn).

After turn 7, I accelerated to full speed down the middle of the straight-away race track that

banked slightly to the left, then braked hard for a sharp right horseshoe turn (8th turn). I

accelerated strongly out of turn 8, but then braked slowly to keep up speed while going around a

wide horseshoe turn (9th turn). I accelerated out of turn 9, then braked hard going into a left curve

(10th turn), and an immediate right curve (11th turn). After accelerating out of turn 11, I

accelerated into turn 12 and pushed the accelerator to the floor towards the finish line to stop the

timer as I passed by.

After passing the timer, I braked hard, then turned right off the course, stopped, and exited the

track to the right. I returned to the end of the line to wait for my next run. I ran the race four times

officially and two times for fun.

The course had 12 turns to it and was 1 mile in distance. As we went through the first turn, which

was the start/finish line, an electronic timer gave us our time for each lap. All times were marked

down on the scoreboard. My times (in seconds) were: first lap – 92.895; second lap – 95.535;

third lap – 73.601; fourth lap – 73.229

Jan’s times were: first lap – 94.150; second lap – 87.738; third lap – 82.780; fourth lap – 81.546

Al’s times were: first lap – 92.132; second lap – 90.487; third lap – 85.546; fourth lap – 86.934

I ran for a fifth time and got a 72.135. During my sixth and last run, I entered the second turn too

fast, locked up my brakes trying to slow down and skidded into the turn, going off the course and

wiping out three pylons on that turn. My final time was 85.268.

For the third part of the race, we worked the track. Jan monitored turn 3 and I monitored turn 2.

Our job was to watch the cars as they came by, reset pylons that were knocked over, and then

call in the number of the car that hit the pylons as well as the total number of pylons knocked over

by that vehicle on that turn.

I had driven my car to the race track, so I then drove it home for a round trip of 22 miles. This

mileage did not include battery power consumed during the six 1-mile runs of the races. When I

got home, I found that the batteries were well-discharged and in need of a good overnight

recharge. The event was a lot of fun and good time was had by all!

Part Five: Los Angeles Clean Air Car Road Rally in Anaheim (1994)

Since converting my 1985 Pontiac Fiero in 1991, I continued to perform a series of upgrades to it.

I was not too happy with the performance of the battery pack at 96 volts, so I added four more

batteries to increase it to a 120-volt system. I had originally installed a Curtis 1221B motor speed

controller but found out during the following summer that the very hot Las Vegas temperatures

(above 110 degrees Farenheit!) caused it to go into thermal cutback mode when stopping at a

stop sign after driving just a short distance. I replaced the Curtis Controller with an older

Cableform controller during the hot summer months that used less efficient SCR-based

technology but did not overheat. This final arrangement worked well for me during the next few

years. Every September, I would continue to tow my electric vehicle up to Sunnyvale, California,

to run in the National EAA rally that was held there.

In April of 1994, there was a Clean Air Road Rally held in Los Angeles from April 9th to April 12th.

I towed my Pontiac Fiero to L.A. to participate in the that rally, as well. Friday, the first day of the

event, was used for registration and “scrutineering” at the Los Angeles Convention Center. After

checking in and getting my car registered, I joined each of the other electric vehicle owners to go

through a safety inspection. This inspection included a check of all systems on the car – lights,

turn signals, seat belts, windshield wipers, tires, windows, horn, batteries, wiring, brakes, circuit

breakers, battery charger and extension cords.

Then the cars were run through an Acceleration Test and a Brake Effectiveness Test, with points

awarded for each.

Points were also given for three aspects of the rally competition and these points were used to

evaluate the final winners. The first goal of competition was to arrive in the “perfect” course time

established for the posted speed limits, traffic control signs, traffic lights, etc. The second was a

timed acceleration run, which determined the order in which the vehicles would leave on the

competition run the next day. Additional points would also be awarded on Day Two and Day

Three for endurance runs consisting of supplemental laps, different road courses, and completion

of each route. There were 54 electric vehicles participating in the rally.

Day Two (Saturday): All the cars were lined up according to the times they posted during the

acceleration run. Slowest cars went first. Start time was 10 AM and each car left at ten second

intervals. A map had been furnished to each driver and we had to follow the streets that were

marked on the map up to a “halfway point” (usually a large store parking lot) where we had to wait

for 10 minutes before proceeding onto the second half of the run.

It was 7.6 miles to the halfway point. After waiting my 10 minutes, I continued on the second half

of my run. My Pontiac Fiero was running well until I went up a small hill and had to stop at a

traffic light. When the light turned green, I stepped on the accelerator pedal but there was little

power to move the car. The Curtis 1221B Controller had gone into thermal cutback mode. As

luck would have it, I was at the top of the hill and the roadway was headed downhill. I went

through the intersection slowly and, as the car picked up speed, there was more air flow over the

controller that dissipated enough heat to allow the controller to come out of thermal cutback

mode. I continued driving with my eye on the amp-meter to keep current flow as low as possible

in order to keep the controller from heating up again. I also looked down the road at oncoming

traffic lights to try to gauge their time so that I could keep moving at a steady pace and avoid

losing air flow over the controller.

This driving technique helped me finish the second leg of the course, completing 23.7 miles to the

finish line at the Santa Monica Pier. I did four additional laps on the supplemental course for a

total of 63.7 miles.

Battery charging was supplied from a portable Electric Vehicle Fueling Station. This charging

station was provided by Dan Parmley, who owned Diversified Technical Services in Phoenix,

Arizona. The station was 8 feet wide by 20 feet long by 8 feet high and could be connected to 60

EV battery packs that could all be recharged during the same time. The Electric Vehicle Fueling

Station was parked on the beach just north of the Santa Monica Pier where there were plenty of

adjacent parking spaces for all the electric vehicles to plug in and recharge their battery packs

from 7 PM to 7 AM the next day.

After hooking up my car to the charging station, I left the area to stay at my son’s place to eat and

get a good night’s sleep. However, soon after I got through eating, I received a phone call to

come back to the charging area because my charging circuit had tripped its breaker and my

battery pack was not receiving a charge. Upon arriving back at the beach, I found that my

extension cord had overheated and burned out, overloading the circuit breaker. One of the other

EV’ers had a power cord that he let me borrow but I had to change the plugs on it to fit the ones

on the charging station. It was about 2 AM before I got my car to start charging again and I had

to be back at 7 AM for the next day’s run. The batteries did not get a full charge.

Day Three (Sunday): I participated in a driver’s meeting at 8 AM and checked the routes on the

map for this day’s run. Cars began leaving at 9 AM at 10-second intervals to travel from the

Santa Monica Pier to a halfway point located 17.1 miles away. I reached the halfway point and

stayed at that location for the 10-minute waiting period but, after driving about five miles into the

second leg of the course, I notice a lag in acceleration due to the batteries not receiving a full

charge the night before. I had to accelerate very slowly and lightly, but was still able to drive the

rest of the 28 miles to the Queen Mary exhibit in Long Beach for a total of 42.8 miles. My point

standing after the rally put me in 25th place in the original field of 54 vehicles. Upon arriving at

Disneyland in Anaheim and getting checked in at the finish, all the race participants were given

admission passes to the Disneyland theme park. We left our electric vehicles grouped together in

the parking lot for the public to look at. It was a really good rally. During those four days,

thousands of people had the chance to observe electric vehicles up close and see that they can

be driven on city and suburban streets just like any other car but without polluting the air.

Part Six: 1994 Hyundai Excel EV Conversion Project for Bill Yule

In May of 1994, I started on an EV conversion project for Bill Yule. During late 1993, he had

bought a new 1994 Hyundai Excel from Ben Stepman Hyundai in Henderson, Nevada. He had

taken it to a local Vocational Technology (Votech) Trade School for the students to perform a

“gas-to-electric” conversion on it. They had done some work on it but by the end of the school

year in May, they had not yet finished it. Bill Yule got in contact with me and we went to the

school to pick up the car. He had already purchased all the parts to do the conversion along with

the batteries. The students had put in the electric motor, the adaptor plate, the clutch and the

bottom motor support.

When we got out to the school to pick up the car, we found the garage door had jumped its track,

was jammed and would not raise up. Bill picked up his parts that included 18 six-volt Trojan T-

145 batteries. He left the car there because the building maintenance crew had to be contacted

to fix the door before the car could be pulled out. A couple days later they got the car out. I

picked up the car and towed it to my place.

The next weekend, I checked out all that was done on the car by the students at the Votech

school. Bill Yule wanted 18 six-volt golf cart batteries in the car for a 108-volt drive system. The

plan was to put six batteries in front under the hood, and 12 in the back end of the car. I first

started designing where the six batteries in front were to be placed.

The first problem I ran into was that the Advanced DC 8-inch electric motor was installed with two

of the motor terminals sticking up to the top. In order for the batteries to be mounted over the

motor and not have the terminals stick into the bottom of the batteries, the motor had to be

removed and turned on the adapter plate so that the motor terminals were positioned on the side

and bottom of the motor. Upon removing the electric motor from the transaxle housing, a second

problem was found. The throw-out bearing retainer was not put on the throw-out bearing. The

throw-out bearing was just put on the input shaft housing and there was no clearance between

the throw-out bearing and the clutch pressure plate. The throw-out bearing would turn constantly

whenever the motor would run, causing premature failure of the throw-out bearing in a short

period of time. I installed a bearing retainer correctly on the throw-out fork and on the throw-out

bearing.

I disassembled the clutch pressure plate, disc plate and flywheel from the motor. I removed the

retaining bolts from the adapter plate and turned the motor to position the terminals on the side

and bottom. I then replaced the retaining bolts through the adapter plate into the motor and

torqued them down. I replaced the bolts on the flywheel to hold them onto the hub of the motor

and torqued those bolts down. I also replaced the disc plate and pressure plate on the flywheel.

I installed the bolts finger tight, centered the disc plate and torqued the bolts around the pressure

plate. The motor assembly was then reinstalled onto the transaxle housing. Rubber mounts also

had to be installed between the motor clamp and frame. Battery racks were built to fit three

batteries across the front where the radiator was. Three other battery racks were built over the

motor.

Now came another problem in the back end of the car where the Votech students had cut out the

trunk floor and welded in a support framework in order to have a solid floor to support 11

batteries. The twelfth battery would have to be set on the trunk floor behind the rear wheel well.

This was not an acceptable setup.

I cut out all of the support framework that was located in the back of the car. I then designed a

battery rack that would hold all 12 batteries in place under the floorboard. The upright

connections were made and welded onto the bottom rack. I then raised up the rack into the trunk

area and welded it into place. The bottom of the battery rack was 12 inches below the floor,

which would allow a covering to be made to lay over the top of the batteries and allow use of the

trunk space for storage.

Battery placement is important to connect the battery terminals with cables and not have cables

going over the tops of the filler caps, keeping the lengths of the interconnecting cable from the

positive terminal on one battery to the negative terminal on the next battery as short as practical.

Six-volt golf cart batteries have posts at opposite corners which allow placement of the batteries

in a pack to be arranged so that the cables that go from the positive terminal post on the first

battery go to the negative post on the second battery without crossing over the tops of the tops of

the batteries.

Before the batteries are placed in the car, the Albright model SW-200B main contactor was

installed in the rear of the vehicle, under the floor and in front of the rear battery pack. A General

Electric model TDQ-200 circuit breaker was installed in the front on the firewall that had two sets

of contacts. A Deltec model MKB-500-50 shunt was installed near the circuit breaker. A

Westberg model 2C6-39X panel amp-meter (0-500 amps scale) was installed on the dashboard.

A Westberg model 2C5-228X panel voltmeter (50-150 volts scale) was also installed in the

dashboard. A Curtis model 1221B motor speed controller was installed on the front left inside

fender. A Russco heater unit was installed in the front of the vehicle under the battery rack and

next to the firewall. Heater hoses were connected to the car’s heater core, along with an

interconnecting hose to the water reservoir. Wires for the 12-volt pump were hooked up to the

car’s heater switch through a P&B model DPDT-12 relay. This 12-volt relay was configured with

a “Double Pole Double Throw” set of contacts so that the wires for the 108-volt heater element

could also be brought to the second set of contacts. Both sets of relay contacts were enabled by

the heater dashboard switch that, when closed, would allow the coil on the front end of the DPDT

relay to be energized from a Sevcon model 622-11014 DC-to-DC converter. The DC-to-DC

converter could step down the 108-volt DC battery pack source to output a regulated 12-volt DC

source that could interface with many of the standard electrical systems on the existing car,

including the 12-volt relay.

The next phase of the EV conversion project was to build the interconnect cables for the 108-volt

propulsion battery pack using 2/0 welding cable and connector lugs. In the front of the vehicle,

six batteries were to be interconnected to the Curtis motor speed controller. Three of the

batteries had been mounted across the top of the motor and three more batteries were mounted

ahead of them, just behind the radiator. Starting with the first battery located at the end of the

three mounted over the electric motor and nearest the motor speed controller, I connected that

battery’s negative terminal to a Littlefuse model L252-500-KTA safety fuse rated at 500 amps.

The other side of the fuse was then connected to one side of a pair of contacts on the General

Electric circuit breaker. Then a cable was connected from the other side of that set of contacts on

the circuit breaker to the Deltec shunt. A cable was then attached from the second terminal of the

shunt to the “B-“ terminal on the Curtis motor speed controller.

Battery interconnection cables were installed on the first three batteries located over the motor,

from the number 1 battery positive post to the 2nd battery negative post, and then from the 2nd

battery positive post to the 3rd battery negative post. A cable was installed from the 3rd battery

positive post to the fourth battery negative post that began the string of three batteries just behind

the radiator. Additional interconnect cables were installed from the fourth battery positive post to

the fifth battery negative post and from the fifth battery positive post to the sixth battery negative

post.

The twelve batteries in the rear of the car were then interconnected with the front batteries. A

long length of cable was built to run from the sixth battery positive post, under the car, to the back

of the car where it was connected to the seventh battery negative post. The remaining batteries

in the back of the car were interconnected in a “daisychain” pattern from the positive posts to the

negative posts until the last 12th battery negative post. The 12th battery positive post was then

connected to the Albright model SW-200B main contactor. Another long length of cable was

installed to connect from the second terminal on the main contactor, under the car, to one side of

a second set of contacts on the circuit breaker. The other side of this set of contacts on the

circuit breaker was connected to the “B+” terminal on the Curtis motor speed controller. Another

cable was connected from the “B+” terminal on the Curtis motor speed controller to the “A1”

armature terminal on the Advanced DC electric motor. A cable was installed from the “A2”

armature terminal on the motor to the “S1” stator terminal on the motor. A cable was also

installed from the “S2” stator terminal of the motor to the “M-“ terminal on the Curtis motor speed

controller.

This completed all the 2/0 cable connections for the 108-volt propulsion system. The system was

intentionally isolated from the chassis and body of the Hyundai so as not to induce powerdraining

ground loops or cause potential electrical shocks to anyone who might lean on the body

of the vehicle while accidentally touching a battery post or active electrical terminal in the system.

Keeping the electric power drive system isolated from the chassis and body of the vehicle is one

of the most important safety and design considerations when implementing an EV conversion

project.

Bill Yule had also requested that an air conditioning system be built into his Hyundai conversion

to cope with the hot Las Vegas Valley summers that often exceed 110 degrees Farenheit. Using

the existing air conditioning system of the car, a one-horsepower permanent magnet electric

motor was added to the system to drive the air conditioning compressor. The air conditioning

compressor and permanent magnet motor were mounted on the front, right-side inner fender.

The fluid hoses had to be rebuilt and routed around the batteries to the condenser and to the

evaporator connections on the car. Then the system had to be evacuated and filled with R-134A

Freon.

A second P&G model DPDT-12 relay was installed and wires connected to a 12-volt “air

conditioning” switch on the front dashboard panel that could activate the relay coil from the 12-

volt DC-to-DC converter. The permanent magnet motor for the air compressor pump was

powered by the 108-volt propulsion battery pack where one of the pump wires was connected

through the relay contacts that could be turned on from the front panel switch to cool the vehicle

interior, even when the Hyundai Excel was not moving.

To retain the existing vacuum-advanced braking system of the Hyundai Excel, a Gast model

MOA-V111-JH vacuum pump and a Square-D model 9016/GVG-IT differential vacuum switch

were installed in the front of the vehicle under the hood to supply vacuum to the power brakes.

This created a closed loop system where the differential vacuum switch would sense that the

vacuum was diminishing, then enable the vacuum pump to automatically switch on and keep the

vacuum stabilized at all times before the user pushed on the brake pedal to slow down the car.

This pump system was also energized and powered through the 108-volt battery pack.

A K&W BC-20 was used for the 108-volt battery pack charger. Heavy-duty rated coil springs

were made to fit on the rear end of the Hyundai Excel to support the extra weight of the batteries.

Now the car was ready to run!

Part Seven: EAA Annual Electric Car Road Rally in Sunnyvale, California (1994)

After finishing Bill Yule’s 1994 Hyundai Excel EV conversion project, I continued driving my 1985

electric Pontiac Fiero for the rest of the summer. During June through August, I installed the

Cableform motor speed controller with its SCR-based electronics technology so that it would not

overheat during the 110-plus temperatures of the Las Vegas desert.

On September 15, 1994, I got my motor home ready, hooked up my tow dolly to it, and loaded up

the 1985 Pontiac Fiero for a trip to the annual EAA rally that would be held in Sunnyvale,

California on September 17, 1994. I started out on the morning of September 5th, driving my

motor home with the Fiero in tow and drove as far as Bakersfield where I stayed the night. The

next day I drove up to Cupertino, California, to my daughter’s house and stayed there for the

duration of the trip. The total distance was 560 miles on e way. The next morning, on the 17th, I

towed my Fiero to Sunnyvale for the EAA rally.

I parked in the lot next ot where the rally was to be held and unloaded the Fiero from the tow

dooly. I drove the Fiero over to the starting lineup, registered for the competition, had the vehicle

inspected for safety and was given the route that we were to drive on. The road rally route

covered 4.2 miles on city streets and was mapped so that it would finish at the same initial

starting point, allowing the drivers to make continuous laps. Each time that a car left on another

lap, the driver had to pick up a passenger from the general public who was there to experience a

free ride in an electric car over the 4.2 mile route.

As each car left from the starting line, it had a time card that was punched from the time the car

left. When coming back to the finish line, the card was punched in to show the end of the run.

There was a 15-minute time limit for each vehicle to make a run.

This year, the EAA had put in a 100-yard dash acceleration test event for each vehicle starting

out on their first run. After leaving the parking lot and getting lined up straight on the street, each

car was then stopped. Then, when it was ready to go, each car was timed from the point when it

first started to move until it passed the 100-yard point. Then the car went on to complete the first

run around the course. Here were the results published by the EAA:

“First place went to Mike Slominski in his 1979 VW Rabbit. Mike drove his car from his home in

San Mateo, California, 42 miles to the rally. His total mileage was 102.9 miles. His time on the

100-yard dash was 12.63 seconds.

Mike’s son Adam drove an electric Renault LeCar, just getting his license one month earlier. It

was his first time behind the wheel of a stick shift car, let alone an electric one. His mileage was

66.0 miles and his time in the 100-yard dash was 13.645 seconds.

Second Place went to Bob Westman in his 850 Fiat Spyder using U.S. Battery 2300’s for a total

of 90.2 miles and a time in the 100-yard dash of 10.44 seconds.

Third place went to Bob Schneevis and his Fiat X-19 that used two strings of 132-volt battery

packs in parallel comprised of 12-volt Eveready (Costco) batteries. His total mileage was 86.1

miles and his time in the 100-yard dash was 9.34 seconds.

Fourth Place went to Clare Bell in her 1980 VW Rabbit, “Hopalong”. Hopalong got balky on the

last 19th lap and would not go forward, so it was run “bassackwards” for expediency (and for the

sheer fun ot it!). The Rabbit delivered both driver and passenger, cotton-tailing to fourth place for

the finish. Her mileage was 77.9 miles and her time in the 100-yard dash was 12.55 seconds.

The “hot wheels” of the day were:

William Kuehl’s 1985 Fiero which ran the 100-yard sprint in 9.09 seconds. The Fiero came all the

way from Nevada. Now that is dedication. The Fiero had 120 volts of Trojan T-105 batteries and

total mileage was 61.2 miles.

Team New England’s lightweight three-wheeler, ably piloted by Marianne Walpert of the

Women’s Electric Racing Team (WE’RE-IT) repeated the efficiency performance it showed in the

recent Tour de Sol to sail away with the 3-whell class win. Total mileage was 94.3 miles and her

time in the 100-yard dash was 13.79 seconds.

On the sidelines, Anna Cornell handled the information table. Members of the Peninsula EAA

Chapter grilled hot dogs and scrambled all over each other to get the lemonade mixed but they

successfully fast-charged (and fast-stuffed) rally participants and attendees. EAA cups, T-shirts

and keychains were available at the adjoining booth.”

In short, a good time was had by all, both wheeled and footed alike, while demonstrating the

capability of today’s EVs to a growing number of interested people.

Part Eight: Palm Springs Electric Car Classic Road Rally (1996)

After participating in the EAA road rally in Sunnyvale, California during September 1994, I

continued driving my electric Pontiac Fiero to work and back every day, covering a round trip of

32 miles. On March 2, 1996, I towed my car to the Palm Springs Electric Car Classic Rally in

Palm Springs, California. Upon arriving, I found the parking location where the electric cars

competing in the event were being staged. The two-day event was being held from Saturday,

March 3rd to Sunday, March 4th.

Electric outlets were available for charging the electric cars. I plugged in my car and topped off

the batteries for the next day’s run. We were to be in the parking lot at 8 AM for the drivers’

meeting when we would be told the rules of the rally.

The next morning at 8 AM, the rally rules were distributed to all the drivers of the electric cars and

any questions by the drivers were answered during the meeting. The overall time limit for running

the race would be from the starting time at 9:00 AM to the finish time at 1:00 PM. Anyone

returning after 1:00 PM would be disqualified.

There were 9 possible destinations or “checkpoints” along the route within the four hour rally race.

At each place, there were tokens to be picked up by each driver. The goal of the competition was

to collect as many tokens as you could during the 4-hour period and return by 1:00 PM.

All the drivers were provided with maps marked with each of the destinations and part of the

competition was to figure out how far each of these places were located from each other. We

had to quickly plot our own course and strategy to reach as many destinations as possible in the

given time period. The driver with the highest amount of tokens at 1:00 PM was declared the

winner.

After starting the race, I had figured out my course and the first place I headed was up the road to

the tramway on the mountain. This would be the hardest place to reach and I wanted to try that

destination first with a full charge in my car’s batteries. The course required a 3-mile, 2500-foot

climb to the top of the road to get to the aerial tram station. As the road started to get steeper, I

had to shift down to second gear, and then to first gear, allowing the motor to keep running at a

higher RPM to help cool it. In first gear, I was going 20 to 25 mph the rest of the way up to the

top.

After reaching the top of the first run, a rally official there had me sign in on a log sheet and I

received a bag of ice for my token. Someone figured the climb would be a hot one for each rally

car’s electric motor and controller, that the drivers could use the bag of ice to cool them back

down. My controller go t hot but did not require any ice to cool back down.

I started back down the hill. While going down, there was more air flow over the controller and I

did not have any trouble with the controller overheating. I did not even have to use it as I was

coasting at 45 to 50 mph, helping to cool the controller down even more. The ice came in handy

for dinking water as the day was warm.

My second destination was the Wind Farm, which took me out of town several miles to find the

checkpoint. After I signed in, I received a token that was a miniature windmill on a stick. I then

drove back into town looking for the third destination, Mooreen’s botanical Gardens. After signing

in, I received a small cactus plant for my token. After checking my map, I headed for the next

destination, the Oasis Water Park. After signing in, I received a beach ball for a token.

As the time was about 12 noon, I headed for McDonald’s to get something to eat. I checked my

map for the next destination and started off down the road. I noticed the power in my batteries

was dropping. I was moving slower and the time was nearing 1:00 PM. I arrived at the Palm

Springs Bowling Lanes and, after singing in, received a statue of a man with a bowling ball for my

token. I then headed back towards the finish line, trying to limit my battery current draw by

traveling slowly in order to keep them from being completely discharged. It seemed to take a

long time to get back to the finish line, but I arrived there at 12:50 PM with my batteries very

discharged and five tokens to my credit.

There were two classes of electric cars in the rally. A School class was open to student teams

who built their electric cars, and a Commuter class for all types of regular electric cars that could

be driven on the streets.

After 1 PM, the winners in the School class were announced. The top prized went to River Valley

High School from Mohave Valley, Arizona, whose electric VW Rabbit gathered eight tokens for

first place. Second place went to Cal State Long Beach whose electric Porsche 914 gathered

seven tokens.

In the Commuter class, Jeremy Phillips and I tied the competition with five tokens each. At the

drivers’ meeting, we were told that any ties would be run off by doing extra laps around the block

with the fastest time determining the winner. Jeremy told the officials that his batteries were out

of juice and he did not want to run his car anymore until his batteries were recharged. I told them

that my batteries were also discharged, tired and hungry and did not want to drive anymore,

either. Someone suggested we have a drag race in the parking lot to decide the winner that that

suggestion also died from lack of approval. Chris Martin, the rally originator, decided to have a

coin toss to decide the winner. He borrowed a quarter from a student and said that the oldest

driver was to call the toss in the air. That was me. He tossed the coin into the air, I called “tails”,

the coin hit the ground, came to rest with “tails” up, and I won.

Later, Chris Martin told me that he had wanted me to win and had a hard time finding a two-tailed

coin to toss. I received a trophy that was about 20 inches tall with a plaque on the base that read

PALM SPRINGS CAR CLASSIC 1996. The base was 5 inches long by 3-1/2 inches wide, with a

“1st” emblem on it, alongside of a tall 3-inch x 2-inch x 8-inch tall support. Mounted on the support

was winner’s cup with two wings coming out of the center holding a steering wheel between

them. The rally was a lot of fun and I enjoyed seeing the sights in Palm Springs as I had never

been there before.

After the rally run was over that afternoon, we parked our Electrics on the main street of Palm

Canyon Drive which had been closed off for the annual Palm Springs Car Classic show until 9

PM that evening. The electric cars attracted a lot of attention and we talked with many people

about them. On Sunday, we displayed our Electrics at the Palm Springs Golf Course from 9 AM

to 4 PM.

Part Nine: Summary and EV Conversion Tips

When planning a “gasoline-to-electric” battery-powered vehicle conversion, determine your

driving needs – family car, commuter, utility vehicle, or racing car. Make sure you have access to

the proper tools, supplies, and a place to do the conversion. You may need to rent equipment

like engine hoists. You may also need to contract out custom parts or fabrication that requires

welding, etc. if you do not have those skills or equipment available. Familiarize yourself with the

different components used in an EV. Contact a local EAA chapter or online discussion lists to get

help from veteran EV builders. Take safety precautions and be aware of any potential hazards

from the higher voltages and currents when fabricating the battery power train.

The “gasoline-to-electric” battery-powered vehicle conversion process is basically the same for

midsize cars and trucks that use standard manual transmissions. When beginning the process,

first take out all the gasoline-related parts-- gas engine, radiator, muffler, tailpipe, gas tank, fuel

lines, filters, etc.

To install the electric drive and power train will require the following components:

1. An electric motor with enough horsepower to move and accelerate the vehicle that can also be

mounted to the manual transmission in the vehicle. Adapting the electric motor to the

transmission will require an adaptor plate and spacer plate to mount the electric motor to the

transmission housing as well as a coupling that will need to fit the electric motor shaft to the

flywheel and clutch. This will also require custom electric motor mounts that will hold the motor

and transmission in position on the vehicle once they are joined together.

2. A motor speed controller and a potentiometer that can be fit to work with the accelerator pedal

of the vehicle. The potentiometer, pedal and motor speed controller will control the amount of

current flow to the motor from the battery pack.

3. A battery pack consisting of enough 6-volt or 12-volt batteries wired in series or series-parallel

that can provide enough current to propel a full-sized vehicle with its electric motor over an

acceptable operating range and traveling at acceptable traffic speeds for commute needs.

Although Bill’s first car was driven with just a 48-volt pack that gave him ample commute range

for his early needs, most of today’s mid-size and truck-size EVs use a battery pack voltage

starting at 108-volts DC. With lead-acid battery technology, 6-volt rechargeable golf cart batteries

are preferred because of the additional range that can be achieved from the extra lead plates

available. Average full-size electric vehicle conversions that use lead-acid battery packs have a

range of 40 to 60 mph, although Bill demonstrated with his Honda Civic that ranges of 100 miles

are achievable by using a lightweight car. Newer, more advanced Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH)

and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are now becoming more affordable and may

soon supplant lead-acid battery technology in home-built as well as commercial EV conversions

to provide three to four times the range of lead-acid battery technology. More advanced Battery

Management System (BMS) electronics may be required to make full use of these new battery

technologies.

4. Battery supports need to be built to hold the batteries wherever they are to be mounted in the

vehicle. Battery trays can often be made inexpensively by cutting, bending and welding angle

iron.

5. A supplemental 12-volt battery or 12-volt DC-to-DC converter that can provide power to the

existing vehicle electrical and electronic components such as headlights, turn signals, running

lights, windshield wipers, radio, etc. The 12-volt source can also be used to provide a source to

add switches that can enable 12-volt relays that in turn can allow the installation of additional

electrical components to the vehicle. These include heating, air conditioning, power brakes and

power steering systems.

6. Instrumentation requires at least a voltmeter to show you the voltage in the battery pack and

an amp-meter with matching shunt to show you how much current you are drawing from the

battery pack while driving. Additional overcharge regulators can be used on each battery to

maintain a maximum battery threshold while recharging the entire pack from a single charger.

These regulators allow all batteries in the pack to reach their maximum threshold independent of

the the other batteries in the pack without overcharging. A separate Voltage Monitoring System

(VMS) can also be installed across each battery in the pack to show when individual batteries are

starting to drop below their minimum charge thresholds before affecting the entire pack. When

the first batteries start to drop below this range, the driver can alter his course or his driving

techniques to extend the distance traveled as Bill has shown during some of his rally race events.

7. 2/0 gauge welding cable or larger diameter with matching connector lugs to build the

interconnection cables for the batteries in the pack as well as for the power train from the pack to

the motor speed controller and propulsion motor. These cables can be constructed by 3rd party

vendors to user specifications. Check with your local EAA chapter to find local sources of EV

cable builders.

8. A circuit breaker and a fuse in the controller circuit for safety and component protection rated

at a high enough current to handle system requirements but that will shut down during system

overload.

9. A main contactor to turn on and off the propulsion circuit from the key switch by opening and

closing current flow from the battery pack to the motor speed controller. This must also be rated

to handle high current flows exceeding 500 amps.

10. If the car has power brakes, an electrical vacuum pump and differential vacuum switch can

be adapted to keep the power brakes operating continually.

11. A battery charger with enough output DC voltage and current that can charge the complete

pack at one time as well as a supplemental 12-volt battery charger for the auxiliary battery if a

DC-to-DC converter is not used to supply the 12-volt vehicle system needs. The battery charger

input line should be compatible with home or business AC electrical sources, as well as matching

building circuit breaker ratings. All batteries in the pack and the auxiliary battery (if used) should

be recharged and maintained at a “topped off” level after each vehicle road trip to maintain

battery life. Maintenance charging if the vehicle is unused for a period of time is also beneficial to

maintaining the life of the battery pack. Lead-acid battery packs that are not charged for a long

period of time tend to develop “sulfation” on the battery plates from the sulfuric acid in the

electrolyte that, once formed, cannot be easily dissolved back into the battery electrolyte solution.

This can limit performance and range of the battery pack as well as shorten its life span.

The labor required to complete a “gasoline-to-electric” EV conversion depends on the vehicle and

the complexity of the conversion design. Most EV conversions by a back yard mechanic can be

completed in 200 to 300 hours.

Ongoing maintenance requires inspecting the quality of the battery pack once a week. “Wet” cell

lead-acid batteries require that the electrolyte in each battery be inspected once a week to make

sure that the water level and specific gravity of the electrolyte are consistent, adding distilled

water if necessary. Individual batteries in the battery pack can be load tested using a special

tester once a month to gauge their relative performance and life cycle. If the batteries are sealed

or the internal components are made of some other chemistry, periodic maintenance is not

required but the batteries will need to be replaced as soon as their performance starts to weaken.

Brushed DC motors may require brush replacement once every two or three years. Brakes,

lights, windshield wipers, transmission, clutch and other peripheral safety equipment is

maintained in the same manner as a traditional gas engine vehicle. Other than these minimum

requirements, electric vehicles have very low maintenance and component replacement costs

over a long period of time, much less than traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. Once your

conversion project is completed, be happy to drive your electric vehicle back and forth to work

every day without using gas. You will be wearing a big “EV grin”.