Electric conversion: Project ForkenSwiift
 

I'll move this to the
 

I'll move this to the electric forum.

If you want we can start fishing for people on the internet to come here and maybe help us figure some stuff out. I would be interested in doing this conversion too. There is a n600 available in SEattle I might want to get for this conversion.

Re: jerry at evconvert.com just
 

If at all possible please report back here with anything you find. The more I Think about it the more I want to get this going with another small honda (n600 would be cool). This would be a great project for next year, or maybe this summer if I'm up to it.

A friend of mine in high
 

A friend of mine in high school made his own EV. It only had a 20 mile range, so it was only used to go to school and back. I would personally love a 100 mile range, but it isn't really needed. I guess 50 would be fine too. I could go pretty darn far with 50 miles.

Depending on the cost, however, I wouldn't be opposed to getting the more expensive batteries.

100 lbs of batteries isn't that much. Remember this guY?

https://www.austinev.org/evalbum/325.html

By subtracting the stock weight of the car, he has around 700 lbs of batteries. My understanding is this is normal for EVs.

Another reason to go with the lighter batteries is that they have faster recharge times, longer lives, and will reduce the weight of the car (which also means more miles). The downside however is the price.

Re: A friend of mine in high
 

you remember any of the details? i'd like to hear about it. tell us a story, matt.

I think if I did this I
 

I think if I did this I would get a metro. They are very abundant and cheap to buy.

I am curious however about a few things, one of which I'll address right now.

Can you explain to me how the gearbox works with an electric motor? You don't need the flywheel, but you DO need the clutch disc, right? I'm assuming the same about the pressure plate. You said before that some people don't keep their clutch. How is that possible?

Can you point me towards any references that might help me understand this?

Re: A friend of mine in high
 

details, matt. details!

Damn, this is all very
 

Damn, this is all very interesting. Are there any parts you haven't sourced or wanna source more cheaply? I have a knack for getting stuff free or close to it.

i haven't really sourced
 

i haven't really sourced anything. i just made a shopping list, and went around various sites getting new/used estima

Re: A friend of mine in high
 

I just did an internet search and here is what I found about him:

This was back in 1996, so I'm certain the technology is much better by now.

85 crx hf = 1713, also.
 

85 crx hf = 1713, also.

I'm actually considering
 

I'm actually considering using a metro if I actually do an EV conversion. Metros are just so abundant, lightweight, and have been used many many times before.

Check out all of the EVs here:

https://www.austinev.org/evalbum/

Are there any of those
 

Are there any of those online insurance companies that have good rates but ****ty service in canada? esurance.com comes to mind for me.

The deductable might me more
 

The deductable might me more than the value of the car, don't you think? It'll prolly get totalled from a fender bender (as would my car), so meh.

Doooooo eeeet, it's so
 

Doooooo eeeet, it's so cute.

100 CDN or USD?

Holy EF, I'll buy it.
 

Holy EF, I'll buy it.

the swift is the 1.3 4-cyl,
 

this swift is the 1.3 4-cyl, though, not the 1.0 3-pot. what would you want with a fuel hog like that?

ps - there are lots of these $100-500 near death units around if you really want one. the swift/metros were as popular in their day as the aveo now is in its class.

I don't see them for sale in
 

I don't see them for sale in NJ though, so I'm just amazed. I'd buy one for 50 USD to just do something really neat with it.

Yeah, all of them I see for
 

Yeah, all of them I see for sale are like 2k around here, I'll have to keep my eye out for some beat up stuff.

HOLY COW MAN!!
 

Man that is exactly where mine rusted out too - the right side. Damn that is just too scary - my personal injury lawyer friend was saying too bad I didn't get injured he could have sued the manufacturer BIG TIME. Frames are not supposed to rust out like that especially at a critical suspension point.

energy vs mileage
 

Just so you know I built a scooter with 67lbs of lead Hawker batteries and a frame about 48lbs added to that is my weight and you get about 300lbs and I can go about 25 miles on a charge 36 volts 25 amp hours. This is with a 92%+ efficiency motor. The Advanced DC motors are in the 70% and lower sometimes depending upon RPM and current - it amazes me how poor they are yet everyone uses them. I have to wonder when I putt around town in my Geo just how much HP I am generating in the motor at really low rpms - I shift into 5th at 25mph.... You could probably run around town a lot in first gear with a 6000 rpm motor and have plenty of torque - will have to plug the numbers into my spread sheet sometime and see what I get.

what motor are you using? my
 

what motor are you using?

my friend and i considered the idea of doing mopeds or motorcycles, but it came down to wanting something that could be used in all weather with an additional passenger, and which is also street legal. which means metro EV.

motor
 

www.eCycle.com MG13 but you should consider some of the newer motors they are building maybe a solid slot double stack and a 400 amp controller with your lower voltage and bigger batteries. It's always tricky when dealing with higher power levels but they have the efficiency way up so you don't have to deal with a lot of cooling. If you wanted something smaller then stick with two or three wheels and keep it clasified as a motorcycle then enclose it in a full body.

eCycle
 

Yup they are pricy but you can pay now or push your electric car later when you run out of energy . . . They are going to be really light if that is a factor plus they freewheel / spin pretty well with the controller turned off but it depends upon the controller driving it. Don't forget that they are brushless and have no cooling holes for air to carry dirt into the motor and the water cooling option could provide you with some cabin heat. It also makes a great generator so depending upon how you regulate the power to the motor input would determine power/loading. Typically the switching buck-boost stage driving the motor input has fets pulling up to the battery voltage and down to ground at some duty cycle determined by the throttle and current limiting. Now if you can get it to just pull up to the battery voltage you would have a "freewheel" drive effect and if you have it pull down you would have a braking/regen effect. Of course you could always just pop it into neutral. One thing you would want is a smart motor speed controller so that you could monitor the transmission input shaft speed and regulate the motor speed to match when shifting into gears - maybe a button on the top of the shifter that you press which would make the motor run at the speed that the transmission is in and allow you to pop it out of gear with no loading and then speed up or slow down to motor as you move it towards the next gear to allow it to shift right into gear without grinding and thus not require a clutch.

Re: weekend update: looked at 2
 

That is awesome news. Does it have a controller as well? I imagine this would give you everything you need, including some batteries.

If he's 450km south I might
 

If he's 450km south I might want it, :)

Forklift
 

Yeah they are made heavy to lift and not tip over - consider driving it to where it has to go or towing it there. Do you have AAA up there or maybe the back end of a Tractor Trailer. Sounds like NOT the way to go for parts - they are all designed to be heavy not efficient for car vehicle use.

Those electric cars sound interesting - if RI ever passed the NEV law they could be used around town here. I would consider converting one over to one of my more efficient motors and then maybe a different Li-Ion battery pack and really make it go. When they first rented something simular to them in town many years ago they went for $20,000 each.

Great website
 

This site has some great information regarding low speed electric vehicles, motor vehicle laws and technology. AC motors and inverters are coming soon to electric vehicles near you.

https://www.golfcarcatalog.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=check_this_archive&step=3&arc hive_id=112

yeah - ac would be good -
 

yeah - ac would be good - more efficient.

but that second point rules me out on this project!

Re: found another beater: 91
 

God damn that is some cheap *** cars. You and SVOboy should work together. You get cars for cheap and he gets parts for cheap. You guys need to open a used dealership together.

4 door
 

Hey I have a 4 door too! Definately more useful for hauling stuff but didn't think the weight was that much different.

Re: found another beater: 91
 

Hey I am the one driving a $170 car!

That is a good price metrompg

you're really driving a $170
 

you're really driving a $170 car? all in? wow.

none of these cars i've been looking at would be legal for $170 all in.

Yep the $170 car was
 

Yep the $170 car was semi-drivable. It needed struts bad. No radio. non-working ac. leaking sunroof...

welding
 

I may be doing it myself on my Geo also - Mig welder. Fortunately I have a good friend that will teach me. I also found out that the dealer registered my new xB for only 10 months . . . so by then I may give up on the Geo and get my original plates transferred to the xB.

yeah, my brother knows how
 

yeah, my brother knows how to weld, so he'll probably show me. and my partner in crime's brother has a welder. not sure what type though.

i've been buzzing around my neighbourhood in the swift. i actually like driving it more than my pontiac. even though in every objective sense the pontiac is a better car, the swift just feels more nimble. probably it's just the novelty of it.

Junkyard for old golf carts,
 

Junkyard for old golf carts, I might think. I've seen a few in mine for sure.

junkyard is a good idea.
 

junkyard is a good idea. someone on another ev list suggested regular 12v starting batteries from a junkyard will also work.

on another note, stopped by my mechanic at lunch time and he gave me the green light: if the control arm mount is properly welded, it's OK for the safety certificate (other issues notwithstanding).

then i swung by the local dump and drove onto the scale. they guy said the car's weight is 782 kg / 1724 lbs.

Damn, that's pretty heavy
 

Damn, that's pretty heavy for that little thing. Got some bodies in the back or something?

might be the weight of the
 

might be the weight of the gigantic FOUR cylinder engine in the front. four ostentatious cylinders! shameless excess.

maybe that's why i'm liking driving it. it's practically a ferrari compared to the fireflea.