jonescg's eCRX pre-build thread!

[gromike]

This thread started in 2012?!!! That's some long legs there.
None of my projects are as challenging as yours, but I worry about mine. Like if I am going to finish any of them before I myself finish.
Wish I had your shop.

 

[jonescg]

I bought this car in 2012 with the intention of converting it to electric back then. I never did much to maintain the engine because I knew it would be coming out... 12 years later it finally came out. It's a combination of scope creep, employment, space, and available time. It's finally happening at least. It also doesn't help that I have a dozen projects on the go at point, plus client jobs, and my day job. And volunteering with AEVA...

Anywho...

New subframe is in and the power steering rack seems to bolt up where it's supposed to. I think.
It looks like a fairly forgiving fit, but I'm worried my alignment might not be ideal.

 

[jonescg]

So far so good. Last part of the subframe puzzle is the sway bar. I read it's not a big deal for the front, but in terms of getting this vehicle re-licensed I'll probably need a good explanation. In the event I can't leave it off, I might try and fabricate some pickups on the rear chassis mounts for the subframe. Basically a C - shaped bracket with a flat face I can mount the sway bar stays to.

 

[jonescg]

Little more progress on the motor mounts. Lots of cardboard aided design, followed by Sketchup made for an easy shopping list of laser cut 4 mm steel parts. I can weld these up with my stick welder no trouble. Hope to have these welded up by next weekend, and the Leaf motor mounted the weekend after! Driveshafts will be the next major headache.

 

[jonescg]

Ceramic heater core is bench tested and ready to be installed. 2.4 kW of instant heat!

 

[amberwolf]

2.4 kW of instant heat!

Around here we call that stepping out of the shade.

 

[jonescg]

Around here we call that stepping out of the shade.

2.4 kW of heat in Perth in January is "Extremely unwelcome". Much more interested in getting the air-conditioning fitted for the first time since about 1998...

 

[amberwolf]

Much more interested in getting the air-conditioning fitted for the first time since about 1998...

Oh, I understand that!

When I still had Yogi and Kirin, who liked to go places with me, I had been working out the design for an air-conditioned "horse trailer" for the dogs, kluging together an inverter and batteries to run a window-A/C unit to keep an insulated "box" cool even in the worst summer heat. With just JellyBean, who doesn't go anywhere, there's not much incentive to finish that idea and build it, but "someday".

I'd also been considering putting that on the trike directly instead, and making a "collapsible"/removable enclosure for the rider area of the trike, connected to the doggie/cargo area in back, so I could benefit from it, too. This version is more likely to happen, but still not very.


Late fall, and winter here, can get down into the 30s or 40s F for lows, but the sun comes up and brings that up with it pretty quick most of the time. The highs are usually in the high 60s or 70s, sometimes even the 80s, with occasional rare excursions up to the 90s F, for as much as ~50F variance between the high and low for a day. :/

 

[jonescg]

Several modifications on the sway bar stays were required, like making it much shorter and re-locating the stay holes, but I got there in the end. It does a pretty tidy job of holding the bar up, and any torsion on the chassis as you round a corner will put vertical loads on the stays, which look to be well supported.

I've now moved onto the motor mounts, and while the right front mount is coming up good,the left front is well out to lunch . Not only were two of the the holes in the wrong spot, it was way too short for doing anything useful with.

I might get that one re-done, amongst other corrections.

 

[jonescg]

Motor is mounted! Some grinding and paint for the welder I ain't left to be done, then I can start to think about the drive shafts.